What Was the Importance of Learning About the History of the Tech Industry?

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Roxanne Jones: I didn't know that there were many black workers in tech, historicl first of all, i didnt really know there was much of a tech industry. And then also, realizing that there were, you know, a lot of black workers, and enough to form the basis of a union drive was just really fascinating. She says she learned about this history through joan greenbaum, who was also an organizer at i b m. Jones: There is this long history of the tech industry and the tech companies and how they're connected with one thing.

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.

Also mentioned in this episode:

ann wrote about IBM organizing for Wired, and put together a four-part series on her research for Tech Workers Coalition.
Science for the People published an article about tech worker organizing in the 1960s and 1970s.
Logic Magazine spoke to Joan Greenbaum about the early days of tech worker organizing.
Tech Won’t Save Us is looking for a producer.

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