互联网大厂员工对抗老板有了新武器
亚马逊（Amazon）的仓库工人乔丹·弗劳尔斯是老板的眼中钉。他经常在劳工集会上发言，还率领人们抗议这家在线零售巨头对待员工的方式。
但搞运动又不发工资。而他的收入——他目前因为身体原因没有上班——并不总能支付他在纽约市的租金、治疗狼疮的费用，以及养狗、养猫和松狮蜥的费用。
因此，2021年年初，弗劳尔斯向一只众筹基金申请了一笔津贴，该基金成立的目的是帮助越来越多发声反对大型科技公司的抗议者和吹哨人。最后他收到了好消息：将得到一张2500美元的支票。
弗劳尔斯说：“有了这笔钱，我就有机会走遍整个城市，去参加更多的集会，在更多的集会上发言，去弄清楚谷歌（Google）的员工正在经历和亚马逊员工一样的遭遇。”
过去两年，至少新成立了三只基金用于支持科技界的维权人士。他们希望能够在科技公司的员工挺身与财力雄厚的公司对抗时，帮助他们解决可能出现的一些财务困难，为更多的人解决后顾之忧。虽然这些基金筹的钱都不算多，但随着劳资纠纷的持续和激化，这些基金显得越来越重要。
弗劳尔斯申请补助的基金叫团结基金（Solidarity Fund），由非营利性组织Coworker.org和谷歌的前员工利兹·方-琼斯发起，用于支持谷歌、亚马逊和其他科技公司的员工。2021年秋天，该非营利组织还专门为苹果（Apple）和Netflix的员工成立了另一只基金，苹果的部分员工投诉同工不同酬，而Netflix的员工最近在抗议喜剧演员戴夫·查普尔在节目里嘲笑变性人。
2021年12月，视频游戏制作公司动视暴雪（Activision Blizzard）的员工设立了一只基金，帮助因为公司不回应性骚扰指控而开展罢工的员工。
科技行业这类基金的理念有点类似于工会的罢工基金，长期以来，工会一直用罢工基金来帮助那些因为抗议而拿不到工资的会员。但由于科技公司基本上没有工会，业内员工直到最近才得到一点点支持。
美国加州大学伯克利分校（University of California at Berkeley）的劳工中心（Labor Center）的高级政策研究员简·麦卡莱维说：“美国正在经历严重的权力不平等，所以我认为现在只要有人再次谈起罢工，就是好事。”
团结基金的构想最初是方-琼斯在谷歌员工和领导层发生一系列冲突后提出的。2018年，谷歌一名反对公司多元化举措的前任工程师的支持者对部分其他员工进行骚扰，相关行为未得到严肃对待，引发了内部争斗。不久后，谷歌数千名员工罢工，抗议谷歌与美国国防部（Defense Department）的秘密合同“马文项目”（Project Maven），以及一名前高管在被控性骚扰后仍然收到数百万美元遣散费的事情。
方-琼斯与Coworker合作创建了这只基金，因为她不想独自管理有可能会很庞大的资金池。
团结基金最初只向谷歌员工提供资金，后来基金的受益面又扩大到了其他科技公司。Coworker还为苹果和Netflix的员工又单独创立了一只基金。
方-琼斯说：“我意识到，除了谷歌的工作人员，还有很多人需要这种帮助。”
她创建团结基金时，捐了10万美元，是她2019年离开谷歌时兑现股票期权得到的。截至目前，该基金共筹集了55万美元，大部分都来自业内从业人员，捐款2美元至1万美元不等。
eBay的创始人皮埃尔·奥米迪亚创立的慈善基金“奥米迪亚网络”（Omidyar Network）捐了35万美元，用于该基金的启动成本。
目前，团结基金已经向56人发放了14万美元补助，每人2500美元。
“几个世纪以来，工人运动一直保持着互帮互助的传统。”团结基金的执行董事、Coworker公司的联席首席运营官杰斯·库奇说，“我们一直想尝试看看，数字时代的互助是什么样子的。”
Coworker的基金锁定的科技公司要么拒绝了《财富》杂志的评论请求，要么没有回应。
要想申请援助金，科技公司员工必须证明，自己正在帮助同事组织或正在推动倡导科技行业的工人权利。还可以要求该基金支付与维权行动相关的法律费用，比如举报人在被报复性解雇后起诉公司的费用。整个过程（含面试）通常要花费四到六周。
弗劳尔斯的维权行动始于2020年3月，当时他和来自纽约州斯塔滕岛亚马逊仓库的同事们一起罢工，抗议公司在新冠疫情初期未能提供安全的工作条件。他们想要个人防护装备、新冠肺炎检测和高危工作津贴。
弗劳尔斯称，亚马逊对他进行了报复，解雇了他和其他一些参与抗议的同事。不久后，公司重新雇用了他，解释说他在休假期间被解雇是一场意外。
弗劳尔斯表示，团结基金的援助金对他来说至关重要，有了这笔钱，他才能够在应付健康问题和经济困难的同时继续活动。
弗劳尔斯说：“有一个支持我的组织把钱交到我手上，帮助我在新冠疫情中活下来，对我而言，意义非凡。”
