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.
Mass layoffs that happened Thursday night at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) are being paused, ABC News reports. The layoffs were part of Donald Trump’s gutting of key federal workforces — including the people maintaining the country’s nuclear stockpile.
[abcnews.go.com]
Following up on an earlier report, Business Insider reports some Microsoft employees have been let go with letters citing “your job performance has not met minimum performance standards and expectations for your position,” and several reported receiving no severance.
Asked about the plan earlier this month, Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw said, “...When people are not performing, we take the appropriate action.”
404 Media has updates from unnamed employees on how the moderation changes have been received:
“The entire thread of comments shared is dissent toward the new policy, save for one leader repeating Zuckerberg talking points. I’d call the mood shock and disbelief,” they added. “It’s embarrassment and shame that feels self-inflicted, different than mistakes the company has made in the past.”
Oh, and as for Joel Kaplan’s More Speech and Fewer Mistakes, Meta is already answering an “error” that blanked out search results for “LGBT” and “Trans.”
The UAW has asked federal labor regulators for a union election at a new Kentucky factory co-owned by Ford and South Korean battery company SK On.
This could be the first big test for organized labor under Trump. The UAW filed federal labor charges against the former president and Elon Musk over perceived attempts to threaten workers during an interview in August — before Trump was re-elected and Musk became his right-hand man.
ABC News reports the deal covers over 120,000 workers, but will cut over 35,000 jobs by 2030 via early retirement and buyouts. It also outlines production plans and locations for future vehicles, including an electric Golf, Q4 E-tron, ID.7, and another EV based on the SSP platform.
The deal would save VW 1.5 billion euros ($1.56 billion) a year in labor costs and 4 billion euros a year by slashing manufacturing capacity by more 700,000 vehicles across its German plants through different production arrangements.
[Volkswagen Newsroom]
A new Wall Street Journal story detailing two nonprofits’ discovery of hundreds of iOS apps inappropriately rated for kids identifies a possible reason so many apps that seem to clearly defy Apple’s guidelines end up in its App Store anyway:
[The app review team has] several hundred reviewers who work long hours and struggle to keep up with the large numbers of apps coming in everyday, according to former employees ... Apple expects [them] to move quickly through a certain number of apps a day, making it difficult to spot potential problems, the former employees said.
[The Wall Street Journal]
The internet is forever. Well, it was supposed to be. What happens when websites start to vanish at random?
Microsoft has recognized the union, according to an emailed press release. The union, called ZOS United-CWA, will have 461 members and is comprised of “web developers, designers, engineers, and graphic artists.”
Workers in more than 20 countries including the US, India, Germany, Japan, and Brazil are currently on strike or protesting, coinciding with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Amazon workers have planned similar strike actions in the past around the shopping weekend. The “Make Amazon Pay” movement is demanding better wages and working conditions, and that Amazon allows workers to join unions.
The National Labor Relations Board ruled that captive audience meetings, or meetings employees must attend where the employer expresses how it feels about unionization, are unlawful. The ruling came in a case involving Amazon, which hasn’t been a fan of unions.
[National Labor Relations Board]
The plan, which is part of the retail giant’s push to get staff back into offices five days a week, will make it harder to get permission to work from home.
Here’s a snippet from Bloomberg’s report:
The company recently told employees with disabilities that it was implementing a more rigorous vetting process, both for new requests to work from home and applications to extend existing arrangements. Affected workers must submit to a “multilevel leader review” and could be required to return to the office for monthlong trials to determine if accommodations meet their needs.
More than 600 Times engineers, product managers, data analysts, and designers went on strike today, and publisher AG Sulzberger told staff that it’s likely the strike will continue into Election Day.
According to a letter of support signed by newsroom staff, nearly half of the Tech Guild works on election projects. Let’s hope someone is around to fix the needle tomorrow.
