Good News for Introverts
Still from Felix Revolts (1923) where Felix the Cat unionizes all the cats in town and they go on strike against unfair labor practices.
(The following is an excerpt from the just-released, still-warm-from-the-oven, Design Is a Job: The Necessary Second Edition. Specifically, it’s from the chapter on contracts. Enjoy.)
If the prospect of having to deal with all of these contracts overwhelms you, it’s because it’s meant to. The same way that most folks, even with the best of intentions, will read the first few paragraphs of an app’s terms and conditions statement, realize it’s ten thousand words long, and quickly scroll to the I AGREE button. Contracts are designed to overwhelm individuals into just signing the damn things, especially when the thing on the other side of that contract is a job! Double especially if you’re uncomfortable with the adversarial nature that contract negotiations can sometimes take. Which, again, is by design. Individuals are a lousy match for a corporation.
Until those individuals decide to work together, collectively.
If you want to work in-house, your best bet at being able to do your job to the best of your ability, work ethically, and not have your labor exploited is to sign a union contract. There are a few ways for this to happen.
The first is a trade union. That’s where an entire trade unionizes, and the union goes with you wherever you work. For example, a city might award a construction contract and specify that the developer has to hire union labor. That means every electrician on that job site carries a union card, and the developer deals with the union about things like salaries, breaks, workplace safety requirements, time off, and overtime. Sadly, designers are a few years away from a trade union.
The second, and far more likely, scenario for designers is a workplace-specific labor union, sometimes called a collective bargaining unit. Which means the workers of a specific company decide to form a union at that company. This may or may not include workers with different skill sets. For example, all the workers at Facebook could unionize under—let’s say—The Facebook Workers Union, or just the designers at Facebook could unionize under The Facebook Designer’s Union. (By the way, Facebook workers are free to use these names if they’d like. My gift.) Workers would stop being in those unions if they left Facebook, whereas a member of a trade union is part of that union no matter where they work, and even if they’re out of work.
Either way, all of those employment contracts would now be handled by union representatives, made up of fellow workers, on everyone’s behalf. This is called collective bargaining. Wages, time off, bonuses, parental and caregiving leave, etc., would now be negotiated on behalf of all workers at once, and, trust me, you’ll have a much easier time getting the things you need when you unite your voices. Also, if you’ve ever been called into HR because you alerted them to a manager’s inappropriate behavior, and they intimidated you into withdrawing the complaint (HR is not your friend), let me reassure you that there is no greater joy than replying to their request with, “I’ll need my union rep here with me.”
The easiest way to get into a workplace union is to look for a workplace that has already been unionized by some brave souls who worked there before you. And I guarantee there will be more of those places by the time you’re reading this sentence than there were when I wrote it. But still not enough. You may end up having to be that brave soul yourself.
Unionizing a workplace can be a terrifying prospect, much like the idea of doing your own dental work. Which is why you don’t do your own dental work: there are people who are very good at doing it for you. Same with unionizing. If you’re union-curious, it’s extremely easy to reach out to a union organizer and have them go through all the steps with you. They’re super helpful people and they’re workers just like you. They’ll look out for you. They’ll make sure you’re taking all the right steps, and taking them safely. I’ve put a few resources in the back of this book to guide you.
Most importantly, unionizing does not have to be an adversarial situation. A union doesn’t mean you and your boss are now enemies. It means the workers want to be treated fairly and with respect, and are creating guardrails to ensure that happens. Management shouldn’t have an issue with that. Making sure that workers are well treated and well compensated is only a threat if you were intending the opposite. Putting on a seat belt doesn’t mean you don’t trust the driver; it means you’re doing everything you can to ensure your safety. But if management sees it that way, well—when someone tells you who they are, believe them.
There’s a whole book with this shit in it, as well as stuff about getting hired, getting paid, and working ethically. I wrote it just for you. You can buy it here.
If you’re union-curious the Communications Workers of America (CWA) has an initiative specifically geared towards tech workers. They’re very good, decent people. Reach out, have a conversation. You have more to gain than you have to lose.