[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Information Technology Union (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 2/15/2008 11:14:10 AM EDT
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With the writers strike over I began thinking about my job. I am in the technology field and I am subject to a lot of overtime and only receive "comp time" since I am salary. The comp time is at managers descretion which most of the time means for me I work 50+ hours at my job even though I am based only on 40 hrs a week and I may be lucky if I see an hour or 2 of this great "comp time." Anyone else in the IT field and feel they get shafted on hours and are expected to work more for less? I enjoy my job but hate as directors come and go so does my "comp time" prior to my last Director it was an even load which was great and if I did go over I got all or most back in "comp time" and if big project they made special case and paid me + time and half. I just thing it is about time the tech world step up and demand fair treatment. |
+1 what is the comp time you are referring to? On call 24 X 7, People and equipment calling/emailing you at all hours. We get comp time, but never can use it. I guess our reward is a few 'atta boyz'. Remember 50 'atta boys' gets wiped out by 1 'ah shit'! |
| I don't even get comp time. I work between 40 and 70 hours a week. Depends on the time of year and what goes tits up that week. It is just something that most people should realize when going into the IT field. It is your job to make sure everyone else can do their job. That rarely happens between 9 and 5. |
| times need to change its should not be excepted that your in IT so overtime is demanded with out compensation. We have enough staff and run a 24 hour shift yet skill seems some guys know what they are doing like me and have to stick around until the issue is resolve while Joe thumbupass leaves and puts in the 40 hours and no worries. It is like if you are good and go the extra mile you get paid less and work a lot more. |
| any people on this forum extremely organized and research oriented? If so find out how to start a union for IT like the plumber union, writers union and other unions and see what can be done all the guys at my job would join and I am sure a lot more feel the same way. |
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You need to learn how to negotiate. I'm a consultant - and even at my hourly rate I still get OT after 40 hours. I've pulled in weeks where I've landed 10k plus. My advice - specialize - get certified in something that pays well and be a consultant. To all those who hate consultants I only have this to say. If companies took care of their employees - paid them what they are worth and offered them a chance to learn new technologies then people like me would have no place to work. As it is - companies treat employees like crap, offer little in the way of reasonable pay, as for training...hahahahaha. The companies only have themselves to blame. Time for you to find a new gig my brother. Peace, Dean |
Demand "fair treatment" for yourself. At your next review, ask for a 20% raise to compensate you for the routine extra time. Or insist on taking one hour of comp time for each hour over 40 worked in a week. One of two things will happen... you'll get your way, or you'll be sent on your way. That is "fair". I'm sure as hell not going to strike from my job because you don't know how to negotiate your compensation or because you aren't worth as much as you think you are 
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I am in IT. I can't remember the last time I only worked 40 hours, and I'm salaried. I'll try to make this as clear as possible: You can take your ill-advised idea of a union, your bullshit notions of fairness, your entitlement mentality, and shove them straight up your ass. Your loving brother in IT, Subnet |
Be careful what you wish for. I know of several thousand IT professionals who just got switched from salary to hourly and took a 15% pay cut because they wanted to rock boat. If you think you can do better then go get another job. |
Are you fk-in serious? |
No, what it is is that many people in IT understand that having their jobs outsourced because they tried to form a union that will inflate their wages and extort money from the companies they work for isn't a smart move. But you go on ahead with your dreams of struggling for a workers paradise, comrade. |
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We have about the best jobs anybody can hope for. There are guys sweating in factories, and working themselves to death doing manual labor outside in the middle of winter. We get to sit behind a fucking keyboard for a living in a nice warm office, pulling down 6 figures, and if that didn't make people resentful enough sometimes, some dumbass comes along and tries to tell everybody that we're OPRESSED and we need FAIR treatment. What a crock of shit. Do you realize how fucking dumb this makes us look? Knock that shit off. We've got it pretty damn good, and we are paid EXACTLY what we are worth - not a penny more, and not a penny less. If your employer is fucking you over, then find another job. They're not some kind of social institution that springs up out of nowhere to give you a paycheck. They don't owe you shit. |
No, IT is the dog because most companies are not in IT. IT is a cost of doing business that requires companies to expend resources that are not related to their core business. For this reason they will always be looking for ways to squeeze more out of IT. If you want to be treated better then stop working for end user companies where you are considered an expense and go to work for a vendor where you can be a revenue generating resource. The difference is enormous. |
Preach it. He sounds like one of the janitors of the white collar world. |
| there is some simple minded people on here. You will see when you get outsourced because your company didnt squeeze enough out of you the IT budget is always first to go. I am in my 40's and have multiple certs and a good job but just getting tired of the trend I am seeing. Wake up IT pros. |
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I cannot believe we are actually having this discussion. Since it is 4:00 pm EST you are either posting this from work or you are not working in IT at all. So, either you are just lying about being in IT and trying to be a PITA or you are using your company time to post shit on an internet forum. Yes, IT works a shit ton of hours but how many of those hours are actual real "working" hours? I mean honestly? There are not many jobs out there that you can post on a forum while "working" and here you are bitching because you have to "work" to much? Why? Your home connection to slow or something? WTF?
