The past six months have been brutal for tech workers across the industry. Tens of thousands of our colleagues at Twitter, Meta, Amazon and other companies have been stripped of their livelihoods. Those who remain are subject to an increased pressure to deliver with fewer teammates to help do the work.
The recent actions by a handful of executives have made clear that tech workers are on the chopping block. If we want a better reality for ourselves and our colleagues, tech workers everywhere must unionize at an unprecedented scale.
The tech industry is notorious for profitable booms and disastrous busts. The dot-com bubble and the 2008 financial crisis have taught us that unlimited growth in the tech sector is impossible. When faced with the prospect of a flagging economy, tech bosses are quick to signal a bizarre sort of responsibility to shareholders by cutting workers’ jobs while leaving executive compensation and stock buybacks — two huge expenditures — unscathed. The costs of mismanagement and market cycles are shouldered by developers, recruiters, salespeople and designers at the bottom. Despite the impact this has on our lives, as well our families and loved ones, we are told this is the “price of doing business.” Without unity and having a seat at the table, we are unable to fight back.
