August - September 2001

Reader Poll

Should Engineers Bargain Collectively?

In the eyes of some, the modern trade union movement in the United States has played a vital role in stabilizing the nation's economy, elevating the national standard of living, and championing the rights and dignity of the individual employee.

The sometimes-tenuous arrangements between employers and their employees are often the result of hard-fought negotiations. Concessions on either side are given parsimoniously, and yet it is this complex process of give and take that keeps the whole system from grinding to a screeching halt.

In reaction to the changing face of the American economy and the nation's increasingly intricate laws to regulate industries, some high-profile trade associations have been entertaining the idea of unionizing to bargain collectively on behalf of their members. A move by a professional group such as the American Medical Association, for example, would challenge the traditional definition of "professionalism" — skills coupled with knowledge — as well as the customary role unions have played.

With the distinction between labor and management diminishing in the high-tech industry, should engineers take a closer look at unionizing? Engineers are aware of their major role in preserving the future of the national economy, but is everyone else? How can engineers maintain their professional status and at the same time protect their substantial interest in the nation's prosperous future?

Editor's Note: The IEEE Constitution states that the Institute "shall not engage in collective bargaining on such matters as salaries, wages, benefits and working conditions, customarily dealt with by labor unions."