I've been talking with companies that are somewhat small but receptive to the idea of employee protection. Unions is often the subject but the damaged done to their reputation in the U.S. is irreversible. No highly paid professional wants to even talk about it.
With unions, an employee being treated unfairly has a place to complain. A place that will actually listen and side with her instead of the corporation. But non-union employees often think that HR is the exact equivalent. Unfortunately they almost always learned the hard way (me included).
If we want to make any dent in the system, HR is the place we want to reform.
The idea that I have started proposing is of a public HR. An hr department that reports back to the state government. The government may not be perfect, but it has a better record when it comes to employee protection.
With unions, an employee being treated unfairly has a place to complain. A place that will actually listen and side with her instead of the corporation. But non-union employees often think that HR is the exact equivalent. Unfortunately they almost always learned the hard way (me included).
If we want to make any dent in the system, HR is the place we want to reform.
The idea that I have started proposing is of a public HR. An hr department that reports back to the state government. The government may not be perfect, but it has a better record when it comes to employee protection.
Edit: previous discussion for more context https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25795851