Post by @ml@eldritch.cafe

There are a shit-ton of programmers here and I know y'all are worried for your jobs.

But I feel like so many are still only thinking of themselves in relation to potential employers.

There are two things here there's enough critical mass to do:

- Form a union (the Freelancer's Union exists for folks in freelancing (writing, etc)...you could make something for people in tech and make it international just like the wealthy know no nation. The best way for labor to fight corporations is to ALSO be multinational. https://freelancersunion.org/

- Form cooperatives and create non-slop things people need. There are definitely people here who don't program who would be willing to buy a program from a cooperative software foundry.

#Labor #Union #Tech #FuckAI

Freelancers Union

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Freelancers Union is a non-profit organization serving as a support system for independent workers through advocacy, education, and benefits. So, whether you

#union #fuckai #labor #tech

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Nelson

@skyfaller@jawns.club 2 hr. ago

@ml @aburka Is the freelancer's union really a union? I was excited about it when I first heard of it, but it seems to mostly be health insurance. Do they do any organizing? Do they coordinate strikes? Do they try to impact politics and laws to improve the lives of freelancers?

I'm not saying they don't do any of these things, I am saying I haven't seen a lot of action from them; so maybe they need more publicity, or they need louder actions.

Megan Lynch

@ml@eldritch.cafe 1 hr. ago

@skyfaller @aburka No, it is not a union-union, but I think that is for the same reason I'm not currently a UAW member - I'm no longer a grad student TA at UC.

Unions are usually tied to one's employer/work location and in this case I'm suggesting people who do not have an employer band together now, not waiting for an employer-tied union. Organize regardless of whether you take a future job in programming at a corporation.

However, if people are employed, they should definitely be organizing that sort of union.

And in the US, health insurance ain't nothing. Most people lose health insurance when they're unemployed or employed freelance.

#Labor #Union #FuckAI

Nelson

@skyfaller@jawns.club 1 hr. ago

@ml @aburka You don't have to be tied to a specific employer to have a union. Ignore the NLRB, wall-to-wall unions and concepts like the IWW suggest an alternate approach to labor power. Legal unions are weaker than ever in the current political environment, so it's time to remind capitalists why they compromised with the NLRB in the first place.

I guess I don't think the freelancers union seems radical enough. As long as companies like Uber are possible, I don't think they're doing their job.

Megan Lynch

@ml@eldritch.cafe 25 min. ago

@skyfaller I wasn't making the argument it should be exactly like that. I wanted an example to give of something that was not employer-tied. It didn't occur to me to mention IWW because I've had bad experiences with them...they stole $ from me. I don't have positive associations with present-day IWW as a result.

How radical or not whatever tech people form is going to be depends on who's forming it and what consensus they come to. For one thing, tech in the US has long been chock full of rw libertarians, which is why they're not already unionized and are easy pickings for "replacing" with AI.

But you seem to be taking the fact taht I used Freelancer's Union as an example as some sort of iron-clad recommendation that that is what it has to be rather than me picking an example of a concept that happens to have an easy-to-read description and coherent website.

I'm not trying to force anyone into that form nor even recommending they join the Freelancer's Union unless somehow it appeals to them.