Unionization in the tech sector

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A tech union is a trade union for tech workers typically employed in high tech or information, community, technology services sectors. Due to the evolving nature of technology and work, different government agencies have conflicting definitions for who is a tech worker. Most definitions include computer scientists, people working in IT, telecommunications, media and video gaming.[1][2][3] Broader definitions include all workers required for a tech company to operate, including on-site service staff, contractors, and platform economy workers.[4]

Global[]

UNI Global Union is an international union federation that has an Information, Communications, Technology and Related Services (ICTS) sector.[5] UNI Global Union was involved in the organizing of Romanian IT and outsourcing firms.[6]

In 2021, UNI Global Union and international workers for Alphabet, Google's parent company, announced an international union coalition called Alpha Global to assist in organizing the company's global workforce.[7]

France[]

Solidaires Informatique is a union that includes game workers and filed a lawsuit against game developer Ubisoft in 2021.[8]

Ireland[]

The Financial Services Union (FSU) has produced surveys, research, and legislative action around the IT, tech, and financial tech sectors as early as 2019.[9][10]

Israel[]

Cellular, Internet and High-Tech was founded in 2014 as an affiliate of the Israeli trade union confederation Histadrut.[11][12] It represents 3,000 workers through the collective bargaining agreement it has with 6 high-tech firms including the Israel divisions of SAP and Visonic.[13] A further 200 employees of Surecomp are organized through the other Israeli federation, Koach LaOvdim.[13]

People's Republic of China[]

See also: 2010 Chinese labour unrest and 996.icu

Mainland China[]

The All-China Federation of Trade Unions is officially the only trade union in the PRC and acts as an extension of the state's interests. It either co-opts or restricts independent labour organising.[14][15] Most trade union chairs in China are company managers, party cadre members and appointed, rather than elected. However, since 2010, due to increased labour militancy and strikes, workers have been able to demand more worker representation in union elections.[16]

In 2018 Jasic Technology retaliated against a worker led union drive. Over 100 students and workers were arrested including members of Jasic Workers Solidarity Group in what became known as the Jasic incident.[17]

In March 2019, Chinese tech workers mobilized, after an anonymous person uploaded a repository named 996.icu to GitHub. 996 refers to 9AM to 9PM, 6 days a week or 72 hour work cycle.[17] Over 230,000 tech workers, mainly in China 'starred' the repository, making it one of the largest tech actions in China.[18] US based Microsoft (which own GitHub) employees signed a letter in support of the 996 movement, opposing censorship.[19]

Hong Kong[]

In the context of the pro-democracy 2019 protests, tech workers founded the Hong Kong Information Technology Workers' Union and developed a database of sympathetic employers who are supportive of the protests.[20] The union was later dissolved due to widespread state repression in Hong Kong following the protests.[21]

Philippines[]

The Business Process Outsourcing Industry Employee's Network (BIEN), historically organized call center workers and more recently has focused on organizing tech industry contract workers. In 2021, the union's president had to move into hiding after increased government surveillance and right-wing targeting of left and labor organizers and organizations in the country.[22] BIEN has a long history of organizing in solidarity with US and Canada tech, media, and telecommunications union Communications Workers of America (CWA), including an incident in 2016 where BIEN and CWA organizers were held at gunpoint by an armed right-wing militia during an organizing effort.[23][24]

Romania[]

Sindicatul IT Timișoara (Romanian IT Union) represents 3,000 IT and outsourcing workers at Alcatel-Lucent, Wipro, Accenture and Alto since 2009.[25]

Serbia[]

The Association of Internet Workers is a trade union of internet-based platform workers in Serbia.[26]

South Korea[]

IT, tech, and game worker unionization is a recent trend, located primarily in the Pangyo Techno Valley with a first wave of organization in 2018 and a second in 2021.[27]

In September 2018, over 300 workers at game developer Nexon formed the country's first game worker union across the company's affiliates such as Nexon Networks Corp., Neople and Nexon Red.[28] In 2019 over 600 members took collective action around reorganizations, job security, and other issues at Nexon.[29] The union, known as Starting Point, successfully won significant pay raises for members in 2020[30]

