Judge Rejects $324.5 Million Settlement For Tech Workers, Argues For More 268
An anonymous reader writes with this news from Reuters: A U.S. district judge on Friday ruled that the $324.5 million settlement negotiated by Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe with the tech workers who brought an antitrust lawsuit against them was too low. The judge cited the settlement amount of a similar lawsuit brought against Disney and Intuit last year which resulted in plaintiffs obtaining proportionally more for lost wages. And yet, according to the judge, the current plaintiffs have "much more leverage". She cited evidence clearly showing Apple's Steve Jobs strong-arming the other companies in the suit into agreeing to a no-employee-poaching agreement, and in one instance, of Google failing to rope in Facebook into a similar agreement which resulted in a 10% increase of all Google employee salaries. In other words, clear evidence that the no-poaching agreement effectively suppressed the salaries of these companies' tech workers. Another hearing is scheduled for September 10.
Re:and now we just use H-1B they don't complain (Score:3, Informative)
Re:and now we just use H-1B they don't complain (Score:2, Informative)
I've read a lot of posts in this thread and it is amazingly clear to me that most of the posters here, who I assume are mostly from the US, simply do NOT know how a union works. I'm not sure why this would be, but I do realise that there is a lot of disinformation in the US about unions and they are not held in very high regard.
Here in Australia a union works like this:
- You are hired by your employer as normal.
- Some workplaces have compulsory union membership, which would have been previously negotiated. If you don't like it, don't take a job there. It's an interesting political debate, but at the end of the day, the compulsory union membership is to the advantage of the union which is to the advantage of the worker.
- If you enter a dispute with your employer then you can ask the union for help. AND THEY WILL. Legal aid, counselling, wage advice, negotiating. All you guys on here saying "I should be free to negotiate my own contract" well guess what: you fucking can. But with a union, they're there to help you when that all goes tits up. Like when you get fired. If it was an illegal firing then the union can pursue legal means (with a much larger war-chest than you have) to either reinstate you, or, ensure you are paid all due severance payments.
- If a group of you at work (who are all union members) are unhappy then the union will take note and with the will of the members (unions often vote before taking action like this) will pursue industrial action like holding a strike. This group mentality may sound a bit weird to you guys over there in the US, but it's actually a wonderful thing: people looking out for each other, people supporting each other, and being part of a community.
- In case it wasn't obvious, union membership levies a small fee each year (usually a few hundred dollars, but it varies widely) to help fund its operation.
So I hope that's a better picture about unions and how they work. Are they perfect? Of course not, and they can become too powerful for their own good. And, it would be pretty frustrating have a problem, and to be a member of a union, but not receive any support from it. But to say that "all unions are bad" is a ridiculous overreaction.
In my opinion: anyone slating unions either doesn't know what they are, or, is actively against them since an organised and informed workforce can demand (shock, horror) better working conditions and higher wages.
For the rest of you, how's that clause in your contract prohibiting you from EVEN TALKING about your wage with other workers? Just stop and think about that for a fucking second. You guys are being fucked and you don't even know it. Where's this magical free speech you keep banging on about?
You know what it is? I've actually worked for a few companies in the US and I've been there, at ground zero, when someone has been instantly fired (typically illegal in Australia) and frog-marched out of the building. During the coffee break everyone was up in arms, shocked, and ranting about how unfair it was. Then, HR held the meeting in the afternoon to "debrief" and every person there clammed up tighter than a nun's bum. It was a fucking joke. No one was prepared to say a word. I stepped up and chewed out HR, chewed out the boss, and told them all they were a pack of pussies. But what I didn't realise at the time was that everyone was terrified of being fired. And I think the number one reason for that was the health care situation in the US. You guys are slaves to that system and until you pull your heads out of your arses and sort out the health care, then changes to workers rights and employment conditions will just be icing on a turd.