Leo

I realize things have been a little quiet here lately. There’s a fairly simple reason for that, as it happens: I’ve written a new book, called <a href="https://abookapart.com/products/you-deserve-a-tech-union"><cite>You Deserve a Tech Union</cite></a>. It’s available for preorder from <a href="https://abookapart.com/">A Book Apart</a>, and will be shipping late summer 2023. I really hope you like it. Here’s the cover, which I absolutely love. <a class="footnote" href="#fn-jason" id="fnref-fn-jason" aria-labelledby="title-footnotes">1</a> <img srcset="https://ethanmarcotte.com/media/20230621-cover-ydatu.gif, https://ethanmarcotte.com/media/20230621-cover-ydatu@2x.gif 2x" src="https://ethanmarcotte.com/media/20230621-cover-ydatu.gif" alt="You Deserve a Tech Union, a book by Ethan Marcotte. The cover’s background is a deep rose red color, with the title set in imposing white capital letters." /> This book was <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/notes-from-a-dining-room-chair/">the hardest thing I’ve ever written</a>, and I’m incredibly proud of the book it’s become; I can’t wait to hold a copy in my hands. What’s the book about, you ask? Well. This book is about the resurgent labor movement that exists in the modern tech industry. It’s a story about the activism and organizing that’s happened over the last few years, led by the very people whose work built this industry. It’s a book about tech work, and how unions can help us build a better version of it. In other words, this is a book about why unions matter, and about why you — yes, you — deserve one. <hr /> Honestly, it feels a bit weird to think of this book as something that, like, actually exists. It’s been in process for quite some time, now that I think about it: I started writing the book in earnest at the end of 2022, but I’ve been working on the book since 2021. I didn’t know exactly what the book was going to be back then, mind you — but more than anything, I was painfully aware of how much I didn’t know. I mean, I’ve been reading, <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/tag/labor/">writing</a>, and <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/the-world-wide-work/">speaking</a> about labor issues in the tech industry for several years now, because it’s a topic I care deeply about. But I’m a web designer who’s worked for himself for most of his career — and as a result, I don’t have much practical, hands-on experience with organizing a workplace, much less forming a union. That’s why I knew I needed to speak with the people who have that experience. Back in 2021, I started sitting down with people in the tech industry’s labor movement. And over the following year, I met with tech workers who were in the middle of organizing their first union; I spoke with workers who’d just won their first contract, and learned how that contract literally improved their lives. I met with full-time union organizers, who shared hard-won lessons and strategies with me. I spoke with designers and graduate students and economists and engineers and labor researchers and — well, I’d run out of ands if I kept going. I’m downright humbled by the number of folks who agreed to speak with me: they donated their time, lessons, and thoughts to this book, both on- and off the record. Whether or not their story made it into the book’s pages, every one of these people shaped this book just as much as I did, and I’m incredibly grateful to them. Because frankly, this book isn’t about me: it’s about them, and the work they’re doing to make the industry better. What’s more, this book is about how you can do that work, too. <hr /> Those aren’t the only folks to whom I owe a heavy debt, of course. I went off in the book’s acknowledgments, as it really took a village to make this book. But for now, I’ll just say that if it weren’t for Katel LeDû, the CEO at A Book Apart, and her interest in publishing a book on this topic, <cite>You Deserve a Tech Union</cite> wouldn’t exist. And that goes double for Lisa Maria Marquis, A Book Apart’s editor in chief, whose sharp, compassionate edits turned my pile of half-baked ideas into something readable. (In addition to being a font of seemingly endless support, too.) I’m also grateful to A Book Apart for another reason — specifically, this little paragraph at the bottom of the book’s product page: <blockquote> If the cost of this book makes it inaccessible to you, we can help — please contact [us] for pricing accommodations. </blockquote> When I asked A Book Apart about ensuring the book’s accessible as widely as possible, they weren’t just interested in the idea — they were downright enthusiastic. They’ve apparently discussed the topic before, and were more than happy to add a note about pricing accommodations to my book. If you’d like to learn more, I do hope you’ll reach out to A Book Apart; they take that paragraph as seriously as I do. I should note there’s one more person I’m grateful to — and that’s you. If you’ve preordered this book, well, that means the world to me; if you’ve simply shared this post on social media, or mentioned the book to a like-minded coworker, that means a lot, too. If you happen to read it, I really hope the book’s useful to you. Above all else, I hope it helps you feel like you can and should form a union. Because honestly, you deserve one. We all do. <hr /> <div class="footnotes flow"> <h2 class="hed-footnotes has-dash" id="title-footnotes">Footnote</h2> <ol><li id="fn-jason" class="footnote-item"><a href="https://jasonsantamaria.com/">Jason</a> designed it, and I absolutely love the color. I’d always envisioned a red cover while I was writing, and he somehow managed to conjure up the exact hue I’d been imagining. A literal design wizard, that one. <a href="#fnref-fn-jason" class="reversefootnote">↩︎</a> </li> </ol> </div>

<hr /> This has been “<a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/you-deserve-a-tech-union-book/">Announcing my new book, You Deserve a Tech Union.</a>” a post from <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/">Ethan’s journal.</a> <a href="mailto:listener+rss@ethanmarcotte.com?subject=Reply%20to:%20“Announcing my new book, You Deserve a Tech Union.”">Reply via email</a>