this post was submitted on 23 May 2026

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They just formed the biggest tech worker union in the US. The plan is to take on AI and industry layoffs (www.bloodinthemachine.com)

submitted 12 hours ago by chobeat@lemmy.ml to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[–] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 9 points 2 hours ago (3 children)

So how do I, a tech worker not at any of these institutions, support the general movement toward unionization? Due to me being outspoken in general, I can't really vocally support unions in a way that companies might notice (cause they wouldn't hesitate to fire me for some other reason). But I can send money or do other things. I just need to know whatever organization I am supporting is a real deal. Not just another power monger looking for a way to gain influence.

[–] HailSeitan@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

Union Now is worth supporting

[–] PHLAK@lemmy.world 5 points 2 hours ago

At a minimum, speak positively of unions to those around you and, if possible, educate those that don't know. So many people think unions are a bad thing from the historical propaganda.

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Sneak a few fliers up around the office? Careful how you print them though, cause they'll probably print with tiny yellow fingerprints hiding highly identifying information

[–] spicehoarder@lemmy.zip 1 points 44 minutes ago

Wouldn't you need to be law enforcement to even begin to follow that paper trail?

[–] Aarrodri@lemmy.world 55 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Remember they will invest billions to kill unions as they already had in the past. You will begin to hear a lot of negativity towards unions.

[–] AlJones@lemmy.world 10 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

It saddens me people fall for those anti union videos. Theyre obvious bullshit. A lot of people arent bright at all.

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 hour ago

Yeah, I used to have a manual labor job and I had heard there the company had fleets in other regions that were unionized. I was like "Cool, can we do that?"

The response was basically "No, because even though our hourly wage would be better, we would no longer be able to work so much overtime so our take-home pay would be smaller."

Even at the time I thought that sounded like a better deal (I'd gladly reduce my hours for a higher rate?) But everyone else just took that as facts and thought the unionized fleets were a bunch of suckers...

I guess it doesn't help that manual labor jobs tend to be filled with the less educated...

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 hour ago

Yeah, the second half of the headline surprised me. I was expecting something along the lines of "The industry struck back hard, punishing them severely."

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmings.world 28 points 7 hours ago

Unionize Everything!

[+] FarraigePlaisteach@lemmy.world -39 points 10 hours ago (6 children)

I have mixed feelings on this. Tech workers are often the henchmen of borderline evil organisations. They’re looking for a place at the table, rather than to hold the companies accountable.

Of course, if it’s not as easy to lay them off maybe they can afford to risk holding them to account. I’m sceptical though.

[–] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Intersting pint. Not entirely wrong either. The main issue is you said "borderline". Drop that and you would be more accurate. Henchmen are usually the people who get thrown to the wolves to protect the evil leader. That too is accurate. Do you think henchmen do that willingly? I can tell you they do not. You can look at google and microsoft and such, where tech workers have spoken out about d What their company is doing. They don't like it. But there are very very few jobs in tech where the company isn't evil. So the best course of action they can take is to try to get some control and steer the company away from evil. They won't be able to make it not evil, they just can't get that much power. But they can make it a bit less evil. And if the union gets big enough it can lobby politicians and such to get laws passed that can further contain the evil. So it's kinda just something that can be done.

[–] zoloftt@lemmy.world 7 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Sounds like you live in a black and white world. Sorry, the world is not as easy as you'd like.

Trying to claim that all people who work in tech are in on sinister plots for Big Tech is cartoon-level oversimplification.

[–] amju_wolf@pawb.social 53 points 9 hours ago (3 children)

There are tens of millions of tech jobs, the vast, vast majority of which is doing boring stuff like running the websites you visit.

...and then in their free time some create platforms like the one you're on roght now, for free. So the generalization you made therr isn't that appreciated.

[+] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone -20 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (3 children)

the vast, vast majority of which is doing boring stuff like running the websites you visit.

And a lot of the Nazis also did administrative work.

That does not make it ok. You don't get to pretend you're not part of the problem simply because "well I need a job".

