<story><title>We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly</title><url>https://medium.com/@googlersagainstdragonfly/we-are-google-employees-google-must-drop-dragonfly-4c8a30c5e5eb</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>SlowRobotAhead</author><text>While I’d like to try and agree... I think you may be missing a sense of scale and the reality of just how replaceable people are... even magically-gifted google employees.</text></item><item><author>tokai</author><text>&amp;gt;How did you argue against the inevitable &amp;quot;if we don&amp;#x27;t take this contract, dude across the street will&amp;quot;?&lt;p&gt;Collective action. They can hire 14 new guys, but they won&amp;#x27;t have any to instruct the new employees in their work.</text></item><item><author>komali2</author><text>Damn, good for y&amp;#x27;all for sticking to your values. How did you argue against the inevitable &amp;quot;if we don&amp;#x27;t take this contract, dude across the street will&amp;quot;?</text></item><item><author>nimbius</author><text>Pretty bold.  A lot of people are saying this wont work, but speaking from my own experience, you&amp;#x27;d be surprised what companies are amicable to when it comes to business.&lt;p&gt;Im an engine mechanic by trade, and our shops handle bids for cash strapped local governments that outsource their motor pool maintenance.  We do things like fire trucks and police cars, but we were working on a new regional idea as a &amp;quot;service center&amp;quot; for municipalities that purchased MRAP combat vehicles for their police departments.  &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;MRAP&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;MRAP&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;We all, especially the veterans I work with, hated this idea.  MRAP&amp;#x27;s are for combat, not police work, and have a dangerous propensity to roll over in city streets or escalate already violent situations.  14 of us sent a signed letter to the owner and senior management detailing our major concerns and heard nothing back for about a month.  Then out of the blue we got a call for a meeting with 3-4 very senior managers at a local irish bar.&lt;p&gt;They paid for dinner and tried to explain how the business would be extremely lucrative.  we would all see major bonuses, we could hire more workers, and grow the business faster than just large truck repair.  It took 3 very emotional hours, but we eventually talked down a handful of people from making a very wrong decision.&lt;p&gt;for a week after, we were all sort of stunned that it actually worked at all.  Tire cages meant for MRAP tires were cut up and turned into random parts holders, or as new hangers for air lines...one even replaced our mailbox post.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>maemilius</author><text>Replacing people might be easy, but it&amp;#x27;s never cheap - even in industries with an abundance of candidates.&lt;p&gt;The real issue with having your work-force leave is three-fold.  First, you lose all the accumulated knowledge of your team.  Second, you lose the cohesiveness of your team.  Thirdly, you have to _pay to get a new team_.&lt;p&gt;All of these things conspire to make all but the lowliest of jobs (think Target Associate) much more painful to replace than it seems.&lt;p&gt;In short, there are lots of hidden costs in recruiting.</text></comment>
<story><title>We are Google employees – Google must drop Dragonfly</title><url>https://medium.com/@googlersagainstdragonfly/we-are-google-employees-google-must-drop-dragonfly-4c8a30c5e5eb</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>SlowRobotAhead</author><text>While I’d like to try and agree... I think you may be missing a sense of scale and the reality of just how replaceable people are... even magically-gifted google employees.</text></item><item><author>tokai</author><text>&amp;gt;How did you argue against the inevitable &amp;quot;if we don&amp;#x27;t take this contract, dude across the street will&amp;quot;?&lt;p&gt;Collective action. They can hire 14 new guys, but they won&amp;#x27;t have any to instruct the new employees in their work.</text></item><item><author>komali2</author><text>Damn, good for y&amp;#x27;all for sticking to your values. How did you argue against the inevitable &amp;quot;if we don&amp;#x27;t take this contract, dude across the street will&amp;quot;?</text></item><item><author>nimbius</author><text>Pretty bold.  A lot of people are saying this wont work, but speaking from my own experience, you&amp;#x27;d be surprised what companies are amicable to when it comes to business.&lt;p&gt;Im an engine mechanic by trade, and our shops handle bids for cash strapped local governments that outsource their motor pool maintenance.  We do things like fire trucks and police cars, but we were working on a new regional idea as a &amp;quot;service center&amp;quot; for municipalities that purchased MRAP combat vehicles for their police departments.  &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;MRAP&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;MRAP&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;We all, especially the veterans I work with, hated this idea.  MRAP&amp;#x27;s are for combat, not police work, and have a dangerous propensity to roll over in city streets or escalate already violent situations.  14 of us sent a signed letter to the owner and senior management detailing our major concerns and heard nothing back for about a month.  Then out of the blue we got a call for a meeting with 3-4 very senior managers at a local irish bar.&lt;p&gt;They paid for dinner and tried to explain how the business would be extremely lucrative.  we would all see major bonuses, we could hire more workers, and grow the business faster than just large truck repair.  It took 3 very emotional hours, but we eventually talked down a handful of people from making a very wrong decision.&lt;p&gt;for a week after, we were all sort of stunned that it actually worked at all.  Tire cages meant for MRAP tires were cut up and turned into random parts holders, or as new hangers for air lines...one even replaced our mailbox post.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>randcraw</author><text>Negotiations like these aren&amp;#x27;t won by convincing the other side through making &lt;i&gt;more&lt;/i&gt; points via logic or evidence.  You must help decision makers to realize that their choice is not win-win, that hidden costs, unwanted consequences, or just plain bad publicity await.  Almost always, bureaucrat decisions are driven more by fear of failure than prospect of success.  As a naysayer, your goal is mostly to spread FUD and take the shine off their bauble.</text></comment>