The Case for Tech Unions: Why Software Engineers Need Collective Power

Table of contents

The Burnout Epidemic in Tech

Software engineering was supposed to be different. We were the knowledge workers of the future, the creative problem-solvers who would reshape the world through elegant code and innovative solutions. We were promised autonomy, meaningful work, and the flexibility to balance our professional ambitions with our personal lives.

That promise has been systematically broken. Recent data reveals that 83% of developers suffer from burnout, with 58% of security and development professionals currently experiencing what researchers call “the burnout blues.” According to the Software Developer Burnout Survey, 80% of developers claim that their burnout symptom is a general lack of energy to work and complete coding projects, while 43% experience critical feelings towards coding in general and feel the urge to overwork to compensate for the feeling of falling behind.

These aren’t just numbers on a survey—they represent hundreds of thousands of brilliant engineers who are burning out, leaving the profession, or settling into careers that slowly grind them down.

When “Passion” Becomes Exploitation

The tech industry has masterfully weaponized our passion for building things. We’re told that loving what we do means we should be willing to sacrifice everything for it. The glorification of the “hustle” and the myth of the 10x engineer have created a culture where overwork is normalized, boundaries are seen as weakness, and questioning unhealthy practices is framed as lacking commitment.

As one developer put it, “I worked so much that I couldn’t pursue my hobbies anymore and had no time to myself. I felt obligated to everyone but myself.” This captures the essence of what’s wrong with tech culture: we’ve allowed our employers to convince us that our personal well-being is less important than shipping the next feature.

The industry’s resistance to unionization stems partly from this manufactured identity crisis. We’ve been told we’re not “workers”—we’re “creatives,” “innovators,” “partners.” But strip away the free snacks and ping-pong tables, and the fundamental relationship remains: we sell our labor for wages, and our employers extract value from that labor.

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Work-Life Balance Is Deteriorating

Recent workplace burnout statistics reveal that 82% of employees in the tech industry feel close to burnout, with 47% of employees in small and medium enterprises working 4 or more hours of overtime every week—over half of it unpaid. Remote work, which was supposed to improve work-life balance, has created new problems: 81% of remote workers check email outside of work hours, including 63% on weekends and 34% on vacations.

The very nature of software engineering—with its demanding deadlines, complex problem-solving requirements, and expectation of continuous learning—makes work-life balance particularly challenging to achieve and maintain. When your industry changes every six months and you’re expected to master new frameworks, languages, and methodologies on your own time, the line between personal development and unpaid labor becomes impossibly blurred.

The data shows us what many engineers already know from experience: managers can’t tell the difference between people who work 80 hours a week and those who pretend to. Yet the pressure to appear constantly productive persists, creating a cycle of performative overwork that benefits no one except shareholders looking for maximum extraction of value.

Current Unionization Efforts: A Growing Movement

The landscape of tech unionization is evolving rapidly, with several breakthrough moments signaling a shift in worker consciousness. In January 2021, over 400 Google employees formed the Alphabet Workers Union, creating a rare solidarity union model that’s open to all employees, including vendors, temps, and contractors. While this union doesn’t have collective bargaining rights, it represents a significant step toward organized worker power in one of the world’s largest tech companies.

The New York Times Tech Guild, representing more than 650 tech workers, became the largest union representing tech workers with collective bargaining rights in the country when it was certified. In November 2024, they conducted an eight-day unfair labor practice strike, demonstrating the willingness of tech workers to take collective action for better working conditions.

In 2022, Apple employees in Towson, Maryland voted to form a union, becoming the first retail Apple store in the U.S. to do so. Smaller companies like Glitch made history by signing a collective bargaining agreement—the first team of software engineers to do so.

These victories, while still relatively small in scope, represent something larger: a growing recognition among tech workers that individual negotiation and market forces alone cannot address systemic workplace issues.

The Unique Challenges Facing Software Engineers

Software engineers face specific workplace challenges that make collective action particularly necessary:

Technological surveillance: Many forms of new technology can be used as forms of surveillance, and employers often install monitoring systems—from video cameras to ID badges with proximity sensors—that can track employees’ every movement. Without collective bargaining agreements, engineers have little recourse when their employers implement invasive monitoring technologies.

Unpredictable technological change: The rapid introduction of new technologies in workplaces affects job responsibilities, skill requirements, and even job security, yet most engineers have no formal voice in how these changes are implemented.

Misclassification and precarious employment: Almost half of Google’s workforce consists of temporary, vendor, and contract workers who lack the benefits and protections of full-time employees while performing the same work.

AI displacement anxiety: The persistent threat of job displacement due to AI and the encroachment of workplace surveillance technologies has fueled momentum for unionization and collective action among tech workers.

What Unionization Could Achieve

Labor unions in tech aren’t about stifling innovation or creating adversarial relationships with management. They’re about establishing a framework for addressing the systemic issues that individual negotiations cannot solve.

Meaningful work-life balance policies: Union contracts can include specific language requiring employers to notify workers and bargain over the introduction of new technologies that affect working conditions. This means input on everything from monitoring software to AI tools that change job responsibilities.

