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440 points pseudolus | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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muldvarp ◴[] No.45052736[source]
Brutal that software engineering went from one of the least automatable jobs to a job that is universally agreed to be "most exposed to automation".

Was good while it lasted though.

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AndrewKemendo ◴[] No.45052830[source]
Too bad engineers were “too important” to unionize because their/our labor is “too special .”

I think you could find 10,000 quotes from HN alone why SDEs were immune to labor market struggles that would need a union

Oh well, good luck everyone.

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nradov ◴[] No.45052957[source]
I'm not necessarily opposed to unionization in general but it's never going to save many US software industry jobs. If a unionization drive succeeds at some big tech company then the workers might do well for a few years. But inevitably a non-union startup competitor with a lower cost structure and more flexible work rules will come along and eat their lunch. Then all the union workers will get laid off anyway.

Unionization kind of worked for mines and factories because the company was tied to a physical plant that couldn't easily be moved. But software can move around the world in milliseconds.

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1. lokrian ◴[] No.45058841[source]
Unions _can_ protect against this, but they have to do it via lobbying the government for protectionism, tariffs, restricting non-union competition etc.