June 9, 2023
After layoffs that left employees feeling abandoned and helpless, the tech industry has seen a boom in labor union efforts. Skylar Hinnant, a senior QA tester at Microsoft’s ZeniMax, is one of many pushing for more openness and employee representation.
Hinnant feels that workers’ interests have been trumped by the company’s, prompting the formation of unions to offer effective communication channels and solve job-related problems. He claims that such a move would help both employees and the corporation.
Layoffs, limited benefits, and stagnating salaries have marred the tech industry’s image as a desirable place to work, creating a power struggle between employees and management. Indeed engineering director Rahul Dhaundiyal claims that large layoffs show employees’ lack of authority and enhance their sense of helplessness.
Dhaundiyal thinks that when employees believe they have exhausted all other choices, the demand for unionization would become unavoidable. However, he believes that the sector has not yet reached that tipping point. Dhaundiyal believes that if employers fail to grasp their employees’ viewpoints to the point that unions are necessary, it indicates a big failure on their behalf.
Dhaundiyal admits that unions may have collaborative connections with technology businesses, citing Microsoft’s ZeniMax game developers’ union as an example. He does, however, agree with Hinnant that lower-level IT workers are more likely to favor unionization.
The sources for this piece include an article in Archive.