In 2018 workers at South Korean game company Smilegate also formed a labor union known as SG Guild and successfully got Smilegate executives to sign an agreement with the employees. The union held a demonstration in 2019 calling for "stable work practices."[31]

In March 2021 workers at Kakao's online-only bank firm KakaoBank formed a union. In April 2021, workers at Webzen, an online game developer, established a union. As of 2021 there are also unions at IT, financial tech, and game firms AhnLab, Hangul & Computer, XL Games, and Naver.[27]

Recent South Korea Tech Worker Unions by Company
Company Unit Name Founded Labor Federation
Webzen April 2021 Korea Confederation of Trade Unions
Kakao Bank March 2021 Korea Confederation of Trade Unions
Hangul & Computer Reestablished March 2021 (after 17 year disintegration) Korea Confederation of Trade Unions
Kakao October 2018 Korea Confederation of Trade Unions
AhnLab October 2018 Federation of Korean Trade Unions
XL Games
Smilegate SG Guild 2018
Nexon Starting Point September 2018 Korea Confederation of Trade Unions
Naver April 2018 Korea Confederation of Trade Unions

Sweden[]

Swedish unions Unionen and Saco signed a collective bargaining agreement with strategy game developer Paradox Interactive that covers all 200 of Paradox's workers in Sweden.[32]

United Kingdom[]

The first dedicated union branch for tech workers was launched by members of London chapter of Tech Workers Coalition. The branch is called United Tech and Allied Workers and is affiliated with Communication Workers Union.[33] In 2018, the British chapter of Game Workers Unite became a legally recognised union with the IWGB for all video game workers.[34]

United States[]

Tech unionization is historically relatively new in the United States, with the exception of telecommunications, primarily organized with the Communications Workers of America. The overall private job sector has a historically low union density rate of 7 percent, with the tech industry being even lower than that.[35]

Unionization has picked up speed since 2019 as several unions have successfully launched initiatives to organize tech workers, such as the Communications Workers of America, United Steel Workers and Office and Professional Employees International Union.

National Unions Actively Organizing in Tech[]

In month 2019, the United Steel Workers organized HCL workers who were sub contractors for Google Pittsburgh and subsequently launched.[36]

In January 2020, the Communications Workers of America launched the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA)[37] to organize tech, game, and digital workers in the US and Canada. According to the CODE-CWA website "thousands of tech, game, and digital workers" have organized with over a dozen CODE-CWA organizing campaigns, including several certified unions with collective bargaining rights.[38]

Within its first year[39] the CODE-CWA campaign unionized workers at Glitch,[40] Blue State Digital,[41] the Alphabet Workers Union at Alphabet, and game studio Voltage Entertainment.[42] In 2021, workers at Do Better Tech,[43][44] Mobilize,[45] Medium,[46] NPR,[47][48][49] Mapbox,[50] Catalist,[51] Change.org,[52] EveryAction,[53] and New York Times Tech staff launched public unionization drives,[54] with civic tech companies Mobilize, Catalist and Change.org receiving voluntary recognition from their employers.[51][52] CODE-CWA has also supported workers at Activision Blizzard by filing Unfair Labor Practice charge with the NLRB.[55] CODE-CWA has also organized the first table-top game company at Pathfinder and Starfinder developer Paizo.[56][57][58]

In January 2021, Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) launched Tech Workers Union Local 1010 as a result of its success unionizing Kickstarter.[59] In August, workers at Code for America went public with their union drive with OPEIU.[60]

Recent US Tech Unionization Firsts[]

In 2019, workers at HCL with the United Steel Workers were the first to organize an office based tech union.[4]

