Labor Notes 2023 Tech Organizing Conference

NOTE: REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.
NO WALK IN REGISTRATION.

Join us this October in NYC for a gathering of union organizers from across the tech industry. This conference is organized by rank-and-file tech workers, with the support of Labor Notes.

RANK & FILE CONFERENCE

This event is an “unconference,” and most sessions will be led by rank-and-file workers. The morning of the event, every attendee will be encouraged to propose a session idea and every attendee will participate in selecting the ideas of most interest. Session formats range from talks, workshops, open discussions—the more creative and actionable, the better. After the most popular sessions are added to the agenda, we’ll spend the rest of the day attending the selected sessions, in discussions led by fellow workers. If you have an idea for a session, think it through and come ready to pitch it. Here is a taste of some of the sessions your fellow siblings in labor are planning:

Wall-to-Wall
Join Janneke Parrish (Apple), Chris Schmidt (Google), and Ben Gwin (HCL Google Contractors) for a discussion on building a wall-to-wall union that overcomes workplace divisions. We’ll discuss how these organizers built solidarity between third party contractors and full-time workers, office workers and field workers, new unions and preexisting unions, and overcame geographic challenges.

Inside the Google Walkouts
In 2018, Claire Stapleton helped organize a 20,000-person walkout to protest Google’s mishandling of sexual harassment cases. The walkout inspired a wave of direct action by workers across the industry and remains the largest direct action the tech industry has ever seen. In this talk, Claire will share an inside look at the Google walkouts from the perspective of an organizer.

Salting Tech
In the last few years, we’ve seen a wave of salts target the tech industry. Tech workers from Glitch, Google, Kickstarter, Mapbox, and more have learned how to build solidarity and moved on to new shops. Hear how to start organizing when you land at a new company from workers who are actively salting to build more worker power and win ground against capital.

Winning Power
In a moment of crisis at Kickstarter, Taylor Moore decided to take action and link arms with his coworkers. The catalyst that ignited this union drive was deeply tied to worker demands for control over how our labor impacts society. In this talk, Taylor shares his take on why labor organizing in tech is critical to the health of society and culture.

H. & B., Twitter Layoff Guide
In 2022, Twitter workers exploded into an organizing frenzy when the world’s richest man bought their workplace and gutted it. Two workers who helped lead the most impactful collective actions over this period will give us an inside look at how Twitter workers quietly fought Elon Musk and won.

Open Bargaining
Open bargaining is an essential part of building an educated, engaged, and militant union. Led by the Labor Notes team, this workshop will feature voices from bargaining committee members like Bjorn Westergard (NPR), Dannel Jurado (Kickstarter United), and Goran Svorcan-Merola (New York Times Tech Union).

Schedule

9:00-9:50 am ET
Registration & Unconference Session Pitching

10:00 am ET
Keynotes

12:00 pm ET
Provided Lunch & Unconference Session Pitching

1:00 pm ET
Unconference

6:00 pm ET

Off Campus Afterparties

LOCATION

This year's conference is in New York City at NYU in Manhattan near Washington Square Park. More details about the precise location will be shared with confirmed attendees by September 1. Please do not share the precise location publicly to protect the security of attendees.

COST

Basic registration is $45. If you'd like to make an additional contribution that will support other attendees, choose the Solidarity option of $75. Registration fees go to conference meals and to help sponsor attendees traveling long distances. Mutual aid funds are available for travel.

If you think you may need travel assistance to attend the conference, please contact tech2023[at]labornotes[dot]org. We do not yet know how large the solidarity fund will be. Please let us know if you think you will need travel assistance, and we will be in touch once we know what resources we have.

The rank-and-file tech workers who organized this conference believe in militant, transparent, democratic struggle that builds solidarity on the shop floor and beyond. We encourage anyone interested in running a session to keep these in mind as you plan a thoughtful space for actionable discussion.

COVID POLICY

All attendees will be required to rapid test for Covid within 24 hours of the conference. At registration we will ask to see your negative test and all attendees will be expected to mask unless eating or speaking on stage.

GETTING AROUND

NYU is accessible via public transit and the conference is held across two floors within one building which is fully ADA compliant and accessible. Stay tuned for details about airport travel and other logistics.

HOUSING

The conference organizers are not planning to offer block hotel rates or other housing. Attendees will be responsible for finding lodging.

IS THIS CONFERENCE FOR YOU?

This is a high participation conference for rank-and-file workers in tech who have direct experience organizing or who are ready to start building power. This gathering is not for observers like journalists, lawyers, or researchers. If you fall into one of these categories, you might be eligible if you have deep ties to the tech labor movement and we encourage you to reach out to confirm if this conference is for you.

INVITE OTHER TECH WORKERS

Here is a simple message to copy and paste: I just signed up to attend this Labor Notes conference for rank and filers organizing in tech! It's at NYU on October 7th. We should go together! Here's the registration page: https://labornotes.org/techcon2023

QUESTIONS?

email tech2023[at]labornotes[dot]org

UNCONFERENCE SESSION SUPPORT

Anyone who attends this conference is invited to pitch a session idea and facilitate a discussion, talk, workshop, artbuild, etc. There are two upcoming calls to help you brainstorm a session idea. Please email tech2023[at]labornotes[dot]org if you want to hop into a session support call on either August 7 or August 11. Each call will be open to pop ins from 7pm ET to 9pm ET.