German Calderon

This feels like an increasingly common story in tech, especially for contractors working on AI for Big Tech.

Are you one of these contractors? Do you have a story you want to share? changes are needed, our Senior Manager of Community Outreach and Engagement, @german-c.bsky.social.

Mercor Contractors Allege The AI Company Slashed Their Wages Mercor allegedly canned an AI training project with thousands of contractors just weeks after hitting a $10 billion valuation.

Just after becoming billionaires, the cofounders of Mercor slashed the contract positions of the people who helped them achieve that monumental feat.

Only to allegedly try to hire them back for less money. www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...

@forbes.com @iainmartin.bsky.social

AI is changing the labor landscape. What can we do about it?

80% of U.S tech leaders cited upskilling as the best way to improve employees’ gaps in important tech skills. But previous cycles of labor disruption have shown that focusing on reskilling has been far from a sufficient solution.

"Why would Oakland choose to spend $2.25 million building the very surveillance infrastructure that will be weaponized against our immigrant neighbors?”

"But the office has warned that the actual value of AI remains unclear and the optimism is probably at least somewhat overblown."

Half of U.S. game workers want to join a union According to the 2025 Game Industry Salary Report, 64 percent of developers support unions and 56 percent want to join one.

"Over half (53 percent) of respondents say they feel somewhat or significantly undercompensated at their job... Notably, the number jumps to 69 percent for contractors, consultants, and people working part-time."

www.gamedeveloper.com/business/hal...

Civil liberties groups sue San Jose over warrantless access to license plate reader data The Electronic Frontier Foundation, ACLU, CAIR and SIREN have joined forces in an attempt to put a check on surveillance searches in San Jose that are utilized by local police and outside agencies.

"The lawsuit adds that the only way to opt out of this data collection is not to drive at all."

www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/18/c...

🚨The final event in our popular series with the NYPL is happening on Thursday, w an incredible panel of experts discussing the value of human labor in the face of increasing automation. Reserve your in-person spot (they're going quickly) or RSVP to join us online! www.showclix.com/event/unders...

"They are coming back to work for a president who has shown little concern about their financial strains."

Don't Buy Starbucks! At any location, today and beyond, while workers are on ULP strike!

As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.

Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX

Silicon Valley tech giant cutting up to 2,800 jobs after $35B merger In another sign of turbulence for the tech industry, Silicon Valley chip design giant Synopsys plans to cut about 10% of its global workforce after its $35 billion acquisition of Ansys.

In another sign of turbulence for the tech industry, Silicon Valley chip design giant Synopsys plans to cut about 10% of its global workforce after its $35 billion acquisition of Ansys.

Californians want AI regulation.

This was the big takeaway of our 2025 AI Compass report detailing how Californians really feel about AI. An overwhelming majority specifically favors policies that protect privacy (81%), enforce civil rights (73%), and enact non-discrimination rules (73%).

Californians, TODAY IS ELECTION DAY!! 🐻🗳️ Make sure you go to the polls or drop off your ballot, if you haven’t yet! Find your nearest polling place or a ballot drop box here: www.sos.ca.gov/elections/po...

a dark red graphic with a photo of members of the Alphabet Workers Union wearing black Googlers For Job Security t-shirts, holding a Googlers For Job Security banner, and raising their fists. The Alphabet Workers Union logo is featured at the top and white text reads: “Tech Workers, Get Organized! Alphabet Workers Union Statement on Amazon’s Mass Layoffs Announcement.”

TLDR: tech workers, get organized!

The Alphabet Workers Union has issued a statement in response to Amazon’s announcement that it will lay off 14,000 corporate workers: “Now is the time for us to stand together collectively, so we have power and a real voice in our industry.”

Amazon cutting thousands of corporate roles Sources claim the layoffs could be announced this week and impact up to 30,000 people.

Update: Amazon cutting corporate roles across key departments including video games

The conglomerate confirmed 14,000 roles are being eliminated in a memo sent to employees, in which SVP of people experience and technology, Beth Galetti, took time to praise the impact of AI technology

California workers: What you need to know about your layoff rights - TechEquity Collaborative What rights do you have as a worker in California facing a layoff? We brought together experts to find out so that you can be prepared.

Resurfacing this resource from @techequity.bsky.social for any California worker who is impacted by layoffs

techequity.us/2024/12/10/c...

Amazon Plans to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs With Robots

"There are concerns automation could affect people of color particularly hard because Amazon’s warehouse workers are about three times as likely as a typical American worker to be Black."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/t...

