Issue 10: Microsoft, #CancelTheContract!
27 Jul 2018
Now is the time when the people who are paid to administer injustice stand up to stop it.
The actions of activists at Microsoft offices around the country this week have shown that the #techwontbuildit movement has grown so much bigger than we could have ever imagined.
Workers and activists turned out at Microsoft offices around the country yesterday
But America’s largest technology corporations are simply waiting for us to give up this fight. They’re waiting for the media to move on to the next big story. They’re waiting for us to “get over it” and move on with our lives.
We’re not going to give up. In fact, we’re going to apply this same amount of pressure across our industry because we understand that these corporations respond to only one thing and that’s money. The more that we can threaten their bottom line, the greater the chance that they’ll start listening to us.
One thing, however, is abundantly clear: history is on our side. This isn’t about partisan politics, it’s much bigger. And that’s exactly why we’re going to win.
@ColorofChange delivered over 300,000 signatures to Microsoft demanding they #CancelTheContract with ICE / Source
Upcoming Events
Worker Power in the Tech Industry: An Introduction to Tech Workers Coalition
Friday, 7/27 6PM at The AjA Project / PANA Offices in San Diego
Facebook • Meetup
Worker Power in the Tech Industry: An Introduction to Tech Workers Coalition
Saturday, 7/28 4PM at The Public School Los Angeles in Los Angeles
Facebook
Seattle Learning Club: Cold Calling the Revolution
Saturday, 7/28 3PM at Capitol Hill Branch of The Seattle Public Library in Seattle
Facebook • Reading materials
Security guards in contract negotiation
Monday, 7/30 10:30AM at DoubleTree Hotel on Gateway Place in San Jose
Meetup
ABOLISH ICE: National day of action
Tuesday, 7/31 11AM meet at Homer & Alma in Palo Alto
(Target to be announced)
Seattle Learning Club: No Wall They Can Build
Saturday, 8/25 3:30PM at Capitol Hill Branch of The Seattle Public Library in Seattle
Facebook • Reading materials
The Code of Conduct is in effect at all TWC events.
In The News
In 2014, Mountain View banned corporate cafeterias in an effort to protect local restaurants. As San Francisco lawmakers debate a similar proposal, critics are calling politicians out for this thoughtless approach; the brunt of the impact would fall on mid-to-low-wage food service workers, who are already struggling to survive in the Bay Area. Many corporate cafeteria jobs are unionized, and typically provide better wages and benefits than typical restaurants do.
Amazon’s Rekognition technology is back in the spotlight thanks to a test analysis run by the ACLU. Rekognition falsely matched 28 members of Congress with mugshots of individuals arrested for crime.
It’s official: more than half of Google’s workers are temps, contractors or vendors who don’t get the same wages, perks or benefits as full time employees. “The largest burden for many contractors is health care. All the contractors Bloomberg News spoke with said the contracting agencies, which are responsible for health insurance, offered either inadequate plans or none. One former TVC, who worked for Adecco, said he paid roughly $600 out of pocket a month for coverage to treat diabetes… Investors watch employee headcount closely at these tech powerhouses, expecting that they keep posting impressive gains by maintaining skinnier workforces than older corporate titans. Hiring contractors keeps the official headcount low, and frees up millions of dollars to retain superstars in fields like artificial intelligence.”
The median salary of Amazon warehouse workers is $28,446, meaning by one calculation the net worth of Jeff Bezos is 5 million times that of most warehouse workers.
Salesforce continued partnership with CBP is already impacting their largest business event. Vendors who typically clamor for a spot at Dreamforce are refusing to participate.
An Italian take on Silicon Valley getting organized.
“How European Workers Coordinated This Month’s Massive Amazon Strike—And What Comes Next.”
Game design studio Motion Twin shares how they’ve built a sustainable, worker-owned business with no bosses where all workers are paid the same.
Song Of The Week
Inti Illimani - El Pueblo Unido
Y ahora la gente,
Que se está levantando en lucha
con una voz gigante
gritando: ¡Adelante!
La gente unida nunca será derrotada,
la gente unida nunca será derrotada
…
And now the people,
who are rising in struggle
with a giant voice
crying out: Forward!
The people united will never be defeated,
The people united will never be defeated