At i b m, there was an idea that these workers ould do kind of the lower end jobs. They didn't want to see them moving up the ranks, essentially. A lot of block workers were specifically with sales in the divisions where they were not selling large, main frame computers. There was also a programming test for like, becoming a programmer that doctor hudson had taken, and that was used as a way of weeding out black employees who wanted to move into programming but couldn't because they didn't score high enough on it.
Paris Marx is joined by ann haeyoung to discuss IBM worker organizing in the 1970s and 1980s against racism and apartheid, and how those stories are important to informing tech organizing in the present.
ann haeyoung is a media artist interested in technology and labor. She is also a former tech worker and organizer, and a graduate student at UCLA.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
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