Sign in

JS Tan

@js-tan.bsky.social
674 followers 302 following 147 posts

Book: AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY, out Sept 15 (pre-order: againsttecholigarchy.com) PhD candidate @ MIT DUSP. Research on labor and the political economy of AI/cloud. js-tan.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by JS Tan
Open Society Foundations @open-society.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
In 2022, @js-tan.bsky.social & Clarissa Redwine, tech workers turned union organizers, were working 14-hour days organizing a strike at Elon Musk’s newly purchased, workforce-slashed Twitter, calling every employee they could still reach. In the end, just one of the organizing committee was left.
Can Tech Workers Take on the Oligarchs?In 2022, Tan and Redwine, both tech workers turned union organizers, were working 14-hour days trying to organize a strike at Elon Musk's newly purchased, workforce-slashed Twitter. They called every employee they could still reach. In the end, just one member of the organizing committee was left.
155
Reposted by JS Tan
Catherine D'Ignazio (she/her/ella) @kanarinka.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Political Economy Lab, the Data + Feminism Lab, and the Centre on Labour, Sustainability and Global Production are thrilled to sponsor this book talk by @js-tan.bsky.social and Clarissa Redwine. You can join online or in person! ⬇️⬇️⬇️
0128
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We’re in LA tomorrow, speaking with @jomc.bsky.social!
020
Reposted by JS Tan
Quinn Slobodian @quinnslobodian.com · 17/09/2026
I'll be at the Vienna Humanities Festival end of next week if you're there, in convo with FT literary editor Fred Studemann @frederick65.ft.com. www.humanitiesfestival.at/slobodian
0228
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Thanks for coming and for the many ways you’ve made this book possible!
010
Reposted by JS Tan
Quinn Slobodian @quinnslobodian.com · 22/09/2026
fantastic event, buy the book againsttecholigarchy.com
25810
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
When tech workers started engaging in labor & political activism in the 2010s, I read @bentarnoff.com’s writing—one of the first to write on the topic—to make sense of what was going on. It was so special to be able to have him join us at the Harvard bookstore last night!
1114
Reposted by JS Tan
The Maybe @themaybe.org · 16/09/2026
How do you build worker power in an industry where your employer can freeze the code, lock you out, and carry on?
152
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
In many of my book events thus far, one question keeps coming up: how should we think about tech workers, their class position, and organizing them in the AI age? I have a new essay with my friend @emilymazo.bsky.social that gets at exactly this question: www.theideasletter.org/essay/syndic...
theideasletter.org
Syndicalist Valley
The tech-worker movement that emerged in the 2010s has been transformed by layoffs, higher interest rates, and the enormous investment flowing into AI, which have eroded the bargaining power of…
0175
Reposted by JS Tan
Emily Mazo @emilymazo.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Find @js-tan.bsky.social and I in the Ideas Letter today, on the two emerging flanks of the tech worker labor movement: the AI labs, and everyone else. www.theideasletter.org/essay/syndic...
theideasletter.org
Syndicalist Valley
The tech-worker movement that emerged in the 2010s has been transformed by layoffs, higher interest rates, and the enormous investment flowing into AI, which have eroded the bargaining power of…
084
Reposted by JS Tan
Quinn Slobodian @quinnslobodian.com · 17/09/2026
Boston area people - come check this out. Redwine organized Kickstarter and she & Tan were laying the groundwork for organizing Twitter when Musk took over. Few know the class politics of Silicon Valley better than them so instead of recycling TESCREAL talking points, come hear from the workers!
0257
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Excited to speak with @quinnslobodian.com and @aihathing.bsky.social at this!
051
Reposted by JS Tan
Ben Tarnoff @bentarnoff.com · 17/09/2026
This Monday, September 21st, I'll be talking to @js-tan.bsky.social and Clarissa Redwine at Harvard Bookstore about their new book Against Tech Oligarchy. They've written the first sustained analysis of the tech worker movement and it's a very important book www.harvard.com/event/tan-re...
harvard.com
JS Tan & Clarissa Redwine at Harvard Book Store
Harvard Book Store and Boston Review welcome JS Tan—Ph.D. Candidate at MIT whose work has been featured in The New York Times, MIT Technology Review, Foreign Policy, and The Guardian—and Clarissa Redwine—Kickstarter union organizer and cofounder of the tech organizing conference Circuit Breakers—for a discussion of their new book, Against Tech Oligarchy: Worker Resistance in the World’s Most Powerful Industry. They will be joined in conversation by Ben Tarnoff—technologist and author of numerous books, including Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed, co-authored with Quinn Slobodian.
