Worker Power in the Tech Industry: An Introduction to Tech Workers Coalition

Tech Workers Coalition (TWC) is an informal workers center comprised of tech industry and tech adjacent workers and other members of our communities. Contrary to popular connotations of the term, we see a “tech worker” as anyone who is employed directly, or indirectly, by a technology company at any capacity. TWC functions as a non-hierarchical network and community group — we have no formal definition of membership and are not beholden to the authority of any political parties, unions, or non-profit organizations. The majority of our projects are focused around knowledge sharing, organizer development and social engagement and we believe in solidarity with all workers. We are currently in the process of instigating new TWC locals in other regions outside of Bay Area/Silicon Valley in order to functionally expand our tech industry worker organizing network.

In this presentation, we will highlight some recent activity related to the TWC and share our experiences working within a project based and informal organizational model. We would like to inspire others to experiment with building workplace organizations that are connected to larger networks of solidarity and capable of taking action. We will follow with a discussion on current developments in technology and Capitalism and how tech workplace organizing fits into a larger movement for equity and against misery.

Workers in the tech industry — just like all workers — need to get organized and fight for positive change in their workplaces, communities, and society.

Please share this with San Diego community members who might be interested.

Events
Friday, July 27 at 6pm
The AjA Project / PANA Offices
4089 Fairmount Ave, San Diego

Saturday, July 28 at [TIME TBA]
The Public School
951 Chung King Rd, Los Angeles

Additional Info
For more information about the TWC and what we have been up to lately, check out the following articles:

Coders of the world, unite: can Silicon Valley workers curb the power of Big Tech? (The Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/oct/31/coders-of-the-world-unite-can-silicon-valley-workers-curb-the-power-of-big-tech

Tech Workers Versus the Pentagon (Jacobin): https://jacobinmag.com/2018/06/google-project-maven-military-tech-workers

Angry workers dented Google, now they're after Microsoft and the rest (Wired): https://www.wired.co.uk/article/microsoft-open-letter-silicon-valley-ethics

Is This the Beginning of a Tech Worker Revolution? (NPR):
https://www.kqed.org/news/11679761/is-this-the-beginning-of-a-tech-worker-revolution

Tech Workers Coalition can be reached at hello@techworkersco.org