JS Tan, Clarissa Redwine Publish 2026 Book on Tech Worker Movement's 8-Year Decline
Updated
Updated · MIT News · Oct 2
JS Tan, Clarissa Redwine Publish 2026 Book on Tech Worker Movement's 8-Year Decline
2 articles · Updated · MIT News · Oct 2
Summary
“Against Tech Oligarchy,” published by Haymarket Books in 2026, argues the tech worker movement rose from anti-Trump organizing in 2017 to a state of “paralysis” within eight years.
Tan says workers initially won concessions — including Google’s 2018 decision not to renew Project Maven after nearly 4,000 employees protested military AI work — but that leverage has since faded.
Hundreds of billions of dollars in tech market value lost after 2022 rate hikes, along with layoffs and agentic AI coding tools, weakened job security and shifted power back to employers, according to the book.
More than 600 Google employees urged the company this year to reject classified Pentagon AI work, but Tan says management effectively refused, underscoring the political and workplace shift the authors document.
Tan, now an MIT doctoral student, and former Kickstarter organizer Clarissa Redwine wrote the book starting in 2024 to explain the downturn in organizing and support future worker efforts.