Changing the labor/ management power play

by Loretta W. Prencipe

March 13, 2001 —

WHAT ROLE WILL unions play in the New Economy, and what role will the New Economy play in unionization? With the dot-com heyday behind us, a slower economy upon us, and the dreams of many optionaires and aspirants squelched, how will the power play between labor and management take shape?

The answers depend upon whom you ask: union, management, technical professionals, product/service support workers, or independent IT contractors. In a traditional model -- in which technical professionals take sides by discipline, geographic location, and industry -- union and product/service support staff might line up against management. That's a model currently found in the media and in other industries, with independent contractors -- the so-called free-agent nation -- landing who knows where.

For unions, distinguishing professionals from support staff is important as they contemplate the future. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, union membership is at its lowest level in almost 60 years, at 13.5 percent of the work force or about 13 million people. Some experts say union leadership will look to the IT industry for growth and will first examine traditional support functions. The union message will include, experts say, "piece of the pie" and quality-of-life issues.

Unions and unionization attempts in dot-com and high-tech companies appear to focus on support services lines -- call centers, distribution, and help desks. Like unionized counterparts in manufacturing and production lines, help desk staff are detached from direct contact with upper management. Workers' claims of limited advancement opportunities at some large help desk operations may throw more fuel on the union fire.

That's what happened recently at the call centers of Amazon.com, in Seattle, and of the now-defunct eTown. These unionization efforts, although not entirely successful, are important for the signals they sent and the precedents they set. Historically, union organization occurs in maturing industries in which there is a growing distance between upper management and the work force. Given this, you might say that dot-coms have hit adolescence: They're no longer as charming for their workers as when they were younger and held unrealized option potential.

Some speculate that in the distant future, programmers might unionize. As companies send development efforts to India and Eastern Europe, programmers here might find economic incentives to band together.

E-mail and the Internet have revolutionized union activity. Mass e-mails to collective-bargaining unit members, supporters, executive management, government officials, and the press; online and e-mail newsletters, frequently updated Web sites, electronic conferencing -- these are all part of strategic union campaigns. The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (www.washtech.org) and the Alliance@IBM (www.allianceibm.org/index.html) provide good examples of the Web's effect on unionization.

But have the new methods changed the underlying union activity and management's response? I charge that, although the communication tools have changed greatly, the messages have changed only slightly. Unions still use divisive "us vs. them" messages to garner support. Want proof? Look at Alliance@IBM's Meet the Enemy page.

The power structure among IT professionals should remain decentralized for some time, with the reservation that IT labor market conditiions don't take a nasty nosedive. But many highly skilled IT workers hold the ultimate economic power: the ability to change working conditions by moving from job to job.

Send your rebuttals or your support to my new e-mail address, briefing@infoworld.com.

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