Don't you know the shops in town?
Folks
I work in a large city, but working with contractors/employees that move around alot,
I know the rep of all the shops in town, no one complains like an IT worker - they will tell the world. When I go job shopping, I always tell the recuiters that certain shops have to pay a premium for my time - because everyone in the city knows what a terrible shop they are, bad shops pay more for their talent (or end up only with high priced contractors).
IT shops that treat thier employees poorly,
get what they deserve.
And IT shops in town that treat thier people well, find a ton of resumes on thier desk.
--- also with IT folks always taking classes on the side they mix with regular college kids more often, or they teach the local IT classes, they have started to warn the kids of the bad shops, and those shops start importing off shore talent at an amazing rate, but it still doesn't save the shop from disasters.
The shortage of IT works is permant - no amount of imported talent will change that, shops will have to improve how they treat IT works or they will face worse shortages than the other shops in town.
You don't need a union, when things get bad, leave - apply to the shops with the best reps in town.
