Re: Cogent ...

[Matthew Petach <mpetach () netflight com>]

On Thu, Mar 31, 2022 at 9:05 AM Paul Timmins <paul () telcodata us> wrote:

> On 3/31/22 11:38, Laura Smith via NANOG wrote:
> > However, perhaps someone would care to elaborate (either on or off-list)
> what the deal is with the requirement to sign NDAs with Cogent before
> they'll discuss things like why they still charge for BGP, or indeed any
> other technical or pricing matters. Seems weird ?!?
>
> Same reason your employer doesn't want employees telling each other
> their salary. Not every similarly situated customer pays the same for
> the same service.
Having fought that issue[0], I'd like to point out that employees
voluntarily
sharing salary data is federally protected speech in the US, and cannot
be waived through an employment contract:

https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages#:~:text=Under%20the%20National%20Labor%20Relations,for%20mutual%20aid%20or%20protection
.

"Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act), employees have
the right to communicate with other employees at their workplace about
their wages.  Wages are a vital term and condition of employment, and
discussions of wages are often preliminary to organizing or other actions
for mutual aid or protection. "
..."policies that specifically prohibit the discussion of wages are
unlawful."

I understand the parallelism you were aiming for, but
given how many people labour under the mistaken
notion that US companies can forbid you from talking
about your compensation, I felt it prudent to point out
that's actually not a terribly good comparison.   ^_^;

Thanks!

Matt


[0]
https://www.quora.com/My-coworker-asked-about-my-salary-how-should-I-respond/answer/Matthew-Petach