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submitted 1 year ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

Tech workers react to UPS drivers landing a $170,000 a year package with a mixture of anger and admiration::Some tech workers questioned whether UPS drivers deserved high pay — others jumped in to note the importance of the jobs and harsh working conditions.

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[-] Cqrd@lemmy.dbzer0.com 171 points 1 year ago

Fuck off with this class war baiting bullshit

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe 64 points 1 year ago

Tech workers need to ask themselves why their boss makes more than them for doing nothing

[-] Cqrd@lemmy.dbzer0.com 53 points 1 year ago

There’s no way any substantial amount of tech workers are concerned about what UPS workers are making. These kinds of articles are rage bait targeted at “low skill” workers to make them furious at what they perceive to be high salary earners complaining about “blue collar” workers earning more money.

All of this bullshit is a distraction from the fact that the middle class is shrinking at a massive rate and the lower class is being turned against itself so nobody can rightfully blame the rich.

Fuck this article and the hatred it’s designed to generate. This is all bullshit.

[-] stranger@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

"Wait, it's all bullshit?" points gun "Always has been"

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[-] FMT99@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago

Tech worker here. I'm gd pleased to bits for anyone making a decent income. Congrats UPS drivers. Do teachers next!

[-] elscallr@lemmy.world 81 points 1 year ago

As one of the tech workers: fuck yeah, good for them for negotiating well, and getting what they're owed.

[-] jwagner7813@lemmy.world 34 points 1 year ago

This is also why most jobs should be unionized

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[-] TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee 67 points 1 year ago

Ah. The anti-union propaganda has begun to stop the tech industry from unionizing, lol.

They are scared they will and with good reason. A strong union will level the playing field.

[-] ristoril_zip@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 year ago

They don't have to worry too much about us tech workers unionizing because the tech world is full of more introverts on average than other (especially blue collar) fields. And a lot of us are constantly scared of getting fired or replaced.

So many of us still believe the lie that our individual hard work will be rewarded.

It's going to be a while.

I was fantasizing a bit about becoming wealthy enough to stop working, and it occurred to me that the actual best thing to do if I'm ever in that position would be to start talking with my coworkers about unionizing. Then maybe even get fired for it and sue for more money. Money I'd probably plow back into unionizing tech workers.

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[-] JakenVeina@lemm.ee 63 points 1 year ago

"This is disappointing, how is possible that a driver makes much more than average Engineer in R&D?"

Because the engineer is being exploited and refuses to unionize.

"To get a base salary of $170k you know you need to work hard as an Engineer, this sucks."

Bitch, UPS workers work harder than I ever did as an electronics engineer.

[-] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

"To get a base salary of $170k you know you need to work hard as an Engineer, this sucks."

Bitch, UPS workers work harder than I ever did as an electronics engineer.

If he wants the $170k so badly, he should go get a job as a driver then.

[-] jvisick@programming.dev 12 points 1 year ago

"To get a base salary of $170k you know you need to work hard as an Engineer, this sucks."

As someone who has worked as a UPS driver and now as a software developer, I can say that the UPS drivers definitely work harder than your average engineer.

That quote is also deftly ignoring the fact that you’re generally paid for the value you generate, not how hard to you work.

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[-] borkdd@lemmynsfw.com 60 points 1 year ago

As a tech worker, good for them. Why would I be opposed to someone else getting paid more, especially if they're being paid by a private company whose services I enjoy?

[-] UFODivebomb@programming.dev 12 points 1 year ago

My guess the naysayers are toxic tech bros. There are some really toxic tech bros. More accurate, there are some really toxic people in tech only as a means to a high salary.

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[-] SpamCamel@lemm.ee 59 points 1 year ago

Wow good for UPS workers. As a tech worker I can say I'm genuinely happy for them. They have a hard ass job. A win for labor is a win for labor, regardless of which type.

[-] ours@lemmy.film 22 points 1 year ago

And it's not like their win is our loss. Why would we fight amongst ourselves? It's the ultra-rich we should be sizing up.

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[-] 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works 58 points 1 year ago

tech workers: i'm underpaid and everyone else should be too!

fucking unionize already. tired of this crabs-in-a-bucket mentality

[-] MossyFeathers@pawb.social 11 points 1 year ago

I think people just don't realize how underpaid they are. They think that because they make six figures, that means they're getting paid what they're worth.