[–] FenrirIII@lemmy.world 11 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

Hi, let me introduce you to Godwin's Law, because you're apparently new to arguing on the internet. Sadly, at this time, you have lost any possible good faith as your argument is dumb.

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 hour ago

In 2021, Harvard researchers published an article showing that the Nazi-comparison phenomenon does not occur with statistically meaningful frequency in Reddit discussions

While it's certainly overused, and that is trivializing and harmful; turning nazi comparisons into an immediate eye roll is also harmful.

I can't even count how many times leading up to 2024 that I tried explaining to people the glaring similarities between Hitler's rise to power, his ideology, propaganda, and intentions, and those of the nascent trump administration; and people would just write me off as some hyperbolizing troglodyte.

Now we're in 2026 and people are finally starting to see the similarities. Too late.

Of course, the user you're responding to is an idiot and misapplying the analogy by making an overly broad generalization intended to harm the unionizing movement. So that's pretty asinine and contributes to the eye-roll phenomenon.

But I still question how helpful this "Godwin's Law" is as a concept. Seems like something the Knesset would use to evade nazi comparisons...

[–] sidelove@lemmy.world 24 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, but not all administrative work is for Nazi Germany, that's his point. Unicef has a website, not sure I could confidently call their engineers Nazis.

[+] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone -18 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (2 children)

I think you misunderstood. I didn't suggest all administrators were Nazis.

I was saying that administrators existed in the Nazi regime, and they are not excused simply because they never personally pulled a trigger.

My point was about people working in the tech industry, not sure why you're bringing up UNICEF

[–] ripcord@lemmy.world 10 points 5 hours ago

Dude just stop embarrassing yourself

[–] human@slrpnk.net 13 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

Their point is it's a job title and working for the worst offenders in big tech isn't entailed in that. You can work in tech by writing surveillance software for Palantir or you can work in tech by being the website admin for UNICEF. Both are tech workers, but only one is part of the problem.

[–] SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social -5 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

And they create the open source software in their free time that then gets abused by big tech.

I'm struggling to get the downvotes. Can someone explain how this is not the case in our world? MongoDB had to change their license because AWS would fuck them over. cURL and OpenSSL are used by all of them without much help, Bambu (OK, not really big tech) fucks the AGPL, Microsoft fucks everyone, all AI companies rob open source code...

[–] 4am@lemmy.zip 12 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

It’s good to be suspicious, a healthy dose of critical thinking is well warranted.

But I would advice you consider that everyone and their mother was encouraged to “become the next Bill gates” if they’d showed any acumen in computers at all since about 1985. Also consider that working on a piece of software or infrastructure is often that piece; you don’t always get to see the big picture.

Overall I think this is a good thing; I guess it really matters how this union is controlled. Will it really be in the hands of the majority, etc

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 7 points 6 hours ago

Most tech workers I know, myself included, are just trying to pay their bills and not be homeless. Yes sometimes salaries are higher than other fields. Though not as often as you might think. And many people are not trying to be “the next bill gates.” Which as you mention your supportive parents and grandma might have said in 1985. But no one is saying that anymore.

[–] CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Don't let perfection be the enemy of good.

At least they are fighting back. And now they have the collective power to stop working.

[–] FarraigePlaisteach@lemmy.world -1 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

My question is: for who will they fight back? Meta employees have shown us they only fight for themselves as employees, not the victims of their work. And then there’s what Microsoft did to those who opposed involvement with genocide and colonialism. Many more examples too.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmings.world 6 points 7 hours ago

Having people hear about big tech companies unionizing can only help. Unions keep pressure on the companies, and keep them from going too far. Other companies hear about it, and offer up their own reforms voluntarily, hoping it will keep the workers from unionizing. Either way, unions work for EVERYBODY.

[–] terabyterex@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago

what does meta have to do with tbe university system?

[–] chobeat@lemmy.ml 15 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

well, from where else should come the power to interject with the company's plans if not from forming unions? Like what does it mean to hold a company accountable if you have no leverage? Quitting and making a post on social media about it?

[–] sapetoku@sh.itjust.works 5 points 8 hours ago

Absolutely, if you're not at the table then you don't have your say about the menu... because you're a servant.