OpenAI Restructures as For-Profit Company The artificial intelligence company said that the nonprofit that controlled the organization would receive a $130 billion stake in the new company.

Breaking News: OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has adopted a for-profit structure, allowing it to operate like a more traditional company while it raises the billions of dollars it needs to develop artificial intelligence.

1/ It’s time to get real about Amazon and AI. Amazon coworkers: sign our open letter below to tell Amazon leadership that we need a more responsible rollout of AI. Everyone else: Send our letter to anyone who works at Amazon or even in the tech industry.
www.amazonclimatejustice.org/open-letter?...

Building worker power in the tech industry is key!

At #CircuitBreakers @techworkerscoalition.org, workers, organizers, and activists in the tech industry—including some of TechEquity's staff—came together to 'learn, build community, strategize, and recognize collective power.'

Amazon is Building a Surveillance Empire on the Backs of Delivery Drivers. A new report from the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) exposes the dark underbelly of technology-driven workplace surveillance.” Above the text is an old school television with an antenna featuring a surveillance snapshot from a camera inside of an Amazon delivery van. The Amazon logo is upside down and is a frown. Around the television are disembodied eyes and ears.

🚨NEW🚨 from DAIR:

Today we are releasing "Driven Down", a new report on how workplace technology enables Amazon to steal wages, hide labor,
intensify poor working conditions, and evade responsibility.

Read the full report here: drive.google.com/file/d/1yBxy...

TONIGHT: Catch Founder/CEO of TechEquity and author of “World Eaters: How Venture Capital is Cannibalizing the Economy” @catherinebracy.com on @thedailyshow.com.

She’ll be talking to @michaelkosta.bsky.social about the state of the modern tech economy and how we can build a more equitable future.

The future of white-collar work may be unionized Law firms, banks and tech companies are seeing an uptick in employees choosing to join unions.

🗣️The Future Of The Tech Industry Is Unionized!

“The way layoffs happened at Google, where it wasn’t clear what the reason for people getting laid off was, definitely created a sense of job insecurity & mistrust,” said AWU Prez Parul Koul @washingtonpost.com

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Corporations call it "privacy-preserving," but this new AI tech isn't all that it seems.

Our new brief w/@datasociety.bsky.social + CoWorker exposes how this tech harms + exploits workers and what we can do to strengthen worker protections + power in the digital age: datasociety.net/library/the-...

Big shoutout to everyone at @techequity.bsky.social, @alphabetworkersunion.org, and @cwaunion.bsky.social! This new report highlights the conditions faced by U.S.-based data workers and content moderators who make AI possible. cwa-union.org/ghost-worker...

Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians Exclusive: Tech firm ends military unit’s access to AI and data services after Guardian reveals secret spy project * Middle East crisis – live updates Microsoft has terminated the Israeli military’s access to technology it used to operate a powerful surveillance system that collected millions of Palestinian civilian phone calls made each day in Gaza and the West Bank, the Guardian can reveal. Microsoft told Israeli officials late last week that Unit 8200, the military’s elite spy agency, had violated the company’s terms of service by storing the vast trove of surveillance data in its Azure cloud platform, sources familiar with the situation said. Continue reading...

Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians

🚨 Happening this Monday, Sept. 29th! 🚨

Behind Grok's 'sexy' settings, workers review explicit and disturbing content Workers say they've faced sexually explicit content while xAI has marketed Grok to be deliberately provocative. Experts say the company should be cautious.

"You have to have thick skin to work here, and even then it doesn't feel good," a former worker said. They said they quit this year over concerns about the amount of CSAM they encountered."

www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-gr...

A First Look at Labor’s AI Values: An analysis of recent statements about technology by unions and other worker organizations A first look at labor’s vision of what the future of AI and digital technologies should look like.

Unions are articulating a vision for how AI & other digital technologies should be developed and used in the workplace. We analyzed 17 of these documents by 15 organizations and identified key values being put forward. laborcenter.berkeley.edu/a-first-look...

Vice President of Communications - TechEquity Collaborative We're looking for someone 10-15 years of experience in comms, marketing, and/or public relations/affairs in a nonprofit/advocacy to join our team!

Join the TechEqui-Team as our new VP of Communications!

You’ll be responsible for developing and executing comprehensive communication strategies to support engagement and outreach with our key audiences.

You’ll also be supervising the person who wrote this 👀 techequity.us/our-team/vic...