ACS Bay Area: Organizing in Tech - Disrupting Labor Law

Tensions between workers and tech companies in the Bay Area have come to a head with increasing frequency over the past year. The California Supreme Court's decision in Dynamex and enactment of AB5 last fall transformed tens of thousands of gig workers into employees under California law - leaving the question of how rideshare drivers, shoppers, and taskers will enforce these new rights. Permanent employees enjoy an oft-mocked perk culture while working side-by-side with temps and contractors who lack job security and a minimum wage. And "techies" who enjoy the benefits of the industry are starting to challenge their employers' role in carrying out the Trump administration's policies -- and losing their jobs as a result.

These tech labor struggles are at the cutting edge of labor and employment law, posing challenging questions for workers' rights advocates: How do you organize employees who never meet? Can you bargain over the ethics of your work? And what role can employment and labor lawyers play in protecting workers in the tech economy?

Join the ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter and the ACS UC Hastings College of the Law Student Chapter for an expert panel discussion on these issues and more. 

Featuring:

Laurence Berland, Activist and Software Engineer

Veena Dubal, Associate Professor of Law, UC Hastings College of the Law

Sam Heft-Luthy, Tech Worker and Writer

Nitasha Tiku, Tech Culture Writer, The Washington Post

Jon Wong, Gig Worker, Caviar & Doordash; Social Justice Organizer

Moderated By:

Zoe Palitz, Partner, Altshuler Berzon LLP