Is the IT workforce ripe for union membership? Recent splits in several large labor organizations, growing IT pessimism and the increasing strength of offshore outsourcing are fueling new efforts to attract information workers, insiders say.

There may be growing support among the workforce for such union representation. A union-backed survey released in late August revealed "increasing pessimism" among United States-based technology workers, who see less demand in the future for their skills.

"Clearly, the pixie dust for tech workers has worn off," said Marcus Courtney, president of WashTech/CWA, the Seattle-based alliance of technology workers that organized the national survey. By Gene Koprowski