Protection from retaliation: Federal labor authorities have alleged that Google broke the law by firing two employees involved in labor organizing and surveilling workers who viewed union organizing presentations. Union contracts provide legal protections and formal grievance procedures for workers who speak up about workplace issues.

Transparent compensation and promotion practices: Collective bargaining can address the opacity around salary ranges, promotion criteria, and performance evaluations that currently allow for significant disparities and subjective decision-making.

Sustainable on-call and overtime policies: Recent union agreements in tech have included provisions restricting how technology data can be used for discipline and establishing limits on surveillance. Similar protections could limit excessive on-call rotations and establish compensation for after-hours work.

Professional development that benefits workers: Rather than expecting engineers to continuously retrain on their own time, union contracts could establish employer-funded professional development programs, conference attendance, and skill-building opportunities.

Addressing Common Objections

“Unions will slow down innovation”: This assumes that constant crunch time and burnout are necessary for innovation. Research shows that balanced work-life schedules provide necessary downtime for the brain to rest and generate innovative ideas, which is essential for solving complex coding challenges and developing cutting-edge software solutions. Well-rested, fairly compensated engineers produce better work, not worse.

“I can negotiate for myself”: Individual negotiation works when you have leverage—when the job market is hot and companies are competing for talent. But software engineering job openings have hit a five-year low, with 35% fewer listings than five years ago. When the market shifts, individual negotiation becomes much less effective.

“My company treats us well”: Many tech companies do offer good compensation and benefits. But these are unilateral decisions that can change with new management, economic downturns, or shifting priorities. Even companies with good reputations can engage in layoffs that disproportionately target union advocates, as happened at Kickstarter. Union contracts make good treatment a legal obligation, not a revocable perk.

“Unions are outdated”: Recent union agreements have addressed cutting-edge issues like AI usage, digital surveillance, and gig work classification. Modern unions are adapting to contemporary workplace challenges, not fighting yesterday’s battles.

The Broader Context: A System Under Strain

The tech industry’s resistance to unions isn’t accidental—it’s strategic. As has been the case with management throughout history, tech companies have long fought tooth and nail against labor organizing. They understand that collective worker power would fundamentally alter the industry’s current model of value extraction.

Recent research shows that despite feeling burned out, many workers report being more engaged, with 67% saying a tight job market increases their engagement. This creates a dangerous dynamic where companies can push workers harder, knowing that external options are limited.

The industry’s boom-and-bust cycles, exemplified by the hiring frenzy of 2021-2022 followed by massive layoffs in 2024-2025, demonstrate why individual job-hopping isn’t a sustainable solution to systemic problems. Union contracts provide stability that survives market volatility.

The Path Forward

Unionizing tech doesn’t require a complete revolution—it requires recognition that our current system isn’t working for most engineers. Nearly half of workers say they would like to join a union, and more than two-thirds of the public support unions. The appetite for collective action exists; what’s needed is organization and strategy.

As one organizer put it, “All of the power that you have doesn’t come from people at the top giving it to you. It comes from linking arms with the people next to you and taking that power and influence for yourself.”

The first step is changing how we think about our work and our relationship to our employers. We are skilled professionals who deserve respect, reasonable working conditions, and a voice in decisions that affect our careers and lives. We are not passionate hobbyists grateful for the opportunity to turn our interests into profit for others.

The second step is recognizing that the problems we face—burnout, surveillance, job insecurity, work-life balance issues—are systemic, not individual. They require collective solutions.

Building Sustainable Careers

Major victories in unionization have seen employees at companies like Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft secure better wages and conditions through collective bargaining. These aren’t isolated successes—they’re part of a growing recognition that individual advancement and market forces alone cannot create the working conditions that allow for sustainable, fulfilling careers in technology.

The goal isn’t to make software engineering less dynamic or innovative. It’s to make it more humane. We want to work on interesting problems, build useful things, and grow professionally—all while maintaining our health, relationships, and personal interests outside of work.

Unions provide a framework for achieving these goals collectively rather than hoping that individual companies will choose to prioritize worker well-being over short-term profits. They offer a path to influence workplace decisions rather than simply accepting whatever conditions employers impose.

Conclusion

The tech industry stands at a crossroads. We can continue down the current path—accepting burnout as inevitable, treating surveillance as normal, and hoping that individual hustle will somehow lead to systemic change. Or we can acknowledge that brilliant, creative people deserve working conditions that allow them to thrive both professionally and personally.

The rise of tech worker unions represents “something of a critical mass that could represent the beginnings of a sea change for the industry.” This isn’t about recreating industrial-era labor relations—it’s about building new forms of worker power appropriate for knowledge work in the 21st century.

Software engineers have the skills to solve complex technical problems, architect scalable systems, and build tools that improve millions of lives. We certainly have the skills to organize ourselves and advocate for reasonable working conditions. The question isn’t whether we can do it—it’s whether we will.

The next time you’re working late to meet an unrealistic deadline, dealing with unclear promotion criteria, or worrying about whether your job will exist after the next reorganization, ask yourself: wouldn’t it be better to have a voice in these decisions rather than just accepting them as inevitable features of tech work?

The future of our industry—and our careers—depends on how we answer that question.