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[-] frippa@lemmy.ml 56 points 1 year ago

Pushing tens of pounds around in the heat everyday is hard, expecially inside a van without AC.

Let's just hope tech workers will be smart enough to unionize and organize like the UPS Chads did.

[-] Badass_panda@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago

It's a good objective, but it would take a lot to make it happen. It's significantly more challenging for tech workers to effectively unionize en masse for several reasons:

  • Tech isn't monopsonistic, or even close to it; there isn't a single large employer... even the biggest tech companies employ only a relatively small fraction of the tech workforce. That means separate unionization efforts at thousands of big companies, not at one.

  • Tech job functions are much more widely varied than "delivery driver"; job responsibilities differ greatly, complexity and education requirements differ greatly, workplace expectations differ greatly ... think of the difference between help desk, front end dev, network security engineering, data science and DBA. Collective bargaining is harder the more varied the needs of the collective are.

  • Job mobility is really high in the tech sector ... in other words, tech employees (by and large) have access to many prospective employers (especially with the prevalence of remote work), and tech employers to a wide geographic pool of talent. That means if your San Francisco office seems on the path to unionization, you can shift work to your Chennai office.

  • It also means that, when the working conditions at a tech company suck, a lot of tech workers can easily jump ship. It's hard to get a union going when your voters can easily quit and go work someplace nicer, rather than take the more difficult path of staying and trying to force your employer to improve.

Again, I think highly of unions and would really like to see more effective unionization efforts in tech -- I just want folks to go into it eyes wide open and intelligently, vs throwing up their hands and saying, "Why don't tech workers unionize?"

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[-] dingleberry@discuss.tchncs.de 56 points 1 year ago

I see we are trying to sow some tension between working class people here eh?

[-] AlecSadler@lemmy.ml 53 points 1 year ago

As a tech worker, I do almost jack shit and make deep into the six figures. Honestly, I'd be fine if UPS drivers made more than me, good on them.

Frankly, in terms of total compensation, pay them more.

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[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 51 points 1 year ago

I have a pro-driver pro-union UPS placard in my window and a "Unionize Amazon" sticker on my hoodie. I'm happy for UPS workers. They fought and won a much better contract. It's genuinely exciting that there's so much positive union activity in the USA right now.

[-] CobblerScholar@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago

It's because people are realizing it works. Like airline attendants are on the picket line with the actors and the writers now. A win for any of them is a win for all of us. Power to the people baby

[-] TechnoBabble@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago

We had decades of low union activity that gave corporations the chance to show how well they would take care of us on their own.

And they super fucked entire generations of workers.

Now people must unionize, or their dirt salaries will lose them their rented homes and starve their kids. So we're seeing a blossoming of union activity in many sectors.

It's time for workers to have a tiny slice of those mega-profits corporations have been earning off our backs.

Unionize America!

[-] Steeve@lemmy.ca 51 points 1 year ago

Some tech workers on social media

This isn't fucking news! Enough of this dumb ragebait bullshit.

Omg you wouldn't believe, someone on the internet was an asshole!

[-] jwagner7813@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

It's a tactic to pit us against each other rather then the proper people running to the bank.

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[-] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 45 points 1 year ago

Come on, business insider and "some tech workers"...

The idea is that unions can secure higher wages to show you it can be done. Now both union and non-union drivers can reference UPS for a salary "that reflects increasing industry averages".

Software techbros, if you think you're worth more than UPS drivers, tell your boss. If you think your boss is gonna dismiss you, then get all your co-workers who think you're worth more than 170k then get your boss to hear you out as a group. Did I hear, "you nyan eyes"?

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 44 points 1 year ago

A UPS driving job is a hell of a lot more difficult and tiring than most tech jobs. It might take less skill, but tech workers don't have to be out in the heat or freezing cold all day carrying heavy loads and dealing with angry people who blame them for a late package or, worse, get shot at for the crime of being in the neighborhood while black.

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[-] CouncilOfFriends@slrpnk.net 44 points 1 year ago

We all do better when we all do better.

As someone who has only worked freight in an air-conditioned warehouse, moving boxes is not easy work and not many people will be able to do it their whole careers. I'm personally glad I argue with computers for my job now and I have much respect for those lifting things in the elements.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

"A rising tide lifts all boats" is something Republicans say is impossible because God wouldn't let the liberal commie boats rise with the patriot boats.

