Forem: Tech Workers Coalition

Do you want to support Amazon workers?

shushugah — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 20:10:15 +0000

Amazon is going through a historic moment now, with so many people relying on it during the Corona crisis, from buying food/supplies, to watching Netflix thanks to AWS hosting. Yet, while Bezos is making record profits, workers at fulfillment center workers are speaking out against unsanitary conditions. One of them, Chris Smalls was fired and smeared by Amazon executives. As people in tech, we have an obligation to hold our industry accountable and speak up! Join Tech Workers of Amazon, Google and other companies with a photo campaign of solidarity. We'll go live on April 13th. Sign up below to get a reminder, and learn more about the campaign!

Every person helps!

https://forms.gle/KcjUAmjCMRSxXibg6

What is stopping you from joining a union?

shushugah — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 18:09:39 +0000

If you search for union on this site, you will find mostly articles about SQL join queries, but more and more programmers are interested in joining one.

Kickstarter is the latest tech company to go public in their unionizing campaign, and they have asked people to support them in getting management to recognize them

Kickstarter United

@ksr_united

Today KSRU officially requested voluntary recognition of our union, and we are waiting to see if it will be granted. We stand firm in our commitment not to call for any boycotts, but we need your help.

17:19 PM - 02 Oct 2019

3000 6497

Should we form a labor union?

Steve Belovarich ・ Jul 25 '19 ・ 5 min read

#discuss #healthydebate

General thoughts about Unions

Artur Muniz ・ Jul 31 '19 ・ 2 min read

#discuss

Developer is the next blue collar job

stereobooster ・ Oct 21 '18 ・ 6 min read

#career #discuss

Will software ever become "blue collar" work?

Ben Halpern ・ Jul 15 '19 ・ 1 min read

#discuss #career

Climate Strike

shushugah — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 16:17:32 +0000

There's a climate crisis and tech workers are walking out

Originally posted on Tech Workers Coalition

On September 20th 2019, millions of people will mobilize across the globe in the largest ever #ClimateStrike, led by students, workers, and people who care about a livable future. As tech workers, we have a responsibility to hold our employers accountable and to be part of the solution, not the problem.

Here is how you can participate

On September 20, join a protest near you, as an individual or even better, with your co-workers.
You can find a list of over 3,000 local marches happening as part of the Global Climate Strike here.

Tech workers from across companies will be meeting up before these marches, then joining their local march together. Find a tech worker location and meeting time here. (If you don't see your city listed, feel free to add it in this form. We'll make sure it gets on to the list).
Before September 20, talk to your colleagues, post to your company slack or message board, share on Twitter, and let people know why you're joining the Global Climate Strike. Use the hashtag #TechClimateStrike.
On September 20, post photos of the walkout in your city with the hashtag #TechClimateStrike, preferably while wearing your company's branded clothing. If you're walking out with other tech workers, post a group photo (with everyone's consent, of course).

Tech's dirty role in climate change

The tech industry cultivates a "green" public image, but it is in fact a major contributor to climate change. Here are three ways tech is contributing to the climate crisis:

Tech's hidden carbon footprint

The tech industry has a massive carbon footprint, often obscured behind jargon like "cloud computing" or "bitcoin mining", along with depictions of code and automation as abstract and immaterial.

In reality, tech's computational infrastructure is estimated to emit as much carbon as aviation, representing a shockingly large percentage of global emissions. A recent study found that creating just one advanced AI model contributes five times as much carbon dioxide as an average American car over its lifetime, from creation to breakdown. And this doesn't count the global supply chains and manufacturing needed to produce hardware and consumer devices, from mining to shipping to e-waste disposal. When we look beyond the hype, we see an industry hiding behind greenwashing and marketing, hoping its significant contribution to climate change will go unnoticed.

Tech's collaboration with Big Oil accelerates climate change

The big players in tech -- specifically Google, Microsoft and Amazon -- contribute to climate change through partnerships with the oil and gas industries. These three companies combined have billions of dollars of contracts with big oil. They license infrastructure, engineering resources, and AI capabilities to fossil fuel companies, promising to make extraction "more efficient". At the 2018 Amazon re:Invent conference, Amazon hosted a session called "Predicting the Next Oil Field in Seconds with Machine Learning." In the same year, Microsoft's theme at one of its conferences was "Empowering Oil & Gas with AI". Google now has an Energy division, created specifically to court oil and gas companies. This all translates to accelerating climate change, directly working against the goal of a livable future, which requires fossil fuel reserves remain unused and "in the ground".

Tech's repression of climate refugees and frontline communities

The environmental justice movement, backed by a mountain of data, makes it clear that people of color, poor people, and those living in developing countries are on the front lines of climate change. Extreme weather displaced a record 7 million people in the first half of 2019 alone. The recent devastation in the Bahamas and Puerto Rico are sobering examples, and the decision by the current US administration to deny temporary protected status to climate refugees from the Bahamas sets a chilling precedent. These are the communities that will need shelter and assistance from the countries and rich individuals who bear the most responsibility for carbon emissions. Instead, we see a pattern of exclusion and oppression emerging, aided by the tech industry.

Amazon, Palantir, and other companies are already selling technology that is being used to police, surveil, and track vulnerable communities in the US, and people seeking shelter and asylum at the border. These technologies are used to police and surveil frontline populations, and are a core part of an infrastructure designed to exclude those in need, and shield those most responsible from accountability.

Demands

We demand that our employers across the tech industry act with boldness and urgency, and commit to:

Zero carbon emissions by 2030
Zero contracts with fossil fuel companies
Zero funding of climate denial lobbying or other efforts
Zero harm to climate refugees and frontline communities

Companies whose workers are joining the strike

Social media

Amazon: https://twitter.com/AMZNforClimate
Facebook: https://twitter.com/FBClimateAction
Google: https://twitter.com/GoogleWAC
Microsoft: https://twitter.com/MsWorkers4
Square: https://twitter.com/SquareWorkers
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwtAction
Tech Workers Coalition: https://twitter.com/techworkersco

What was your worst new job experience?

Carl Vitullo — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 15:46:00 +0000

Sometimes you start a new job and quickly realize it's not a good fit. What's your worst new job story?

Why do you love your job?

Carl Vitullo — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 19:05:17 +0000

Jobs aren't all frustration and misery. What does you job do for you that makes you happy to stay where you are? The benefits, a great perk, your coworkers, the projects?

What are your benefits like?

shushugah — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 18:22:39 +0000

What are the benefits like in your industry and local town?

In Berlin, Germany where I am currently based, by law for all employees we have

unlimited sick leave
paid parental leave
minimum of 20 vacation days for 40-hour workweek

Typically the probation period is 6 months, which means you can be fired with a two week notice period for any reason. However, afterwards, it's much harder, and you're entitled to warnings for most violations and a 3 month notice period.

In addition, many software engineering jobs in Berlin offer additional vacation and small benefits like free drinks such as club mate.

and Tischtennis (table tennis) as you can see from my tweet below!

***Sommerpause*** // I am Germany

@i_amgermany

You can tell I work in a startup because we have a tischtennis inside the office. We’re basically glorified children. -Y

09:15 AM - 11 Mar 2019

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What made you quit your job?

Carl Vitullo — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 17:36:46 +0000

Our industry has a reputation for short employment tenures. What circumstances tipped you over the edge into quitting your job?