Tinker ☀️Feb 22, 2024

Make no mistake, the massive layoffs are intentional SHORT TERM sabotage by business decision makers with the goal of LONG TERM benefits for them.

They're trying to drive down the costs of labor. Specifically, they're firing everyone so that we'll accept lower wages upon rehire.

In #infosec, this will backfire on them.

By firing everyone, the level of security technical debt will increase that they'll have to hire everyone AND THEN SOME back at even higher rates.

So. Neat. Fucking great.

In the mean time, research how to create unions. Start doing so. Tech folks and infosec are not used to needing collective bargaining. You need it now.

Learn about the concepts of Economic Leverage and how it works as an individual contributor and when that fails how Collective Leverage works. The whole "if you fire that one person, we all quit" sort of thing works.

You all hack systems every day. You all study Social Engineering and combat it every day.

Hack the labor market. Socially engineer our mutual protection.

#mutualAid #collectiveBargaining #UnionStrong

Show threadTinker ☀️

In the mean time, lean on each other. Use your current support networks and build those networks up.

Mutual Aid means you give AND you take. It isn't charity. It's support structures that don't rely on those that would exploit you.

Plant food. Share food. Learn about your local food banks. Contribute now if you can. TAKE NOW IF YOU NEED! That means your money for rent can go a long way.

Those with means and equity can look into buying multi-family buildings (think apartment buildings and condos... yes those are for sale). And setting up tenant co-ops.

Others can form renters unions. Think of it as a reverse HOA where you organize to protect against landlord exploitation.

Use your libraries and boost them. They have free internet and free hotspots. Free streaming. Free education. On top of free books. They are third spaces with free meeting rooms. - Use the library to organize your local unions.

Those that are out of work need to hold weekly meetings with each other. Compare notes. Share leads. One person gets in and can help hire the others up. Form unions when you get hired.

#mutualAid #collectiveBargaining #UnionStrong #infosec

Feb 22, 2024 at 3:15pmWeb
Show threadSoozcatFeb 22, 2024
@tinker I might add, you can do double duty if your local library happens to have a seed library, which ours does. Learn new stuff AND plant a garden!
Show threadEva InfeldFeb 23, 2024
@tinker Great thread. A big hurdle I hear about is that in a lot of these companies one would have to set up a transnational union and that has its own additional challenges. Easier now than ever of course, but still a lot of physical and emotional work, plus the legal situation in different countries creates slightly different playing fields.
Show threadTinker ☀️Feb 23, 2024
@quaithe - That would be ideal, sure, but you can start with local unions. As more and more teams unionize, they can then group together and you have your "national/transnational" unions.
Show threadEva InfeldFeb 23, 2024
@tinker Agreed. People are scared of their entire project being moved abroad as retaliation though, I hear it a lot. But fear and propaganda are their own problem too so these threats are not always equally credible.
Show threadCyFeb 23, 2024
Considering the huge profits reaped by landlords today, a tenant co-op can be quite lucrative in its own way. You're not actually making any money, just preventing other people from taking money from you, but that puts you ahead of everyone else who's renting! Wish I could be part of a... well... hmph.
Show threadthegrumpyenby on hiatusFeb 23, 2024
@tinker this framing of MA has helped me immensely just now, thank you. I've never had issues contributing but I struggle when I need to ask, and thinking of it as "support structures that don't rely on those that would exploit you" was eye-opening to read.
Show threadTinker ☀️Feb 23, 2024

@thegrumpyenby @tinker - I'm really glad to hear that.

Yeah, building community means you take the help that is offered. You taking from others makes them feel powerful. It makes them feel needed and that they've accomplished something. We feel fulfilled when we are together in community.

So give and take and give and take again. Build those institutions where we serve each other.

Show threadTinker ☀️Feb 23, 2024

@thegrumpyenby @tinker - I'll add one other thing. Exploitation relies on dividing and conquering. It relies on making each of us feel alone... isolated. That way the exploiters are the only source of goods and services.

When we take help that is offered, we rebel against exploitation. We say "Fuck you, I won't bleed for you. I will get my goods and services from my friends and neighbors and will give them goods and services to protect them from you."