Suggest modification to this talk

Title

Description

Date

Summarized using AI?

If this talk's summary was generated by AI, please check this box. A "Summarized using AI" badge will be displayed in the summary tab to indicate that the summary was generated using AI.

Show "Summarized using AI" badge on summary page

Summary

Markdown supported

## Summary of "Lightning Talk: Organizing Ourselves"

In his lightning talk at Ruby Unconf 2019, Yonatan Miller presents the concept of organizing within the tech industry to address critical issues such as diversity, salary disparities, and the negative impacts of technology on society. He aims to publish a book titled "Organizing Ourselves: Design Patterns That Matter," emphasizing that collective action based on solid data is essential for tackling these problems.

### Key Points Discussed:
- **Importance of Organizing**: Miller advocates for the need for tech workers to come together and organize in response to industry challenges.
- **Historic and Modern Models of Organizing**: He introduces various organizing models, including:
  - **Unions**: Citing examples like the Game Workers Union in the UK and the Ver.di union in Germany, he illustrates how unions advocate for workers’ rights.
  - **Company-specific Affinity Groups**: Groups such as BlackFolks at GitHub and Gayglers at Google serve a similar purpose in fostering advocacy and solidarity within corporations.
- **Tech Workers Coalition**: A newer organization (formed in the last year) that primarily operates in the U.S. major tech hubs and aims to influence workplace policies through activism.
- **Examples of Collective Action**: Miller highlights impactful protests organized by the Tech Workers Coalition, such as:
  - **Google Employee Rally**: Tech workers protested against forced arbitration agreements, successfully prompting Google to reconsider these policies.
  - **Protests Against Corporate Practices**: Demonstrations against Amazon's ties with ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) highlighted the industry's moral responsibilities.

### Conclusion:
Miller calls for tech workers to leverage their privilege and power to enact positive changes within their respective organizations. He encourages discussions about forming new chapters of advocacy groups and welcomes feedback regarding his organizing ideas. The video serves as a rallying cry for collective action in the tech industry.

Overall, this talk emphasizes the importance of organization and collective action among tech workers to address systemic issues and leverage their influence to foster change in the industry.

Cancel