Unionization in the tech sector

Summary

A tech union is a trade union for tech workers typically employed in high tech or information and communications technology 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 edit

UNI Global Union is a global union federation that has an Information, Communications, Technology and Related Services (ICTS) sector.[5]

In 2021, UNI Global Union and international workers of Alphabet, Google's parent company, announced an international union coalition called Alpha Global to assist in organizing the company's global workforce.[6]

Australia edit

Professionals Australia is the union that represents Australian tech workers.

France edit

Solidaires Informatique is a union that includes game workers and filed a lawsuit against game developer Ubisoft in 2021.[7]

Germany edit

The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) has the principle of one trade union for each company. In practice, the two largest trade unions, IG Metall and ver.di[note 1] have been competing since the early 1990s to represent the tech industry which are part of the newer economies.[9] High-tech workers in Germany have lower union density than other workers, and are less likely to engage in collective bargaining and are more likely to engage in alternative organisations, sometimes in direct competition with trade unions.[10]

At IBM Germany, the two unions formed a joint collective bargaining committee to resolve their internal union competition.[11] SAP employees are similarly represented by both unions.[12]

Tech companies in Berlin have increasingly formed works councils, notably at TikTok, Tesla, Gorillas,[13] N26,[14] and Zalando.[15]

Ireland edit

The Financial Services Union (FSU) has produced surveys, research, and legislative action around the IT, tech, and financial tech sectors as early as 2019.[16][17]

Israel edit

Cellular, Internet and High-Tech was founded in 2014 as an affiliate of the Israeli trade union confederation Histadrut.[18][19] 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.[20] A further 200 employees of Surecomp are organized through the other Israeli federation, Koach LaOvdim.[20]

People's Republic of China edit

Mainland China edit

The All-China Federation of Trade Unions is officially the only trade union in China and acts as an extension of the state's interests. It either co-opts or restricts independent labour organizing.[21][22] Most trade union chairs in China are company managers, party cadre members and appointed, rather than elected. The Foxconn Trade Union was formed in November 2006. It represents 90 percent of Foxconn's 1.4 million workers in China and is a company union dominated by management.[23] However, since 2010, due to increased labour militancy and strikes, workers through China have been able to demand more worker representation in union elections.[24]

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.[25]

In March 2019, Chinese tech workers mobilized, after an anonymous person uploaded a repository named 996.icu to GitHub. 996 refers to 9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week or 72-hour work cycle.[25] Over 230,000 tech workers, mainly in China 'starred' or 'liked' the repository, making it one of the largest tech actions in China.[26] US based Microsoft (which own GitHub) employees signed a letter in support of the 996 movement, opposing censorship.[27]

Hong Kong edit

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.[28] The union was later dissolved due to widespread state repression in Hong Kong following the protests.[29]

Philippines edit

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.[30] 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.[31][32]

Romania edit

Sindicatul IT Timișoara (SITT; Romanian IT Union) represents 3,000 IT and outsourcing workers at Alcatel-Lucent, Wipro, Accenture and Alto since 2009. In 2015, SITT met with UNI Global Union to develop an organizing strategy.[33]

Serbia edit

The Association of Internet Workers is a trade union of internet-based platform workers in Serbia.[34]

South Korea edit

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.[35]

In September 2018, over 300 workers at video-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.[36] In 2019 over 600 members took collective action around reorganizations, job security, and other issues at Nexon.[37] The union, known as Starting Point, successfully won significant pay raises for members in 2020.[38]

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".[39]

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.[35]

In April 2023, Google Korea and Google Cloud Korea formed a union with Korea Finance & Service Workers Union (KFSWU) affiliated to KCTU. KFSWU has previously organized workers at Oracle, Hewlett Packard, SAP, and Microsoft Korea.[40][41]

Recent South Korea Tech Worker Unions by Company[35]
Company Founded Labor Federation
Webzen April 2021 KCTU
Kakao Bank March 2021 KCTU
Hangul & Computer March 2021 KCTU
Kakao October 2018 KCTU
AhnLab October 2018 FKTU
XL Games
Smilegate 2018 KCTU[42]
Nexon September 2018 KCTU
Naver April 2018 KCTU

Sweden edit

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.[43]

Switzerland edit

The Swiss union syndicom covers the IT sector. It is active within Google among other companies.[44]

In October 2019 employees of Google Switzerland invited syndicom to their office while Google management attempted to shut down their talk.[45]

In February and March 2023, employees of Google Switzerland supported by syndicom walked out to protest layoffs.[46][47]

United Kingdom edit

Unite the Union (and its predecessor Graphical, Paper and Media Union) represents Information and Technology sector workers. Unite has a number of collective agreements with tech companies such as Fujitsu, DXC & Daisy Group. In London, a dedicated Unite branch for tech workers has been established.[48]

Since 2023 Unite has seen significant growth in sector membership within tech firms such as Google.[49]

In 2020 the first dedicated union branch for tech workers was launched by members of the London chapter of the Tech Workers Coalition. The branch, United Tech and Allied Workers, operates as part of the Communication Workers Union.[50]

In 2018, the British chapter of Game Workers Unite became a legally recognized union with the IWGB for all video game workers.[51]

In November 2021, Prospect union launched a new tech sector, "a new home of tech workers within the union",[52] which has played a leading role in challenging treatment of staff at Twitter.[53] [54]

United States edit

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.[55]

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, Semimetals, and others.[56] They had a newsletter called "The Union Voice" in English, Spanish and Tagalog languages.[57]

Between 1970 and 2016, a patchwork of IBM worker initiatives formed including the National Black Workers Alliance, IBM Workers United and Alliance@IBM.[58]

