Re: Technical Writing Union

Subject: Re: Technical Writing Union
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2001 11:22:54 -0800

Peter Newman wrote:

>A good employee will have the same goal. the company is not a fountain that magically provides money. One must work to make the company
>successful.

Only to the extent that doing so furthers your own goals. But an employee simply doesn't have the same stake in the company as an employer. Or are you telling me that you'd sacrifice your own job for the good of the company? If so, you're a far, far better man than I am.

>And employees are never unfair to the companies they work for?
It's a matter of relative power. If employees are unfair to the company, the company has far more remedies for the situation than the employee. A union makes that power relation a little more equal.

> The paper work necessary to
>document the case is so overwhelming and subject to challenges that most
>school boards simply ignore incompetence, while highly motivated and
>skilled teachers are simply part of the pack. I can see managers
>spending even more time documenting performance than processes. Do you
>really want this for tech writers?

Contracts are negotiated by both sides, so difficulties like this aren't simply the result of the union. The administration has agreed to this process.

Nor are incompetents necessarily fired without a contract, since they may have the connections or skills in office politics to survive. But many manager monitor and evaluate performance now, so how much different would the situation be?

At any rate, if the process results in fairer hiring and firing, then perhaps I wouldn't mind it. A parliament or a congress isn't a very efficient way to reach a decision, but I prefer it to a dictatorship because it's fairer.

> Sam may have no clue about a new technology, while John is really into it. Yet if a layoff is about to come, John my very well get the> ax because Sam has Seniority.

Acknowledging seniority shouldn't be the only criterion, perhaps, but it's a way to recognize the contributions that an employee has put into a company.

--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"What will I say when my children ask me,
'Where were you flying on that day?'
With trembling voice, I gave the order
To the bombardier of Enola Gay."
-Utah Phillips, "Enola Gay"



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