zlacker

A principal designer like Costa would almost surely be considered a supervisor, and thus not be protected by or allowed to join the union.

>>SpicyL+(OP)
Is the ability to join a union limited in the US?

>>Brando+J
Most people in the US can be fired at will. Part of the US's basic labor law (the Wagner Act) is a provision that you can't be fired for unionizing, but the Wagner Act doesn't cover people in supervisory roles. So supervisors technically could join a union, but can also be easily fired for doing it.

Legal obstacles aside, though, it would be pretty clearly inappropriate in this case. If I'm an entry-level SWE looking to unionize, the principal designers are by any reasonable metric management; they're the ones who go around telling me what I should do and how I should do it, often more so than the person I actually report to in the org chart. I don't think any union representing line employees would let those employees' managers join.

>>SpicyL+V4
Ah, this is very different from how unions work in France (and, generally speaking, in the EU).

Some people are actually registered with an union but their challenge is to have people vote for them during compulsory elections for work councils.

Any employee can vite, and any employee can join a union. The mere fact of joining the union does not protect you form being fired (which by itself is very complicated in Europe where there are strong labour laws). The only people who are strongly protected are the ones who create a union, or are elected as a representative.