1. Unionized coal mines had/have much better wages and working conditions :)
2. Of course there are shades everywhere. And just because there are worse exploiters, doesn't mean google should get away with anything that's not "as bad" as those.
This is also such an insane take because organized labor at Google stopped a project (Dragonfly) that would’ve been used against “troublesome” workers in China, as well as a military project that also undoubtedly would’ve been used to kill more poor people.
Yes, unions watch out for their member’s bottom line, but even without a union, workers at Google have organized to protect others beside themselves!
Coal mines should be unionized because the miners have their backs against the wall.
If I felt I was being under-compensated, working in poor conditions, and had my back against the wall, I'd want a union too. But describing my job like that is hysterically funny, much less Google programmers.
What's really going on here is simple. If you work at Google, your job is too good. There's no struggle. People want a struggle and so they invent one by LARPing as Marxists.
It is certainly the case that tech workers are not exploited in the same manner as 19th century factory workers. But that doesn't mean people shouldn't seek even better conditions. Google made 34B in net income in 2019. That's like $340,000 per employee. Clearly it would be possible for the workers to capture even more of the value that they create.
