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Tech Workers Are Surrendering the Labor War
Inside the battle for unionization in Big Tech
I recently was chatting with a friend who works in web development and asked if he supported unions. He immediately agreed. Yet, when I asked if he would consider joining a web developer’s union, he hesitated.
“I mean, I don’t need one. But I support people who do.”
Big Tech has recently been under scrutiny from the National Labor Relations Board and other regulatory bodies after years of reports of abuses, ranging from sexual assault to human rights abuses. Blizzard is currently suffocating under a drift of lawsuits from multiple regulatory bodies. It’s easy to see the perks that big tech, particularly FAANG, offer as being naked attempts to unexcuse workers from work. Need to do laundry? We have laundry here. Need to go home and clean? We gave you a cleaning stipend. Need childcare? We have onsite childcare. Need food? Kitchens and meals (served promptly at 8 pm). In a way, it forces workers to say, “I’m going home because I’m done working,” which then forces them to explicitly say where their loyalties lie. To Google, or your widdle work-life balance? (Frowny face).
It’s easy to argue that Big Tech needs unions, but when you talk to many tech workers, they’re reluctant to agree. “I get a lot of perks already” is a…
