Communications Workers of America spokeswoman Candice Johnson said the union remains optimistic that eventually high-tech workers will see the value of organizing. Change is something that we are used to dealing with all the time. Still, unions have little to show for their efforts. The union needs at least one-third of the department to sign on before it can hold an official vote and earn recognition from the National Labor Relations Board. Historically, that hasn't been people in unions.
Union organizers say some companies are actively discouraging their efforts.
Late last year, etown, a Web site that reviews electronic products, laid off 15 of 29 customer service workers who could have joined the union, the Northern California Media Workers. The company cited changes in its direction. Nelson Lichtenstein, a University of Virginia history professor who studies labor, believes unions will have more success at high-tech companies where traditional unions already exist. He cites Verizon Communications, the nation's largest local phone company and wireless business. After a strike last summer, the union won concessions allowing it to try to organize the wireless sector.