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Note how job fragmentation works here too! The commoditized "Software Engineer" can be split into various names even if they're basically the same or have high overlap Fullstack, UI, SWE, SRE, Tech Lead, Manager Who Codes, Rat, Mouse, Lobster, Shrimp, etc...

Yet look in the actual HR system and it's just Level 1 , 2, 3, 4,... The fragmentation isn't actually "that" real at the salary level. Some companies even make this explicit with centralized hiring such as FB (where you get in first, then choose a team via an internal job fair)

It DOES however add some level of gatekeeping. Fullstack can feel superior to UI and so on. The difference wasn't that real last time I checked but the way to see if it worked is only by looking at the REAL numbers (e.g. paysa)

With remote & commodification via higher level (easier) frameworks, you can start to see real differences. E.g. UI has a much lower barrier to entry and aggregated data sources like Paysa may start to show this difference via lower salaries for the 'UI' job title.

however there are still pockets where the difference doesn't matter. e.g. if you're geographically gate-kept in places like "The USA" or "The Bay Area" or "New York" or "San Francisco". the "brand" can carry the majority of market rate while the "actual" skills becomes minor.

the way that unions work is that they decrease the activity of the market by combining separate individuals playing their own game into one super entity. less players, less market, less price discovery, more "contract" power. "Pay us X!" the gatekeeping is the cell boundary!

this is why unions HATE those who don't join the union because they're literally waging war against the union's reason for being despite the personal motive being something more mundane like feeding a family.

I remember this reddit post where someone mentioned that the "bad factory" his mother had to work at was a godsend because prior to it she had to be a prostitute. many moralizing union arguments is just anger at the people who "sold out".