In 2020, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) were the first to launch a national tech and game union organizing campaign, the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA). The CODE-CWA campaign has since organized the first successful strike in the game sector of the tech industry at Voltage Entertainment,[42] the first table-top game company at Pathfinder and Starfinder developer Paizo,[56][57][58] the first voluntary union recognition in the US tech industry at Glitch, the first ratified collective bargaining agreement at Glitch,[61] the first worker-owned cooperative in the tech industry at Do Better Tech,[43][44] and the first mass-voluntary membership union at a major modern tech company at Alphabet.[62]

Recent US Tech Worker Unions and Union-Organization by Company[]

Company Unit Name Founded Local Union Status Campaign Description
Lanetix Washington-Baltimore News Guild (CWA) In January 2018, 15 employees of logistics startup company Lanetix were fired, 10 days after they petitioned to form a union with Washington-Baltimore News Guild (CWA).[63] In November, the company agreed to pay $775,000 to the 15 former employees after the NLRB found they retaliated.[64][65]
npm, Inc. March 2019 In March 2019, 5 employees of npm, Inc. were laid off, 4 of which were involved in organizing for a union.[66] In July, npm settled with three employees for $105,000 after they filed a complaint with the NLRB alleging retaliation.[66][67]
HCL Technologies September 2019 USW Local Ratified Bargaining Agreement In 2019, 80 vendor contractors of Google at the outsourcing company HCL Technologies voted to form a union with Pittsburgh United Steel Workers, making it the first successful tech union for office based workers.[68] Two years later, HCL and 65 workers ratified a three-year collective bargaining agreement.[69]
Kickstarter Kickstarter United February 2020 OPEIU Local 153 Certified In February 2020, 85 Kickstarter employees voted to unionize with Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153.[70]
Instacart February 2020 UFCW Local Defunct 14 Instacart part-time (<30 hours) in-store shopper employees voted to form a union with UFCW, in the first app based union in the nation in February 2020.[71][72] One year later, in January 2021, Instacart announced it is laying off 2,000 employees including all 10 remaining unionized workers.[73]
Glitch n/a March 2020 CWA Local 1101 Ratified Bargaining Agreement Glitch staff announced intentions to unionize with the CWA Local 1101 as part of CODE-CWA in early 2020. The company voluntarily recognized their union. Around the same time, the company laid off a third of its staff of 50 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[74][75] Glitch signed a collective bargaining agreement in March 2021, the first in the American tech industry.[76]
Voltage Entertainment August 2020 CWA In August 2020, CODE-CWA organized the first successful strike of 21 contract script writers in the game industry at Voltage Entertainment, which lasted for 21 days and resulted in pay increases and improved transparency.[77]
Blue State Digital Blue State Union October 2020 CWA Local 1101 Certified In October 2020, workers at progressive tech firm Blue State successfully formed a union with CWA Local No. 1101.[78]
Alphabet Alphabet Workers Union January 2021 CWA Local 1400 Solidarity union On January 4, 2021 over 400 employees (out of 130,000) of Alphabet (parent company of Google) formed the Alphabet Workers Union (CWA Local No. 1400) with a rare solidarity union model, which is not registered with the National Labor Relations Board, and thus cannot engage in collective bargaining.[79][80] Alphabet Workers Union is notably open to non Alphabet employees, including Temporary, Vendor, and Contract workers, who make up almost half of the workforce.[79]
Mobilize Mobilize Union March 2021 CWA Certified Workers at the community-organizing app company Mobilize unionized in March with CWA.[81][82]
NPR Digital Media United April 2021 CWA Certified On April 26, 2021 workers in NPR's Digital Media Division announced they had formed a union with NABET-CWA Local 31 as a part of the CODE-CWA organizing project and requested voluntary recognition of their union from NPR management. Digital Media United NABET-CWA, the newly formed constituent of CODE-CWA, includes a wide range of tech related disciplines including engineering, design, content operations, online support, and product management workers.[83][84][85]
New York Times New York Times Tech Guild April 2021 New York NewsGuild-CWA Filed For Union Election On April 13, 2021 more than 650 tech workers at the New York Times announced that they were unionizing with the NewsGuild-CWA.[86][87] In July 2021 the workers filed for union certification with the National Labor Relations Board.[88] On August 11, 2021 the New York Times Tech Guild held a half-day work stoppage in protest of alleged union-busting tactics from the New York Times management for which the Guild filed at least three unfair labor practices charges with the NLRB.[89] If the union is certified, it will be the largest union representing tech workers with collective bargaining rights in the country.[90]
Catalist Catalist Union June 2021 CWA Certified In June 2021, 30 workers at Catalist announced that a super majority of eligible workers had signed authorization cards to be represented and had received voluntary recognition of their union from Catalist management.[91] They did not unionize to improve working conditions, but because workers felt that since the company does work for the labor movement, its employees should be unionized.[91]
Change.Org Solidarity @ Change June 2021 CWA Certified On June 30, 2021 it was announced that 70 workers at petition website Change.Org had received voluntary recognition of their union and will be represented by CODE-CWA for collective bargaining.[92]
Code for America August 2021 OPEIU Certified In August, workers of Code for America went public with their union drive with OPEIU.[60]
EveryAction EveryAction Workers Union September 2021 CWA Certified Around 240 workers at tech nonprofit EveryAction organized with the Communications Workers of America.[93][94]
Paizo United Paizo Workers October 2021 CWA Certified In October, workers at Paizo, the company behind Pathfinder and Starfinder, formed the first major certified table-top RPG union.[95] The unit includes game designers, editors, software developers, and engineers.[96] The workers won recognition of their union following months of turmoil inside the company and the fanbase. Freelancers who work with Paizo went on strike to help pressure the company into granting voluntary recognition.[97]
Big Cartel Big Cartel Workers Union December 2021 OPEIU Local 1010 Certified A majority of workers at the e-commerce platform signed union cards with OPEIU Local 1010, calling for voluntary recognition by December 6, 2021.[98] On December 13, the company announced that they were granting voluntary recognition.[99]
Activision Blizzard ABK Workers Alliance December 2021 CWA Active, signing authorization cards The Communication Workers of America filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the NLRB on September 14 alleging that Activision Blizzard, a prominent videogame development company, had engaged in unlawful intimidation and interrogation of workers organizing with the union.[100] The NLRB complaint follows shortly after a lawsuit initiated by the state of California against Activision Blizzard alleged that there was a culture of unlawful sex-based harassment and discrimination against women within the company.[101]