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[-] ZooGuru@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago

Complaining about this is dumb. Someone else’s gain isn’t your loss. Everyone outside the top tier earners should be paid more. Period. I’m happy a union had the national stage representing UPS workers and showed why unions are important.

[-] kn0wmad1c@programming.dev 34 points 1 year ago

This is a little misleading. It's $170k in pay and benefits, not just salary. Still, UPS drivers deserve it and this will make everyone's experience with UPS so much better.

[-] ObsidianBlk@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago

As someone in tech who also has a friend that works for UPS, this is amazing for them! Anything that can improve their lives is a win. UPS people who incredibly hard (regardless of how much shit I give my friend when UPS does something silly with my deliveries)

[-] MaxPower@feddit.de 32 points 1 year ago

They earn every dollar because I would nope the fuck out of there so fast

[-] lackthought@lemmy.sdf.org 13 points 1 year ago

yep

I’ll take my lower salary to sit in my home office with central air

I wouldn’t last a day as a driver with their expectations and the need to move/lift heavy packages in the heat

[-] Buttons@programming.dev 30 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I work in tech and have enjoyed good salaries, I wish everyone was so fortunate.

As for myself, it would actually be a huge relief to know that there are many career options for me that paid just as well, because sometimes I really want to do something else. If wages had grown fairly, then a lot more people would be making 100,000+.

[-] mashbooq@infosec.pub 21 points 1 year ago

Tech workers have no right to be angry. Unionize or shut up. (Excluding all the supportive tech workers, including those in the comments.) Source: am a tech worker

[-] Bricktamland29@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

I've never understood the idea of being mad about what another industry is making. They make more money than you? Great go put in an application. Don't want to work in that industry? Then maybe they deserve the better pay. If you truly think you are that superior to the other industry then use their pay to bargain at your own job.

If you're a nurse who's working long hours at a job that requires an education and you're getting paid the same as a McDonald's cook, don't be mad at the cook, be mad at your employer. Go to them and demand a raise, and say I could work there for the same pay, spend more time with my family and not be responsible for keeping people alive. Pay me or I'm going to peace out.

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[-] generic1546@lemmynsfw.com 21 points 1 year ago

The drivers deserve the pay more than the C Suite.

[-] doubletwist@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago

As a tech worker for over 25 years, I say good for them.

Hell, if my back, knees and neck weren't already fucked, I'd be damned tempted to start driving for UPS.

I'm already kind of nearing a point where a move away from tech is appealing, but even if I accept the idea of some reduction in pay, I'm at a loss for what I can do that wouldn't see me losing half my income which would just be more than I'd like to bear.

I'm a tech executive... good for UPS workers. That's what unions are for, to balance out investors' demands and get people paid fairly.

[-] swiftessay@lemmygrad.ml 16 points 1 year ago

Fucking unionize then.

[-] Angry_Maple@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 year ago

This reminds me of what happened at my last job towards the end of the lockdown. Previously, you started at a certain wage and increased a specific amount every 500ish hours, up to a limit. The last "raise" was only like 4 cents, but you still had to work the extra 500ish hours to get it.

Well, the company decided that they weren't paying enough to be competitive, so they suddenly raised everyone to the top rate. This put people who just started their very first job at the same pay rate as the people who had been there for multiple years. Their "solution" was to give the long term employees a one off, taxed, check for $200. To say that people were angry would be an understatement.

Personally, I think they should have just increased everyone across the board, especially after previously bragging about making record profits multiple years in a row.

IMO, when someone else makes more, it gives me room to also argue for more. Otherwise, why not go to another company that will pay it? Getting angry at the guy with the raise won't give you one. Inflation will still happen.

[-] onionbaggage@lemmynsfw.com 13 points 1 year ago

As a tech worker my only anger is that they're not getting paid more.

[-] bananaw@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I think I share the sentiment with a majority of the responses from my fellow tech workers: fuck yeah, they deserve it. Those people are out in the elements (mind you during record breaking heat waves).

They deserve every dollar of that 170k and more as I sit in an air conditioned room pushing pixels

[-] notannpc@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

No anger at the UPS drivers, just my employer. But I can’t exactly stop working without risking my life collapsing around me so 🙃

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this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2023
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