We investigate the privacy practices of labor organizers in the computing technology industry and explore the changes in these practices as a response to remote work. Our study is situated at the intersection of two pivotal shifts in workplace dynamics: (a) the increase in online workplace communications due to remote work, and (b) the resurgence of the labor movement and an increase in collective action in workplaces -- especially in the tech industry, where this phenomenon has been dubbed the tech worker movement. Through a series of qualitative interviews with 29 tech workers involved in collective action, we investigate how labor organizers assess and mitigate risks to privacy while engaging in these actions. Among the most common risks that organizers experienced are retaliation from their employer, lateral worker conflict, emotional burnout, and the possibility of information about the collective effort leaking to management. Depending on the nature and source of the risk, organizers use a blend of digital security practices and community-based mechanisms. We find that digital security practices are more relevant when the threat comes from management, while community management and moderation are central to protecting organizers from lateral worker conflict. Since labor organizing is a collective rather than individual project, individual privacy and collective privacy are intertwined, sometimes in conflict and often mutually constitutive. Notions of privacy that solely center individuals are often incompatible with the needs of organizers, who noted that safety in numbers could only be achieved when workers presented a united front to management. We conclude with design recommendations that can help create safer, more secure and more private tools to better address the risks that organizers face.
翻译:我们调查计算技术行业的劳动组织者的隐私做法,并探索这些做法的变化,作为对远程工作的回应。我们的研究位于工作场所动态两个关键转变的交汇点上:(a) 远程工作导致在线工作场所通信的增加,以及(b) 劳动力流动的死灰复燃和工作场所集体行动的增多,特别是在技术行业,这一现象被称作技术工人运动的工作场所。我们通过与参与集体行动的29名技术工人进行一系列定性访谈,调查劳动组织者如何评估并减轻隐私风险,同时参与这些行动。组织者经历的最常见风险是雇主的报复、横向工人冲突、情绪燃烧和关于集体努力向管理层泄漏的可能性。根据风险的性质和来源,组织者将数字安全做法和社区机制混合起来。我们发现,当威胁来自管理时,数字安全做法更相关,而社区管理和节制对于保护组织者免受晚期工人冲突影响至关重要。由于劳动组织是一个集体项目,个人隐私和集体隐私是相互交织的,有时在冲突期间,集体努力向管理层披露的集体努力可能更加不相容。我们注意到,在组织者中往往会发现,在安全性设计过程中,我们只能找到一个更相交错的个人安全的工具。