This week’s announcement of the formation of the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) was met across the tech industry, and among those organizing within it, with optimism and hope that the effort will lead to more tech workers realizing their collective power at work.
OPEIU’s Tech Workers Union Local 1010 extends its congratulations to AWU, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and all tech workers who have been brave and bold enough to stand up for their rights and help pave the way for the rights of others in the industry.
With such a large industry to tackle, and so many tech workers interested in organizing, Tech Workers Union Local 1010 has been energized by the myriad ways workers like those at Google are experimenting with different, context-specific ways to build power in their workplace, within an industry that can be rightly described as a new frontier for union organizing.
As we learned last year with our victory at Kickstarter — one of the first tech unions in U.S. history — and with our sustained efforts to organize tech workers, this work is difficult. Many tech companies have an entire toolbelt full of resources — union-busting consultants, employee surveillance and more — they use to illegally, and often without penalty, prevent their employees from exercising their rights.
Congratulations again to AWU, CWA, and all tech workers who are bravely standing up for not only their own rights, but the rights of others.