Alex / catilepticMay 27

"TLDR: In ten days last month, the Wikimedia Foundation fired the longtime lead developer of MediaWiki and disbanded the team whose entire job was to listen to volunteers. Most of the people they fired were union organizers. Wikipedia’s editors are now threatening to strike in solidarity. The Foundation is sitting on $296 million in reserves and a freshly profitable AI revenue stream. This is a confrontation with global implications"

https://medium.com/@jakeorlowitz/wikipedia-is-doing-the-capitalist-thing-56a393232943

Big Tech’s Anti-Labor Playbook Has Come for Wikipedia

TLDR: In ten days last month, the Wikimedia Foundation fired the longtime lead developer of MediaWiki and disbanded the team whose entire…

Medium
MotoguyMay 27
Show threadSteven Zekowski
@catileptic
I feel like a sucker for donating (a small amount) to wikimedia fdn every year.
May 27 at 5:32pmWeb
Show threadMotoguyMay 27
@steve_zeke @catileptic Me too!
Show threadJimmyB (he/him)May 28
@steve_zeke @catileptic me too. That stops now
Show threadSteven ZekowskiJun 6

@catileptic
I finally got around to reading this in its entirety (shame on me for taking so long). I love #Wikipedia. I refer to it at least once daily. These management changes and decisions make me sad and angry. These are #technology #labor and #EconomicJustice issues.

https://medium.com/regarding-wikipedia/wikipedia-is-doing-the-capitalist-thing-56a393232943

Big Tech’s Anti-Labor Playbook Has Come for Wikipedia

TLDR: In ten days last month, the Wikimedia Foundation fired MediaWiki’s most influential developer and disbanded the team whose entire job…

Medium
Show threadSteven ZekowskiJun 6
@catileptic
> Bernadette Meehan became CEO on January 20, 2026, recruited from a career that included Wall Street stints at J.P. Morgan and Lehman Brothers, a spokesperson role at the National Security Council, senior leadership at the Obama Foundation, and most recently a posting as U.S. Ambassador to Chile. Four months in, the longtime lead developer of MediaWiki is fired, the team that personifies community service is dissolved, and the union is in open confrontation.
Show threadSteven ZekowskiJun 6
@catileptic
> This is what Wiki Workers United is asking for. Transparency and accountability from leadership toward both staff and movement communities. Real staff input on annual planning before decisions are finalized. An end to inconsistent hiring, firing, and promotion practices. The ability to safely dissent. Mental health support for the workers who deal with the community directly. Their organizing principle, borrowed from disability rights, is nothing about us without us.