On Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 3:51 PM, b_s-wilk <b1sun...@yahoo.es> wrote:

> Doctors, nurses and teachers have powerful professional associations.
> They're highly educated professionals.

  Professional organizations are somewhat different than labor unions,
and they try to distinguish themselves from unions.  I think that
professional organizations place more emphasis on lobbying efforts
than they do on collective bargaining as is the case with labor
unions.  This is not to say that labor unions do not also lobby.
Lawyers also belong to professional organizations, but there has
probably never been any collective bargaining going on within any law
firm.  Again, the lobbyist is their big weapon.

  I do not know how transient computer programmers and coders are in
the workplace.  From what I see and understand, they seem to move
about a bit.  If that is the case, unlike a Detroit automobile
assembly line worker who will likely make a career of working for only
auto manufacturers, unionization may be viewed as not worth the effort
since they will not be able to transfer gains made at one type of firm
to another.

  I used to work, here in Northern Virginia, for a company that
produced exhibits for trade shows, museums, government, etc.  We were
under the Carpenter's Union.  Numerous other firms of the same type in
the area were also union shops.  Therefore, there existed the ability
of workers to leave one company and go to work at another in the area
and be able to realize pretty much the same or better wages, benefits
and protections.

  If programmers and coders wanted the same flexibility, along with
confidence that they could get similar wages, benefits and protections
were they to change employers, they would have to be able to obtain
professional representation in many companies within a given
territorial area to help avoid having to move to another locale in
order to find suitable work.  To be able to gain professional
representation in numerous firms is a daunting task and takes a goodly
amount of time, and can be especially difficult to achieve when many
of these firms are foreign owned and operated.

  Steve


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