与科技公司一战
至少已经有三只众筹基金可以为科技行业的活动人士和吹哨人提供资金援助。
团结基金
由Coworker.org和谷歌前员工利兹·方-琼斯创建的团结基金已经筹集了近55万美元，已经向谷歌和亚马逊等科技公司的56名员工发放了14万美元。
苹果和Netflix紧急基金
Coworker的第二只科技界基金是专门为苹果和Netflix员工设立的，目前筹集了大约5.4万美元，其中4.5万美元已经捐给了9个人。
ABK罢工基金
动视暴雪的员工对性骚扰和所谓的工会解散感到不满，他们成立了内部活动组织ABK工人联盟（ABK Workers Alliance），并为罢工基金筹集了37万美元。（财富中文网）
译者：Agatha
亚马逊（Amazon）的仓库工人乔丹·弗劳尔斯是老板的眼中钉。他经常在劳工集会上发言，还率领人们抗议这家在线零售巨头对待员工的方式。
但搞运动又不发工资。而他的收入——他目前因为身体原因没有上班——并不总能支付他在纽约市的租金、治疗狼疮的费用，以及养狗、养猫和松狮蜥的费用。
因此，2021年年初，弗劳尔斯向一只众筹基金申请了一笔津贴，该基金成立的目的是帮助越来越多发声反对大型科技公司的抗议者和吹哨人。最后他收到了好消息：将得到一张2500美元的支票。
弗劳尔斯说：“有了这笔钱，我就有机会走遍整个城市，去参加更多的集会，在更多的集会上发言，去弄清楚谷歌（Google）的员工正在经历和亚马逊员工一样的遭遇。”
过去两年，至少新成立了三只基金用于支持科技界的维权人士。他们希望能够在科技公司的员工挺身与财力雄厚的公司对抗时，帮助他们解决可能出现的一些财务困难，为更多的人解决后顾之忧。虽然这些基金筹的钱都不算多，但随着劳资纠纷的持续和激化，这些基金显得越来越重要。
弗劳尔斯申请补助的基金叫团结基金（Solidarity Fund），由非营利性组织Coworker.org和谷歌的前员工利兹·方-琼斯发起，用于支持谷歌、亚马逊和其他科技公司的员工。2021年秋天，该非营利组织还专门为苹果（Apple）和Netflix的员工成立了另一只基金，苹果的部分员工投诉同工不同酬，而Netflix的员工最近在抗议喜剧演员戴夫·查普尔在节目里嘲笑变性人。
2021年12月，视频游戏制作公司动视暴雪（Activision Blizzard）的员工设立了一只基金，帮助因为公司不回应性骚扰指控而开展罢工的员工。
科技行业这类基金的理念有点类似于工会的罢工基金，长期以来，工会一直用罢工基金来帮助那些因为抗议而拿不到工资的会员。但由于科技公司基本上没有工会，业内员工直到最近才得到一点点支持。
美国加州大学伯克利分校（University of California at Berkeley）的劳工中心（Labor Center）的高级政策研究员简·麦卡莱维说：“美国正在经历严重的权力不平等，所以我认为现在只要有人再次谈起罢工，就是好事。”
团结基金的构想最初是方-琼斯在谷歌员工和领导层发生一系列冲突后提出的。2018年，谷歌一名反对公司多元化举措的前任工程师的支持者对部分其他员工进行骚扰，相关行为未得到严肃对待，引发了内部争斗。不久后，谷歌数千名员工罢工，抗议谷歌与美国国防部（Defense Department）的秘密合同“马文项目”（Project Maven），以及一名前高管在被控性骚扰后仍然收到数百万美元遣散费的事情。
方-琼斯与Coworker合作创建了这只基金，因为她不想独自管理有可能会很庞大的资金池。
团结基金最初只向谷歌员工提供资金，后来基金的受益面又扩大到了其他科技公司。Coworker还为苹果和Netflix的员工又单独创立了一只基金。
方-琼斯说：“我意识到，除了谷歌的工作人员，还有很多人需要这种帮助。”
她创建团结基金时，捐了10万美元，是她2019年离开谷歌时兑现股票期权得到的。截至目前，该基金共筹集了55万美元，大部分都来自业内从业人员，捐款2美元至1万美元不等。
eBay的创始人皮埃尔·奥米迪亚创立的慈善基金“奥米迪亚网络”（Omidyar Network）捐了35万美元，用于该基金的启动成本。
目前，团结基金已经向56人发放了14万美元补助，每人2500美元。
“几个世纪以来，工人运动一直保持着互帮互助的传统。”团结基金的执行董事、Coworker公司的联席首席运营官杰斯·库奇说，“我们一直想尝试看看，数字时代的互助是什么样子的。”
Coworker的基金锁定的科技公司要么拒绝了《财富》杂志的评论请求，要么没有回应。
