Private Solutions to Public Problems? Labor Demands of Tech Professionals

• In Event: Information and Political Engagement

Abstract

[APSA 2021] Why do tech professionals engage in labor activism? Recent activism among tech workers has generated a flurry of media coverage about worker organizing among a class of employees not often associated with labor unrest. However, while rare, organizing efforts by tech professionals is not new, and contemporary worker concerns and demands have historical parallels. As former labor organizer David Bacon observed, “Silicon Valley was as much a cauldron of new strategies for labor organizing as it was for corporate management of the workforce.” In this paper, I examine tech worker organizing in the United States to understand the nature of tech worker claims to their employers, the strategies of organizers to reach a largely unorganized workforce and industry, and the ways in which professional tech workers make their demands. Through interviews with organizers and analysis of public documents, I explore the kinds of claims that professional tech workers make about their labor rights in a sector in which production processes are often fragmented and the lack of racial and gender workforce diversity has long been a concern. This paper will be a chapter in my dissertation, in which I investigate developments in labor activism among tech workers in the United States in order to understand the relationship between labor organizations, corporate diversity and inclusion, and the workplace demands of workers.

Author

• Claire Ma, University of Pennsylvania