It may be true that programmers at the top 5-10 tech companies are well compensated but the vast majority of tech workers (programmers and operations) work for enterprises and small shops where there are some really egregious practices and not particularly great compensation. Being in hot demand means little when these practices are universal in the industry. This is the perfect scenario for workers to get together to demand better treatment and ending of these sorts of practices:
Uncompensated overtime,
On-call (if the work is important pay someone to be available to do it),
Expectations of 24/7 uncompensated availability,
H1-B use/abuse,
Lack of training on systems workers are responsible for,
Age discrimination,
Lack of decent work environment (open plan offices),
Lack of vacation options (sometimes masquerading as unlimited time off)
Uncompensated overtime, On-call (if the work is important pay someone to be available to do it), Expectations of 24/7 uncompensated availability, H1-B use/abuse, Lack of training on systems workers are responsible for, Age discrimination, Lack of decent work environment (open plan offices), Lack of vacation options (sometimes masquerading as unlimited time off)