If the myth of tech over the past decade has been one of constant innovation, algorithmic scale, and new products and devices that “simply work,” the truth is that all of those illusions were made possible by the obfuscation of labor: the contract content moderators who sanitize the feeds of Facebook and YouTube from violence and extremist content; the warehouse workers at Amazon fulfillment centers trying to meet the guarantees of same-day shipping; the gig workers of all kinds — Uber drivers, food delivery cyclists, Instacart shoppers, among them — all of whom are at the whims of increasingly efficient platforms and wayward legislation.
And that’s not even to speak of the white-collar tech workforce that, while better compensated, is still being taken advantage of by NDAs and mandatory arbitration clauses that keep hidden the realities of discrimination and harassment in the office. But now, some workers across tech companies are organizing for better treatment and pay. Others are making efforts to unionize. Most importantly, the movement will reach everyone who works in tech — and anyone who uses those platforms. The story of the tech industry over the next decade will be the reckoning brought on by its workforce.
After writing a letter to Tim Cook asking for cooperation in bargaining for benefits, organizers at the company’s first unionzed retail store in the US have filed an unfair labor complaint with the NLRB.
The IAM isn’t the first union to file a complaint against Apple, but it seems like it could be a long road to a finished contract
According to Bloomberg, Apple has told workers at its only unionized store in the US that they’ll have to bargain for new education and health benefits while its other workers automatically get them.
It’s not an uncommon tactic used by employers, but with a union election coming up tomorrow in Oklahoma, the message Apple is trying to send is crystal clear.
When news about Elon Musk offering to buy Twitter, again, broke, the company’s employees were reportedly in a meeting about the company’s plans for 2023. They saw the news on their timelines first, before receiving a curt email from the company.
According to Platformer’s Zoe Schiffer, workers’ morale is at an all-time low. It’s tough not knowing what will become of your company.
Average starting pay is going up from $18 per hour to “more than” $19 per hour starting next month. The company is raising pay ahead of another union election; warehouse workers in Albany recently filed to unionize, and the union vote will be held in October.
Rolling Stone interviewed five women involved in the several sexual harassment lawsuits against the automaker.
Hearing them describe how they were treated, and how Tesla failed to defend them (and sometimes actively punished them) is difficult.
[Rolling Stone]
On October 12th, workers at the ALB1 warehouse in Albany, New York will start voting on whether to unionize with the Amazon Labor Union — the same group that successfully organized the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island. Votes will be counted on October 18th, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
The company had an ambitious plan to fight extremism on the platform. So what happened to it?
Internal documents and Twitter employees reveal the need for massive investment to remove illegal content — but executives haven’t listened
As Meta’s growth slows, Mark Zuckerberg is pushing even harder. Will his employees melt under the pressure?