0187
Reposted by JS Tan
Boston Review @bostonreview.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
“The radicalization of tech’s billionaires can be traced to the moment they saw their own employees turn against them.” @js-tan.bsky.social and Clarissa Redwine on the labor movement that fueled the techlash:
bostonreview.net
The Rise and Fall of Tech Worker Power
Crushing our union drive at Twitter opened the floodgates for Silicon Valley’s assault on labor.
0169
Reposted by JS Tan
Ethan Marcotte @ethanmarcotte.com · 16/09/2026
LABOR SICKOS* OF NEW YORK: the authors of AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY are doing an event *tonight* in Brooklyn. RSVP link is below, stop by if you can! events.ticketleap.com/tickets/powe... * affectionate #nyc #1u #labor #TechLabor
Event poster for a live podcast episode of WORKING CLASS HISTORY, featuring JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine. September 16 at 7pm ET, taking place at Powerhouse Arena, Brooklyn.
061
Reposted by JS Tan
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY is in stores today! We wrote this for anyone seeking to understand what the tech oligarchs have in store, how they move, how they oppress and extract. And most importantly, how resistance has formed within their own empires. Join us on tour: againsttecholigarchy.com
12611
Reposted by JS Tan
The Maybe @themaybe.org · 16/09/2026
In this special episode, @alixdunn.com spoke with @js-tan.bsky.social and Clarissa Redwine, authors of the book ‘Against Tech Oligarchy,’ about the dramatic shift in tech worker power over the last decade—and what it takes for workers to organize and fight back. www.themaybe.org/podcast/the-...
themaybe.org
The Battle for Power Inside Big Tech: Against Tech Oligarchy w/ JS Tan & Clarissa Redwine
In their new book, Against Tech Oligarchy, authors JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine ask the question: did tech workers ever actually learn how to fight?
195
Reposted by JS Tan
Quinn Slobodian @quinnslobodian.com · 16/09/2026
It's clear that left thinking about AI must not rely on categories provided by the sector itself. We already have good examples of how this can be done: @gsrnicek.bsky.social's Silicon Empires for political economy @js-tan.bsky.social & Clarissa Redwine's Against Tech Oligarchy for labor
1419
Reposted by JS Tan
Andrew Rogers @asr-cascadian.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
What a great day! Long-awaited new titles by @bradleyonishi.bsky.social and @kkdumez.bsky.social have landed to join @robertpjones.bsky.social's, which got here a day or two ago. No less critical, @adriandaub.bsky.social , @js-tan.bsky.social and Clarissa Redwine are here to disassemble tech. 📚
A photo of "Live, Love, Laugh" by KK du Mez, "American Caesar" by Brad Onishi, "Backslide" by Robert Jones, "Against Tech Oligarchy" by JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine, and "What Tech Calls Governing" by Adrian Daub, all on my desk.
1216
Reposted by JS Tan
Tim Newman @tnewmsblues.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Anyone else relate? (For the record, I already read @js-tan.bsky.social and Clarissa’s book and passed it forward. It’s so good!)
A photo of copies of the books Against Tech Oligarchy by JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine and End Times Fascism by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor - both released today.
0194
Reposted by JS Tan
Austin Kelmore @austinkelmore.com · 15/09/2026
Today is book launch day for Against Tech Oligarchy! My friends Clarissa Redwine and JS Tan spent several years writing it and it looks incredible. They're tech organizers with a ton of experience and knowledge, so I can't wait to get the book in my hands and read it.
161
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
We're in @wired.com this morning with an excerpt from our book AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY. Check it out- this excerpts goes into how tech worker activism and class struggle within the sector was one of the key factors in pushing tech elites to Trump and the MAGA right.
1124
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY is in stores today! We wrote this for anyone seeking to understand what the tech oligarchs have in store, how they move, how they oppress and extract. And most importantly, how resistance has formed within their own empires. Join us on tour: againsttecholigarchy.com
12611
Reposted by JS Tan
Boston Review @bostonreview.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
“Dissent, once celebrated by these companies as a close cousin of disruption, was suddenly treated as a threat to be eradicated.” Now online, @js-tan.bsky.social and Clarissa Redwine look inside the failed Twitter union drive in an excerpt from their new book, AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY:
bostonreview.net
The Rise and Fall of Tech Worker Power
Crushing our union drive at Twitter opened the floodgates for Silicon Valley’s assault on labor.
