As a child, I watched my father go on strike with no benefits while the union leaders still received their full salaries and drove to the strike in Cadillacs. As a college student, I worked in a theater at minimum wage but was forced to pay dues to a union I didn't want to join. I can see where a union might help people in operations, repair and the help desk, where salaries are low, demands are high, and appreciation doesn't exist. However, to suggest that unions could help everyone in the New Economy is wrong. Unions are a last resort for people whose individual efforts aren't recognized, which is currently not the case for programmers.
Programmers are by nature competitive.
However, this desire to compete can lead to burnout if a company tries to take advantage. Before the programmers in your company go to unionization, make sure the demands put on them are no more than those on anyone else. While they can, programmers will leave such environments, but the other alternative, unionization, will continue to loom if programmer concerns aren't answered. This isn't a threat from someone who wants unions, but a promise from someone who's been there. Please include your name and telephone number if you'd like your message to be considered for our weekly print publication.