On December 6, 2021 12 Quality Assurance workers at Raven Software, an Activision Blizzard owned studio, were laid off. Thereafter, workers at Raven and Activision Blizzard launched a third strike at the company, and the first strike to stretch multiple days.[102] On the 9th ABK workers launched a strike fund on GoFundMe seeking to raise $1,000,000.[103]

Also on December 9, 2021 it was revealed that workers at Activision Blizzard had begun signing union authorization cards.[104]

Vodeo Games Vodeo Workers United December 2021 CWA Certified In December, workers at indie game developer Vodeo Games announced they won voluntary recognition of their union, becoming the first certified union of video game workers in North America.[105] Their unit is made up of workers in the US and Canada and it includes all job types, full-time employees, and contract workers.[106]

Additional & Historic US Tech Union Organizing[]

From 1974 to 1983, the United Electrical (UE) formed a Silicon Valley Electronics Organizing Committee (EOC), which was made up of 1 full time staffer and a dedicated network of rank and file from National Semiconductor, Siltec, Fairchild, Siliconix, , and others.[107] They had a newsletter called "The Union Voice" in three languages English, Spanish and Tagalog.[108]

Between 1970 and 2016, a patchwork of IBM worker initiatives formed including the National Black Workers Alliance, IBM Workers United and Alliance@IBM.[109]

From 2014 to 2020,[110][111] various Amazon worker initiatives have unsuccessfully sought union recognition in different Amazon warehouses, most recently in Bessemer, Alabama.[111] In 2021, members of Teamsters members voted at a convention to form an 'Amazon division' to make it a strategic priority.[112][113]

See also[]

References[]

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