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The irony is killing me!  |
You don't disappoint.  I'm not seeing the trend you are seeing. Do you know why? Because I work for the people your company calls, when they need to squeeze more out of their IT budget, or (more often) they don't have the in house expertise to implement new technology. The last company I worked for could just about replace your entire IT staff. Make it expensive and a pain in the ass for your company to keep IT people around, and what do you think will happen? |
Deal with it. If you like the idea of a union you can see all the wonders it has done for the auto industry. Renegotiate with the company, company cuts back the work force to make up for the extra cost of the new contract, ala Chrysler. Then the workers have to work harder to make up for the others that were let go. Later company will find a way to do business in non unionized countries to really take advantage of the locals who are greatful to have the ultra lowpaying job, by our standards. Yeah, get a union, it will do wonders for you!! 
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i am pretty anti union but i just left IBM due to some pretty serious abuse they put on their technicians. Had they tried to organised i have actually voted in favor of it. 50 hours would have been a vacation for me. try rountine weeks of 70+ hours. yes we got OT but what we never got was management support or time off. EVERY holiday and weekend worked and for the last 2 years EVERY vacation canceled due to "business needs". |
You're the one who needs to wake up. What you need to understand is that IT doesn't lend itself to the pay scale structure that a large union would need to have. IT has rock stars and it has grunts, and where you sit on the totem pole can make a considerable difference in your compensation. A union in this industry would support the mediocre while guaranteeing that the experienced folks who really make shit happen get paid less money. Again, why would I want to support an idea that would ultimately result in me making less money? Because it will ensure job security? Hardly. Unions actually are part of the reason that the automotive industry has moved its jobs from Michigan to Mexico. You're crazy if you think an IT union would prevent jobs from moving overseas. If you lose your job to a guy in India, you suck at what you do. |
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That sucks beer slayer but you left the job. There are WAY to many jobs in IT in this country for people that are worth a shit to put up with that kind of garbage. There have been times in this job that I did not leave the office for 2 1/2 days... Something like 54 hours before I got to take off and get some sleep. However, most of my weeks are fairly easy. It is about trade offs. I would rather work some long hours and have the freedom to do pretty much whatever the hell I wanted to during the day. Just my thoughts on it. |
You did the right thing by leaving. My last company was full of ex IBM guys. No Union needed. 
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You might want to look into what happens when people get "great benefits" solely because they're in a union. Start by researching GM and the quandry they're in now. |
More to the point, I bet I make more than his friend at Anheuser Bush, I bet my working conditions are better, and I'll bet my benefits are better. Non Union. I also bet his friend couldn't get hired at my company. Funny, that. |
Yeah, that's what we need. Another reason for IT companies to send even more jobs overseas. I'd call you an idiot, but that would come precariously close to violating the CoC. |
LOL no shit.. But I was hired as Hourly.. and I do get OT..  Im also on call 24/7 But im taken care of..One of the best Jobs I ever had.. |
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OP, sounds like you have a shit IT job and get treated as such. Or you just suck at it, which is what I have found with the few IT Pro-Union rtards I have met. They usually are not competitive and want to freeze competition out. People like myself and others on here do not want Union IT for the single reason you want it. Besides I have a lot of down time punctuated by stints of MAJOR activity and I like that. It allows me to grow in other ways in my company. The secret of IT is the downtime. Shit can get hectic and catastrophic, but the downtime keeps us sane. Go to hell commie. If I want to charge $4/hr or $400/hr that is between me and my client/employer. NOT a Union shit-head that takes 50% off the top and lets the rest trickle down. |
What he said. I worked in construction for about 20 years and made a career change to IT (specialized). I make more money, for less work and have much better conditions. Go hump a tool bag all day out in the weather and come and talk to me about "fairness". Sounds to me like your job sucks and you don't have the desire, or skills, to go get something else. Being in IT is about constant training, you stay on the edge of technology and make yourself valuable. Anyone can swap a freaking keyboard, the real bucks and perks go to the ones who work hard and expect to be compensated for it. |
Thats' rich man. H1B's are a fact of life in the tech industry, just like "undocumented workers" in the construction field. Sounds to me like you need a new employer. BTW: I was IBEW for many years so don't preach to me about the beauty of the Union's. The Unions are the same shit with 3x the politics. |
