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legitster 3 hours ago

17 months of operating expenses are actually not a lot for a foundation. Especially one whose goal is to preserve something for a long horizon.

Unions exist to combat the monopsony power of corporations. Corporations and unions can exist in constant tension with each other because ultimately both are bound by the market of their product.

I don't think the logic holds up when you're talking about foundations or charities. I'm donating to Wikipedia because I want to advance their cause. If the unions goal is to raid donations and get an increasing share, that could potentially go bad.

Worse, the union can sometimes capture an org and begin to exert control of the mission.

Even if you're very pro-union, there is legitimate reason to be hesitant here.

wsve 43 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

Non-profit executives are even more capable and better situated to "raid donations" or change the direction of the mission, and can do so a lot easier when there is no organized labor force to push back against it.

hiddencost 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

On the countrary, nonprofits need unions more than for profits. They exploit their workers more. They have fewer resources and exploit their mission to get more work from their workers.

legitster 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

If I'm donating money to fight cancer, and the majority of the money goes to administrative staff, that's inherently a flawed charity. It's exactly what led to the downfall of the Susan G Komen foundation.

There's also a death spiral problem. If donations drop and administrative costs stay the same, that charity's ratings only get worse.

There's a reason most examples of successful non-profit unions all rely on steady streams of government grant funding.

skywhopper 2 hours ago | parent [-]

What do you think the core purpose of the Wikipedia Foundation is? Do you think the engineers who write the code and operate the site are “administrative staff”?

appreciatorBus 29 minutes ago | parent [-]

If a new software or hardware innovation came along that would allow the engineers to operate the site 2x more efficiently, thus saving the foundation and it's donors a significant amount of money, would the union support it or fight it?

whimsicalism 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Yes, workers in non-profits are status-compensated as well as monetarily compensated. I don't think this is an argument for non-profit unionization.

wsve 42 minutes ago | parent [-]

"status-compensated"?

whimsicalism 21 minutes ago | parent [-]

people enjoy doing high-status things and will trade off pay for status. asking for equal pay as low-status work is essentially asking to have your cake and eat it too

20after4 14 minutes ago | parent [-]

Is working for Wikipedia somehow a higher status job than working for Google?

edit: I'm asking because my 7 year stint as an engineer at Wikipedia hasn't provided me with an endless stream of lucrative job offers.

whimsicalism 14 minutes ago | parent [-]

absolutely and i'm surprised that you don't think so.

e: and to your edit, i'm talking about social/moral status