要想申请援助金，科技公司员工必须证明，自己正在帮助同事组织或正在推动倡导科技行业的工人权利。还可以要求该基金支付与维权行动相关的法律费用，比如举报人在被报复性解雇后起诉公司的费用。整个过程（含面试）通常要花费四到六周。
弗劳尔斯的维权行动始于2020年3月，当时他和来自纽约州斯塔滕岛亚马逊仓库的同事们一起罢工，抗议公司在新冠疫情初期未能提供安全的工作条件。他们想要个人防护装备、新冠肺炎检测和高危工作津贴。
弗劳尔斯称，亚马逊对他进行了报复，解雇了他和其他一些参与抗议的同事。不久后，公司重新雇用了他，解释说他在休假期间被解雇是一场意外。
弗劳尔斯表示，团结基金的援助金对他来说至关重要，有了这笔钱，他才能够在应付健康问题和经济困难的同时继续活动。
弗劳尔斯说：“有一个支持我的组织把钱交到我手上，帮助我在新冠疫情中活下来，对我而言，意义非凡。”
与科技公司一战
至少已经有三只众筹基金可以为科技行业的活动人士和吹哨人提供资金援助。
团结基金
由Coworker.org和谷歌前员工利兹·方-琼斯创建的团结基金已经筹集了近55万美元，已经向谷歌和亚马逊等科技公司的56名员工发放了14万美元。
苹果和Netflix紧急基金
Coworker的第二只科技界基金是专门为苹果和Netflix员工设立的，目前筹集了大约5.4万美元，其中4.5万美元已经捐给了9个人。
ABK罢工基金
动视暴雪的员工对性骚扰和所谓的工会解散感到不满，他们成立了内部活动组织ABK工人联盟（ABK Workers Alliance），并为罢工基金筹集了37万美元。（财富中文网）
译者：Agatha
Jordan Flowers, an Amazon warehouse worker, is a thorn in the side of his employer. He regularly speaks at labor rallies and leads protests against the online retail giant over how it treats workers.
But being an activist doesn’t pay. And his income—he’s currently out on disability—doesn’t always cover rent for his apartment in New York City, medical bills related to his lupus diagnosis, and the cost of caring for his dog, cat, and bearded dragon.
So in early 2021, Flowers applied for a stipend from a crowdsourced fund created to help the growing number of protesters and whistleblowers speaking out against Big Tech. Eventually, he received good news: He would get a $2,500 check.
“It gives me opportunities to travel across the city, to go to more rallies, to speak up at more rallies, to understand that Google workers are going through the same thing as Amazon workers,” Flowers says.
Over the past two years, at least three funds have been created to support tech activists. Their goal is to eliminate some of the financial hardship that tech workers can face while standing up against deep-pocketed companies, so that more can afford to do so. And while none of the funds have raised an enormous amount of money yet, their importance is growing as those labor disputes grow longer and more heated.