Since 2014,[59][60] various Amazon worker initiatives have largely unsuccessfully sought union recognition in different Amazon warehouses.[60] In 2021, members of Teamsters voted at a convention to form an 'Amazon division' to make it a strategic priority.[61][62]

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 edit

In September 2019, the United Steel Workers organized 80 HCL workers based in Pittsburgh, who were subcontracted to provide data analysis for Google Shopping. In 2021, the 60 remaining workers concluded their first collective bargaining agreement with HCL, one of the first agreements the US tech industry.[63]

In January 2020, the Communications Workers of America launched the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) to organize tech, game, and digital workers in the US and Canada.[64] 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.[65] As of August 2022, CODE-CWA has organized over 3000 union members in various sub-industries of the tech sector across over 25 bargaining units in the last two years of organizing.[66]

Within its first year[67] the CODE-CWA campaign unionized workers at Glitch,[68] Blue State Digital,[69] the Alphabet Workers Union at Alphabet, and game studio Voltage Entertainment.[70] In 2021, workers at Do Better Tech,[71][72] Mobilize,[73] Medium,[74] NPR,[75][76][77] Mapbox,[78] Catalist,[79] Change.org,[80] EveryAction,[81] and New York Times Tech staff launched public unionization drives,[82] with civic tech companies Mobilize, Catalist and Change.org receiving voluntary recognition from their employers.[79][80] CODE-CWA has also supported workers at Activision Blizzard by filing Unfair Labor Practice charge with the NLRB.[83] CODE-CWA has also organized the first table-top game company at Pathfinder and Starfinder developer Paizo.[84][85][86]

In January 2021, Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) launched Tech Workers Union Local 1010 as a result of its success unionizing Kickstarter.[87] In August, workers at Code for America went public with their union drive with OPEIU.[88]

Recent US Tech Worker Unions and Union-Organization by Company edit

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).[89] In November, the company agreed to pay $775,000 to the 15 former employees after the NLRB found they retaliated.[90][91]
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.[92] In July, npm settled with three employees for $105,000 after they filed a complaint with the NLRB alleging retaliation.[92][93]
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.[94] Two years later, HCL and 65 workers ratified a three-year collective bargaining agreement.[95]
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.[96]
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.[97][98] One year later, in January 2021, Instacart announced it is laying off 2,000 employees including all 10 remaining unionized workers.[99]
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.[100][101] Glitch signed a collective bargaining agreement in March 2021, the first in the American tech industry.[102]
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.[103]
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.[104]
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.[105][106] Alphabet Workers Union is notably open to non Alphabet employees, including Temporary, Vendor, and Contract workers, who make up almost half of the workforce.[105]
Mobilize Mobilize Union March 2021 CWA Certified Workers at the community-organizing app company Mobilize unionized in March with CWA.[107][73]
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.[108][109][110]
New York Times New York Times Tech Guild April 2021 New York NewsGuild-CWA Certified On April 13, 2021, more than 650 tech workers at the New York Times announced that they were unionizing with the NewsGuild-CWA.[111][112] In July 2021 the workers filed for union certification with the National Labor Relations Board.[113] 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.[114] At the time the union was certified, it was the largest union representing tech workers with collective bargaining rights in the country.[115]
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.[116] 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.[116]
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.[117]
Code for America Code for America Workers United[118][119] August 2021 OPEIU Local 1010[120] Certified In August, workers of Code for America went public with their union drive with OPEIU.[88]
EveryAction EveryAction Workers Union September 2021 CWA Certified Around 240 workers at tech nonprofit EveryAction organized with the Communications Workers of America.[121][122]
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.[86] The unit includes game designers, editors, software developers, and engineers.[123] 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.[124]
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.[125] On December 13, the company announced that they were granting voluntary recognition.[126]
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.[83] 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.[127]

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.[128] On the 9th ABK workers launched a strike fund on GoFundMe seeking to raise $1,000,000.[129]

Also on December 9, 2021, it was revealed that workers at Activision Blizzard had begun signing union authorization cards.[130]

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.[131] Their unit is made up of workers in the US and Canada and it includes all job types, full-time employees, and contract workers.[132]
Raven Software/Activision Blizzard Game Workers Alliance January 2022 CWA Certified In late January Quality Assurance workers at Raven Software filed for a union election with the NLRB to join the Communication Workers of America after being denied Voluntary Recognition.[133] On May 23, workers at Raven Software voted 19-3 in favor of being represented by CWA.[134]
Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions) Game Workers Alliance Albany July 2022 CWA Filed for NLRB Election Following the successful unionization of Quality Assurance workers at Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions), filed for a union election with the NLRB.[135] On December 2, 2022, it was announced that the workers had unanimously won their union election.[136]
Tender Claws Tender Claws Human Union July 2022 CWA Received Voluntary Recognition On July 22, 2022, the 13 employees of Tender Claws announced via twitter that they had formed a union with unanimous support from all workers, and that their employer would be granting voluntary recognition of their union.[137] Subsequently on August 1, the workers announced that their management signed the voluntary recognition agreement.
ZeniMax ZeniMax Workers United December 2022 CWA Requested card check On December 5, 2022, a supermajority of workers in a unit of more than 300 QA testers across ZeniMax announced they had organized a union with CWA and were seeking certification from their employer. ZeniMax, as a subsidiary of Microsoft, is operating under a neutrality agreement negotiated between Microsoft and CWA.[138]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ In 2001, German Salaried Employees' Union (DAG) merged to form ver.di trade union.[8]

References edit

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External links edit

  • Chinese: 香港資訊科技界工會; lit. 'Hong Kong Information Technology Workers’ Union' Official Website Archived 2021-01-20 at the Wayback Machine
  • UNI Global Union Information, Communications, Technology and Services sector Official Website
  • Collective Actions in Tech Data