When techies consider unions

A technology workers" labor union takes root in Portland

By Aliza Earnshaw THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF PORTLAND

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 27 - The very notion of a labor union for software 
developers and other information- technology workers may strike some as 
paradoxical, or even ridiculous. After all, techies are thought of as 
well-compensated, highly skilled workers. So the beginnings of a techie 
labor union here in the Portland area, called ORTech, may come as a 
surprise to many who work with or are themselves high-tech workers.

"They [techies] THINK of themselves as highly skilled individuals who are 
valued for what they are," said Ilya Ratner, a programmer with years of 
experience working in Portland companies, and a co-founder of ORTech. "They 
don't understand their place in the food chain," failing to comprehend that 
despite their skills, executives are looking for every possible way to get 
"two heads for the price of one," whether through overseas outsourcing, 
applying for foreign-worker visas, or keeping labor costs low by using 
contractors, Ratner said. But large companies are unlikely to embrace the 
infant tech labor movement. Intel Corp., Oregon's largest tech employer, 
would "prefer to continue to operate in a non-union environment," said Bill 
MacKenzie, spokesman for Intel Oregon. Intel needs the "flexibility to move 
quickly, and respond to changing market conditions." Intel makes extensive 
use of both the foreign worker H-1B visa program and its own offshore 
development and manufacturing
facilities in its efforts to maintain a strong bottom line. The company's 
constant emphasis on cost controls through all facets of its operations 
pays off: Intel has been steadily profitable for at least a dozen years. 
Workers form unions, said MacKenzie, when "they don't think they're being 
treated fairly, don't think they're being communicated with, don't think a 
company is being consistent in its policies, and don't think a company is 
responsive to their concerns. I don't think any of these apply to Intel."

But some workers at Intel differ. The company demands long hours, say those 
who have worked there recently, and supervisors do not shrink from telling 
workers that if they fail to come up to scratch, their jobs could be filled 
by workers in other parts of the world. Intel has brought in employees from 
places like Malaysia, say ex-Intel workers, to be trained by local workers. 
Once enough training has taken place, functions are moved offshore to be 
performed at lower cost, and local workers are laid off. Asked about such 
practices, MacKenzie said that the traditionally strong emphasis on 
productivity at Intel is increasing. "It's a competitive marketplace. We 
need to hold and grow our market position," he said. Local software company 
Merant has a slightly different take on the infant tech union movement. 
"It's a wake-up call for corporations," said Diane Williams, vice president 
of human resources. Labor unions were formed in the early 20th century, she 
said, "because of the
conditions of the workers. If employers are not open to listening to 
workers, protecting their interests and working with them, they'll resort 
to outside means" to protect their interests. "

I wouldn't be surprised to see some form of organizing soon, unless, of 
course, Congress does omething to correct the current outflow of jobs" from 
the United States. - RICK CRESON President, Meridian Technology Group

Merant has itself outsourced some of its labor to India, Williams 
confirmed, but she said that she felt employees who see the need for labor 
unions are probably reacting to their working conditions and hours, more 
than to the issue of outsourcing. In fact, the two most dominant factors 
driving ORTech members" interest in organizing are first, overseas 
outsourcing and companies" importation of foreign workers holding H-1B or 
L-1 visas, and second, long hours at work. Another commonly raised issue is 
the fee structures used by U.S. outsource agencies; techies say foreign 
workers receive about half what outsource agencies charge for their labor, 
and often get few benefits.

While a number of unemployed techies blame the visa programs for the 
difficulty in finding jobs, ORTech founders Ratner and Mitch Besser stress 
that U.S. tech workers and foreign workers alike have common issues, and 
should organize together. For example, some say that employers prefer H-1B 
workers because they will put in longer hours than U.S. citizens, because 
they fear being deported. "I do not think anyone should have the fear of 
deportation used as a stick to make them work harder," said Besser, a 
sporadically employed programmer with nearly 20 years" experience. "One of 
the things I really like about ORTech is that they are trying not to have 
an ‘us against H-1B" attitude," said one member. "They've been very 
clear on that from the beginning."

Still, other members feel strongly that a tech union can play a role in 
lobbying, balancing the efforts of tech companies and industry associations 
that want to keep the H-1B and other visa programs in place. One local 
employer agreed that techies" efforts to organize are a natural response to 
overseas outsourcing and the presence of visa-holding workers in the 
marketplace. "I wouldn't be surprised to see some form of organizing soon, 
unless, of course, Congress does something to correct the current outflow 
of jobs" from the United States, said Rick Creson, president of Meridian 
Technology Group. Indeed, Congress recently pushed back the H-1B visa limit 
to 65,000 from 195,000, but many techies believe that lower limit is still 
too high. "When you look at the big companies such as Intel, HP, Siemens 
and others and how they are sending their projects offshore, as they do so 
they are eliminating positions in this country," he said. Meridian is 
itself a domestic outsource agency,
and Creson feels that overseas outsourcing and importation of foreign 
workers make it more difficult for his company to compete, as overseas IT 
wages are much lower than U.S. wage levels. Creson also suspects that some 
employers are abusing the H-1B program. ORTech members feel that their 
young group, even with just over 30 members, can play a role in countering 
such abuses. Besser has, in fact, been investigating local companies that 
he says misrepresent their reliance on H-1B workers to the U.S. Department 
of Labor.

ORTech's founders hope the group will one day become a union with the power 
to bargain on employees" behalf in large companies. But even its older 
sibling organization, WashTech, has not yet reached that point. WashTech 
has its roots in the "permatemps" lawsuit that a group of contractors filed 
against Microsoft Corp. in 1992. The software giant had employed many 
contractors for years on end, and the class- action suit was intended to 
gain for these workers the same back benefits that had been paid Microsoft 
employees over the years. Today, WashTech has 350 members, an e-mail list 
of 16,000 and bargaining agreements with two small companies. Both of these 
companies provide IT services to unions. WashTech is affiliated with the 
Communications Workers of America (CWA), which in its turn is affiliated 
with the AFL-CIO.

While WashTech is certainly further along in its development than ORTech, 
it remains to be seen how far this new labor union will go. So far, the 
only large company that has a tech union is IBM, where another 
CWA-affiliated union, Alliance@IBM, represents not only direct employees 
but also contractors employed by Manpower.

Copyright 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.

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