Workers of Their World, Unite!

This article comments on the banding of information technology (IT) workers in the U.S. to form labor unions. For many years, the benefits of working under union rules have been blurred by the abuses of unions in the workplace. But unions working together with management can make a positive difference for workers, customers, and investors. As of 2004, there are organizations trying to increase the ranks of the represented among the employees of major IT companies. The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, founded in 1998 and affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, has been active at the state and federal levels. Its main issue is outsourcing, but it is also involved in the mundane area of collective bargaining.