[Gllug] [OT] Non-compete clauses in employment contracts

[Bruce Richardson]

On Fri, Feb 04, 2005 at 12:32:32PM +0000, Tethys wrote:
> 
> Bruce Richardson writes:
> 
> >Geeks get fscked over by their employers as much as anybody else.
> 
> By the same token, geeks get fscked over by their unions as much as
> anyone else. I've met few people outside of the teaching profession
> that have had positive dealings with unions,

Unions in their totality are no better or worse than employers as a
group.  An intelligent person will be aware of this and choose
carefully.  I'm not saying that choosing not to be in a union is stupid
but it is not intelligent to let a blanket prejudice against unions
blind you to the benefits availablle.  And leaving a union or moving to
a new one is much easier and hazard-free than switching employers or
even banks.

> and many that have had
> negative experiences. Perhaps that explains why people distrust them.

I'm hardly surprised to hear you say that, given what you said the last
time the topic came up.  I can offer plenty of counter-examples.  At my
previous workplace, for example, management and union had a very good
relationship - in fact, the management found the union invaluable and
relied on it heavily for resolution of disputes with individual
employees.  My father ended up in senior management at his company and
always had an excellent relationship with the union.

Forget the politics (most unions have).  It's a resource that you can
take advantage of and there's plenty of competition so you can shop
around.  The irony is that geeks are more likely than most other
employees in their wage bracket to be working in circumstances where
their rights are both shaky and poorly defended (small companies,
contracting etc).

-- 
Bruce

I unfortunately do not know how to turn cheese into gold.
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