What Have Unions Done for Us?
https://whathaveunionsdoneforus.uk/
#HackerNews #Unions #WorkersRights #LaborHistory #SocialJustice #CollectiveBargaining
Protests against the government's handling of the wildfires and the sale of land to Israelis continues in Patagonia.
#Argentina #ZionistsNotWelcome #WorkersRights #GlobaliseTheIntifada
Farmers across Europe are still protesting against the Mercosur agreement.
In Paris this week, 52 farmers were arrested after they occupied the Ministry of Agriculture.
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Greenpeace were in London yesterday, making a point about the right to protest.
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#UKPolitics #RightToProtest #FreePalestine #GlobaliseTheIntifada
Protests against the government's handling of the wildfires and the sale of land to Israelis continues in Patagonia.
#Argentina #ZionistsNotWelcome #WorkersRights #GlobaliseTheIntifada
Aderenti Escapes su mastodon
boosted
Filipino migrant worker’s death in NSW referred to federal police https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/17/filipino-migrant-workers-death-in-nsw-referred-to-federal-police #NewSouthWales #AustraliaNews #AustralianImmigrationAndAsylum #Migration #WorkersRights #ModernSlavery
Filipino migrant worker’s death in NSW referred to federal police https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/17/filipino-migrant-workers-death-in-nsw-referred-to-federal-police #NewSouthWales #AustraliaNews #AustralianImmigrationAndAsylum #Migration #WorkersRights #ModernSlavery
Gjalt-Jorn Peters
and 1 other
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I'm so sick of LLMs and AI. Let me try and organize my thoughts into something vaguely coherent.
I don't have any real qualifications to discuss this; I'm just a random anarchist, social science nerd working in tech. This isn't trying to be objective or the truth™.
Just giving voice to some ideas and hurling them into the not-quite-void of my Mastodon community.
Obviously, there's the slop of it all. That has been discussed extensively (and still is), but doesn't fully explain the ick.
Smarter and more qualified people have already covered the environmental catastrophe of the massive datacenters this technology relies on.
I'm not even getting into how the scale of current LLMs is made possible by massive non-consensual data extraction and the quasi-monopolization of the internet by a few giant corporations.
My main issue is the vision of the world and values implicit in this push for AI.
Some people have found LLM tools to be empowering (as Cory Doctorow is fond of saying: centaurs). Good on them. But I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say that this isn't why bosses and tech companies are cramming AI into everything.
I'm so sick of LLMs and AI. Let me try and organize my thoughts into something vaguely coherent.
I don't have any real qualifications to discuss this; I'm just a random anarchist, social science nerd working in tech. This isn't trying to be objective or the truth™.
Just giving voice to some ideas and hurling them into the not-quite-void of my Mastodon community.
Obviously, there's the slop of it all. That has been discussed extensively (and still is), but doesn't fully explain the ick.
Smarter and more qualified people have already covered the environmental catastrophe of the massive datacenters this technology relies on.
I'm not even getting into how the scale of current LLMs is made possible by massive non-consensual data extraction and the quasi-monopolization of the internet by a few giant corporations.
My main issue is the vision of the world and values implicit in this push for AI.
Some people have found LLM tools to be empowering (as Cory Doctorow is fond of saying: centaurs). Good on them. But I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say that this isn't why bosses and tech companies are cramming AI into everything.
Angela Antunovic
boosted
Quoting Yarn Spinner: “AI companies make tools for hurting people and we don’t want to support that.”
The team behind Yarn Spinner (also known for authoring books on machine learning) have stopped using #AI entirely. Not because they don’t understand it, but because they do. They watched the industry pivot from interesting technical problems to one clear goal: firing people or extracting more work without hiring anyone to help.
Every time you adopt these tools, you financially support companies whose business model is workforce reduction during a time when unemployment can be life-threatening.
The question isn’t whether AI is technically impressive. It’s whether the companies making it deserve our money and support while they’re actively working to eliminate jobs. Yarn Spinner decided they don’t.
Quoting Yarn Spinner: “AI companies make tools for hurting people and we don’t want to support that.”
The team behind Yarn Spinner (also known for authoring books on machine learning) have stopped using #AI entirely. Not because they don’t understand it, but because they do. They watched the industry pivot from interesting technical problems to one clear goal: firing people or extracting more work without hiring anyone to help.
Every time you adopt these tools, you financially support companies whose business model is workforce reduction during a time when unemployment can be life-threatening.
The question isn’t whether AI is technically impressive. It’s whether the companies making it deserve our money and support while they’re actively working to eliminate jobs. Yarn Spinner decided they don’t.
Guess what, an engineer manager at Google realizes giving people a break improve their day. But to do so, they have to lose 5 minutes of their meeting... More seriously, I think it's truly terrifying.
They would have probably found that sooner, if they listened workers revendications.
Start your meetings at 5 minutes past – Vallified
https://philipotoole.com/start-your-meetings-at-5-minutes-past/
An update from Starbucks. More than 4,500 workers are now on strike across the world.
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Workers at Covalen in Ireland – which provides outsourcing services for Meta’s platforms – went on strike for the first time ever last week, demanding fair pay and better working conditions.
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Karnataka Drivers Union in Bangalore are on strike this week for better pay and conditions.
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Workers at Disneyland Paris are on strike for better pay and conditions.
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Djoerd Hiemstra 🍉
and 1 other
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Your periodical reminder that all clothing is hand made by humans, usually underpaid!
Polyester doesn't breathe and sheds microplastics when manufactured, worn and washed!
Cotton farming takes immense amounts of water and pesticides!
Viscose can be made from recycled fibres & waste cellulose, but it's a fairly toxic process!
Linen is more ecological to grow but expensive!
"But what do I wear then, Sini?"
The garments you already own, until they fall apart or someone else needs them!
#Sustainability #FastFashion #WorkersRights
tools for commensality 🧿
boosted
⚡"13 Republicans just joined all Democrats to force action on a plan from Rep Jared Golden D-ME to nullify a Trump executive order that stripped labor rights from federal workers. You don't see that kind of vote every day in the House."
-J Dupree
#LaborRights #Union #House #WorkersRights #USPol
⚡"13 Republicans just joined all Democrats to force action on a plan from Rep Jared Golden D-ME to nullify a Trump executive order that stripped labor rights from federal workers. You don't see that kind of vote every day in the House."
-J Dupree
#LaborRights #Union #House #WorkersRights #USPol