Against Tech Oligarchy
Against Tech Oligarchy is a book that tells the story of collective action in tech, chronicling the rise of the tech worker movement, the effect its had on Silicon Valley’s politics, and also why—as of these past few years—it has fallen into a state of crisis.
From Googlers’ protest against Project Maven to the first-ever tech worker strike at the New York Times, this book is packed with stories of how tech workers have organized to hold their bosses accountable, and importantly, how organizing strategies have evolved over time. The book also tells the (untold) story of Twitter’s secret union drive and how Elon Musk decimated the campaign—and the workforce—when he acquired the company.
The book is a product of years of research, dozens of interviews, and countless hours of discussion with the team at CAIT. It is also a product of both JS and Clarissa’s long experience organizing in the industry.
When JS worked at Microsoft, he helped organize various open letters and internal actions to protest the company’s growing collaborations with ICE, the Pentagon, and Big Oil companies. Then, after being sent to Kazakhstan to help Chevron accelerate oil extraction using Microsoft cloud and AI technologies, he also blew the whistle on the software giant who was at the time trying to portray itself as a champion of the green transition.
Clarissa, for her part, was a key organizer at Kickstarter where tech workers won the industry’s very first union. She was fired for her role in the campaign, but has continued to support labor organizing in the industry, becoming one of the most militant voices in the movement. Since then, they’ve both stayed heavily involved with organizing tech: running trainings, bootstrapping campaign, and, at one point, even working for an international union as staffers to organize the industry.
Today, tech bosses have cozied with the political right and formed what has been called a tech oligarchy. The need for tech worker organizing is more urgent than ever. This book not only makes the case for it, but sets workers on a path to finding their leverage and reviving the much needed tech worker movement.
Order the book today: https://againsttecholigarchy.com