LOOKING FOR THE UNION LABEL About 50 Amazon.com employees recently held a meeting that some say was a major turning point in the industry. They met to join a trade union. Citing long hours, mandatory overtime and sudden changes in shift schedules, the service workers set up an organizing committee to seek affiliation with the Communications Workers of America and to win union recognition from Amazon. While some observers don't see a big threat, union officials say many Internet staffers are unhappy, and companies will have to find ways of dealing with their grievances, especially as the companies try to cut costs. Lost amid the hype over paper millionaires are the tens of thousands of employees involved in tedious, often mind-numbing, tasks. "The industry might be high-tech but the working conditions are such that people want representation," says a CWA spokeswoman. Many professionals, lured into the e-world with share options, also are growing dissatisfied and disillusioned that dot-com employees are not having "more fun, more freedom and more scope," according to a report from one executive recruitment company. "Our study explodes the general consensus that dot-coms offer a better quality of life and a more fun environment. The hours worked are longer, the travel is more onerous and time at home is limited. The new economy company increasingly mirrors the old, but without a supportive infrastructure." (Financial Times 30 Nov 2000) http://news.ft.com/
