Unions Got This - #YouGotThisConf 2020

Unions don’t usually come up in history class. If they do, they’re normally accompanied by talk of miners and Thatcherism. But we’re not taught what unions actually do for the modern, nine-to-five worker. That’s where this talk comes in.

This will be a whistle-stop tour of what unionism means in today’s world of tech. We’ll briefly cover what a union is, the various shapes and sizes they take and what they can do for you, using the recently formed Game Workers Unite UK branch of the IWGB as an example.

We’ll also touch upon the happenings across the pond at Kickstarter and Vox Media as well as how the international movements of Game Workers Unite and the Tech Workers Coalition are bringing unionism into tech industries.

Transcript

1. Unions Got This
   Organising The Tech Trade
   

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2. Unions?
   

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4. TRADE UNION
   

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5. RIGHTS
   

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6. WORKERS RIGHTS
   

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7. Companies are
   capitalist
   

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8. What is a
   trade union?
   A trade union is an organisation with
   members, usually workers or employees.
   It looks after their interests at work by
   doing things like:
   ● negotiating agreements with
   employers on pay and conditions
   ● discussing big changes like large
   scale redundancy
   ● discussing members’ concerns
   with employers
   ● going with members to
   disciplinary and grievance
   meetings
   https://www.gov.uk/join-trade-union
   http://www.unionancestors.co.uk/
   

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9. Benefits Elect workplace reps, branch
   officers and central union officers
   Democratic rights in union
   

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10. Benefits
    Fight for better working conditions:
    ● limits on the working day/week,
    the weekend
    ● longer annual leave
    ● binding employment contracts
    ● parental leave
    ● minimum wages
    ● fighting discrimination
    ● a collective way to demand
    better pay and conditions
    Campaigning rights
    

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11. Benefits
    ● Full legal protection support for
    employment tribunals and
    other legal cases
    ● Trade union rep for advice,
    disciplinary meetings
    ● The option to strike
    For you
    

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12. “Where do I start?”
    

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13. Billy Elliot Pride
    The Miners Strike
    

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14. FILMS
    https://laborfilms.com/
    

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16. BECTU
    ● Larger, service union for
    creative industries
    ● Has a games industry cohort
    ● More people, less flexibility
    ● More conservative, less radical
    ● Because of its broad purview,
    less focused on games (and
    tangentially, the tech industry)
    

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17. ● There’s a story to the name (too
    long for this talk)
    ● TL;DR: “independent” doesn’t
    mean self-employed
    ● Focus on workers who
    traditionally haven’t been
    unionised before (like the
    games industry!)
    ● Dynamic, lightweight,
    not-bureaucratic (unlike Unite or
    BECTU)
    

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18. Megaphone != Assault
    ● James Farrar was facing trial at Southwark Crown
    Court accused of assaulting two police officers at a
    trade union demonstration.
    ● Their allegation relates to sound emanating from a
    megaphone and no physical contact is alleged.
    ● If the CPS succeeded then no trade union activist or
    protester will be safe from police prosecution for
    something as minor as using a megaphone, a drum, a
    whistle or even for shouting too loudly.
    ● Case thrown out by judge!
    ● Suing police over the malicious prosecution
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/16/trial-of-union-leader-for-assault-by-megaphone-collapses
    

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19. DONATE
    https://www.crowdjustice.com/
    case/defend-trade-unionists/
    

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20. What is Game Workers Unite UK?
    ● Rank & File unionism where each member (xᵢ,yⱼ)
    is equal. This is different to business unions
    where a hierarchical structure exists
    ● Game Workers: people who work in the games
    industry. That includes anybody involved in any
    operation within the games industry
    ● It is an autonomous branch of the IWGB
    (the central union)
    ● Affiliated with the Game Workers Unite
    international movement
    

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21. GWU UK
    PILLARS
    

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22. CRUNCH
    End the institutionalised practice of excessive/unpaid overtime
    

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23. INCLUSION
    Improve Diversity and Inclusion at all levels
    

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24. SUPPORT
    Inform workers of their rights and support those who are abused,
    harassed, or need representation
    

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25. SECURITY
    Secure a steady and fair wage for all
    

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26. ● Aug 2018: Kotaku posted an
    article about sexist culture at
    Riot
    ● Nov 2018: Female employees
    sue Riot over alleged unequal
    pay, sexual harassment
    ● May 2019: Over 150 riot
    employees walkout
    ● Aug 2019: Riot settles
    ● Dec 2019: Riot to pay $10
    million to approximately 1000
    women to settle gender
    discrimination suit
    https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2019-12-02/riot-games-gender-discrimination-settlement
    

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28. “But I don’t work
    in games… :( ”
    

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29. Google Walkouts
    ● Nov 2018: Google employees
    across the globe walkout after
    sexual misconduct allegations
    ● Nov 2019: Google fires the
    Thanksgiving Four for violating
    data security policies.
    ● Supporters of the fired
    employees say it was due to
    their organising activities
    

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30. UNION
    BUSTING
    

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31. CODE CWA
    

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32. Tech Workers Coalition
    

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33. Social
    Organise meetups
    ● A great way to meet new
    people
    ● Create safe spaces (with good
    codes of conduct
    ● Use free services like
    Eventbrite
    ● Why not try to keep it dry!
    

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34. Educational
    You’re going to grow!
    ● Be part of a huge history of
    worker-led organising
    ● Stepping stone into other
    activisim: environment, political
    ● Learn new skills you’ll unlikely
    get elsewhere
    

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35. Rewarding
    It’s worth it
    ● You’ll change lives!
    ● Be inspired and inspire others
    ● Joining a cause feels like
    you’re part of something bigger
    

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36. ORGANISE
    https://techworkerscoalition.org/
    

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37. GET INVOLVED
    https://www.gwu-uk.org
    https://techworkerscoalition.org/
    @dancparkes
    

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