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Ask HN: Are there any serious efforts to organize tech labor now?

11•0rganize•6h ago
HN has the biggest concentration of tech workers that I know of.

We’re living in an age of fear and uncertainty with layoffs happening weekly. AI is often being cited, whether it is the real reason or not. Tech work is being devalued despite the reality that tech companies ability to get anything done if labor were to stop, strike, organize and speak up about what happens with their role in the future would prevent the business from getting work done. Workers have a lot more power than they realize. The management class is intoxicated with greed and power. ICs and rank and file workers are what makes the business happen.

This is already looking to be one of the largest wealth distribution periods in history to the 0.1%. And yet, we are all seem to not be putting up a fight. I’ve heard people say “unions won’t work”, what would work then. Let’s discuss. How do we as tech workers want this to play out. What would the ideal future look like to us, not CEOs?

The shape of what the resistance could be a strike, a union, something else entirely. If there is already something brewing, I want to join and take an active role. If there is not, then let’s get some smart people together to figure out how best to organize. I understand we put AI back into a bottle. But, surely there is some collective action to take to allow workers have some basic protections and reap some of the benefits of AI efficiency.

Comments

bix6•5h ago
Well you could start by not working for the monsters.
0rganize•5h ago
Sure, I agree. Companies that I’d categorize as monsters have unchecked power. If they felt a bit of organized resistance they may shrink back a bit.
moomoo11•2h ago
no way man i need to make my faustian pact AND gain salvation!

/s

also nobody in tech wants a union because we all burnout for a payout.

mids join fang so they can make 400k plus tc predictably. every 3-5 years they double their NW. most of my friends who still at fang (we are in 30s now) are making like 700k-1.5m and have huge spending habits too. none of them have been affected by layoffs yet.

some join unicorns and then get 10-30x or more on options. and then start our own companies.

there’s levels to this shit

M2Ys4U•5h ago
For people in the UK, Prospect has a Tech Workers branch: https://prospect.org.uk/tech-workers/

Prospect is my union (although I'm a member of a BECTU branch rather than the Tech Workers branch as I work in the broadcasting industry) and it's well worth the dues I pay.

0rganize•5h ago
I should note I’m US based.

This is great, thanks for sharing. Something like this could be a good resource for folks like me looking for prior art.

In recent decades unions have been demonized. And I understand some of the criticism, but IMO now is the time to get something organized for tech. The alternative is just to sleepwalk into the unemployment line

geremiiah•5h ago
The people who are most struggling are juniors and unions generally do not help, but rather hinder hiring of juniors.
0rganize•4h ago
Yes, it’s impacting juniors a lot. The public data is telling that story clearly. I know many experienced engineers who have been unemployed for months or years too. Others who have had wages shrunk. The goal for organizing is not to gate keep, but to give some basic protections to those in the field or wanting to enter the field.

Billionaires messaging is something like “we don’t know what kind of devastation might happen to your livelihood, I’ll be richer of course, so let’s just step on the gas” Tech workers have the opportunity to be the brake pedal, ask for a seat belt or airbags. I think progress is inevitable, we can proceed more cautiously if we can find a voice and organize.

krapp•4h ago
Hacker News would be the worst possible place to discuss any such efforts. This is enemy territory as far as any progressive, leftist or pro-labor movement is concerned.
0rganize•4h ago
Yeah, I get that. The organization effort isn’t gonna happen here. But, I know lots of people who are troubled by all of this and want some change are here. Email me at organizetech.inbox [at] gmail.com if you or anyone else wants to discuss how to organize, where to take action, brainstorm, etc
AnimalMuppet•2h ago
Here's your fundamental problem:

Tech workers have thought of themselves as the geniuses, the exceptions, not as part of the general labor pool. And they have been! They have received very high salaries, good benefits, sometimes stock options. There have been a lot of tech workers who have become millionaires - not 50%, but enough that it felt like they had a realistic chance to do so.

It's really hard to persuade people like that that they need a union. Unions are for people who can't take care of themselves, who need a union to protect them from big evil management. Tech workers don't see themselves that way.

Also, unions often have bureaucracy of their own. Tech people generally hate bureaucracy. Having the company's version is bad enough; adding a second one on top is a really hard sell.

So you have a really big headwind for trying to persuade your target members that they should want such a thing.

But you have an opening now, with AI and concerns for jobs. People may be more open to the idea than they historically have been. The problem is, the people that you need to get, the ones who are deciding to implement AI, are typically the ones who still think they're the special ones, the ones who will always have jobs, so they still won't see the need, not for themselves. You have an opening with some people, but I'm not sure it's enough for you to be able to make real change.

LogicCraft678•1h ago
A few years ago people felt untouchable now they thinking about stability, industry changed fast
stevenalowe•1h ago
It would be more effective to unionize the AIs
Blackstrat•1h ago
Unionizing tech workers will not save tech jobs. It'll only create an additional costs to the employees. We saw similar trends in the 80s when the PC started to displace the mainframe developers/users. The pool of available mainframe jobs shrank somewhat, while the demand for PC developers exploded. Every major technology change creates these displacements. The answer isn't to look for unions to save your job. It's to figure out how to pivot and still be employable. All unionization will do is cost you mosey and stifle innovation. I grew up in a union household as did my wife. Unions aren't the answer to any question in the modern world.

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