The fund that Flowers tapped, called the Solidarity Fund, created by nonprofit Coworker.org and former Google employee Liz Fong-Jones, supports workers from Google, Amazon, and other tech companies. Another created in 2021 fall by the same nonprofit is specifically for workers at Apple, where some employees have complained of unfair labor practices, and Netflix, where workers recently protested over a show in which comedian Dave Chappelle mocked transgender people.
Meanwhile, in December, employees at video-game maker Activision Blizzard created a fund to help workers who were picketing the company for allegedly failing to respond to sexual harassment claims.
The idea behind the tech funds is somewhat similar to union strike funds, which organized labor has long used to help members while they are protesting and not collecting a paycheck. But since the tech industry mostly operates without unions, its workers have had little backup until recently.
“Given that the power inequality in this country is so egregious right now, the idea that anyone is talking about strikes again, I think, is a good thing,” says Jane McAlevey, a senior policy fellow with the Labor Center at the University of California at Berkeley.
The fund that Flowers tapped was originally conceived by Fong-Jones following a series of clashes between Google’s workers and leadership. One tussle in 2018 involved complaints that management hadn’t seriously dealt with the harassment of employees by supporters of a former Google engineer who had argued against diversity efforts. Soon after, thousands of Google employees walked out to protest Google’s secretive Defense Department contract, Project Maven, and a multimillion-dollar payout to a former executive after a sexual misconduct accusation.
In creating the fund, Fong-Jones teamed up with Coworker because she didn’t want to manage a potentially large pool of money alone.
After first giving money only to Google employees, the Solidarity Fund and Coworker have expanded their efforts to help employees at other tech companies. They also created the second fund for Apple and Netflix workers.
“I realized like, wait a second, there are so many more people other than Google workers who need this assistance,” Fong-Jones says.
She kicked off the Solidarity Fund by donating $100,000 of her own money, earned by cashing out stock options when she left Google in 2019. Since then, the fund has raised a total of $550,000, much of which came from tech workers in increments of $2 to $10,000.
A $350,000 donation from the Omidyar Network, a philanthropic fund established by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, helped cover the startup costs.
In terms of doling out money, the Solidarity Fund has given away $140,000 to 56 people, with each receiving $2,500.
“The labor movement has a centuries-long tradition of mutual aid,” says Jess Kutch, executive director of Coworker’s Solidarity Fund and co-chief at Coworker. “We long wanted to experiment with what mutual aid could look like in this sort of digital age.”
Companies targeted by Coworker’s funds either declined to comment to Fortune or didn’t respond.
To apply for aid, tech employees must show they are helping colleagues organize or are advocating for worker rights in the wider tech industry. They can also ask the fund to cover some legal fees related to their activism, such as a whistleblower who has sued a company after being fired in retaliation. The entire process, including interviews, typically lasts four to six weeks.
As for Flowers, his activism started in March 2020, when he and fellow colleagues from Amazon’s Staten Island, N.Y., warehouse walked off the job to protest what they said was the company’s failure to provide safe working conditions in the early days of the pandemic. They wanted personal protective equipment, COVID-19 testing, and hazard pay.
Flowers alleges that Amazon retaliated for his activism by firing him and some of his protester colleagues. The company rehired him shortly after, explaining that his termination while on leave was an accident.
The Solidarity Fund’s assistance, Flowers says, was crucial for him so that he could continue his activism while dealing with his daily health and financial struggles.
Says Flowers, “To have an organization support me, to help put money in my pocket and help me survive during this pandemic, it’s a great value.”
*****
Taking on tech
At least three crowdsourced funds have been created to provide financial assistance to tech activists and whistleblowers.
Solidarity Fund
The Solidarity Fund, created by Coworker.org and former Google employee Liz Fong-Jones, has raised nearly $550,000 and distributed $140,000 to 56 people who work at tech companies like Google and Amazon.
Apple & Netflix Emergency Fund
Coworker’s second tech fund, set up specifically for Apple and Netflix workers, has raised about $54,000, of which $45,000 has been given to nine people.
ABK Strike Fund
Activision Blizzard employees, upset about sexual harassment and alleged union busting, established the internal activist group ABK Workers Alliance and collected over $370,000 for a strike fund.
