How to Bargain With a Black Box: Hacking a Path to Data-Driven Organizing

Sunday, July 24, 2022: 1:00 pm (DAC 416ABC): Workers across the world are increasingly subjected to data-driven and algorithmic management, where digital tools influence and define their working lives. As traditional employment relationships break do...

Sunday, July 24, 2022: 1:00 pm (DAC 416ABC): Workers across the world are increasingly subjected to data-driven and algorithmic management, where digital tools influence and define their working lives. As traditional employment relationships break down, these tools are increasingly filling the gaps. How can workers fight back? In this talk, Dan highlights several recent projects that leverage worker-owned data for organizing campaigns, using tools developed in collaboration with workers and organizers. Each project represents a different way that data can be used to fight for worker rights. In the first project, he will show how even simple tools like a chat bot can be used in an organizing campaign to scale an algorithmic audit of a delivery platform company. In a second, Dan will discuss his experience helping develop technology to measure and fight wage theft in a "data for unions" workshop with trade unions across the global south. He will then go over the lessons learned from these projects, and outline the digital future for labor rights and collective action.

Dan Calacci