041
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
We're about to be on the @jacobinmag.bsky.social show with @davidgriscom.bsky.social talking about our book! Tune in now! www.youtube.com/live/GMDiwXx...
youtube.com
Zohran Mamdani is beating his critics + tech workers take on the oligarchs
YouTube video by Jacobin
010
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Check out talk i did with the Digi-labour group, introducing my book AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY. Thanks for having me on for this great discussion @grohmannrafael.bsky.social
131
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Clarissa and I have a new piece in @dissentmag.bsky.social new (fantastic) issue about the rise of the tech worker movement, where it went wrong, and the need for workers to build power and fight back in this moment. dissentmagazine.org/article/tech...
dissentmagazine.org
Rebooting the Tech Worker Movement - Dissent Magazine
Workplace organizing in the tech sector has undergone a steep decline. What went wrong?
1104
Reposted by JS Tan
Quinn Slobodian @quinnslobodian.com · 11/09/2026
This is a good one go.bsky.app/TFxd9Yh
1237
Reposted by JS Tan
Anil Dash @anildash.com · 10/09/2026
Congrats to Clarissa & @js-tan.bsky.social on the launch of their book Against Tech Oligarchy (see: againsttecholigarchy.com) and the events they’re doing to help tell the story — which couldn’t be more right on time. For folks who’ve been feeling helpless or wondering what they can do, here you go!
againsttecholigarchy.com
Against Tech Oligarchy
Worker Resistance in the World's Most Powerful Industry. By JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine.
04113
Reposted by JS Tan
LPE Blog @lpeblog.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Spread the news: the Association of Law and Political Economy (@a-lpe.bsky.social) invites proposals for its second annual meeting, to be held on June 9-10, 2027, in Boston, MA.
lpeproject.org
CFP: Second Annual Association of Law and Political Economy Conference
The Association of Law and Political Economy invites proposals for its second annual meeting, to be held on June 9-10, 2027, in Boston, MA.
02021
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
We are STOKED to be speaking with @gilduran.com at @citylightsbooks.bsky.social OCT 1st. Both Clarissa and I tore through his brilliant book this past week. I can’t think of a book that better compliments the subject of ours, so I’m very excited for this discussion.
2233
Reposted by JS Tan
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 04/09/2026
In the new TMK, we chat with @js-tan.bsky.social and Clarissa Redwine, both veteran tech labor organizers, about their new book that chronicles the tech worker movement, while also offering invaluable perspective and advice on building worker power in tech. free episode:
soundcloud.com
473. Tech Workers of the World, Unite (ft. JS Tan, Clarissa Redwine)
[We had technical difficulties and had to use a backup recording, sorry!] We chat with JS Tan and Clarissa Redwin — both veteran tech workers and labor organizers — about their new book which chronicl
194
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
To celebrate the launch of our book about class struggle in Silicon Valley and the fight AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY, Clarissa and I are organizing a book club with: @techworkerscoalition.org @organizeworkers.bsky.social @demsocialists.bsky.social @education.dsausa.org RSVP at tinyurl.com/ato-914
32716
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
To kick off our book tour, we're bringing together labor leaders + tech critics to pack the jury in the trial of a tech oligarch. First up is Bezos, in NYC 9/10. This event will be a boisterous, cathartic celebration of working class solidarity and power! RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event...
0132
Reposted by JS Tan
Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 27/08/2026
Organizing in the tech sector has changed a lot since its heyday in the late 2010s. I wanted to understand how the billionaire backlash has affected workers, and was thrilled to have Clarissa and @js-tan.bsky.social on the show to do just that.
04916
Reposted by JS Tan
Tech Won’t Save Us @techwontsave.us · 27/08/2026
Tech billionaires think “woke” values turned their workers against them. Now they’re working hard to change it. This week Clarissa Redwine and @js-tan.bsky.social joins @parismarx.com to discuss how tech organizing has changed after mass layoffs. Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/343_...
17222
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Always nice to be back on the one and only @techwontsave.us, this time talking about my new book with Clarissa Redwine: AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY, available today for preorder: againsttecholigarchy.com
againsttecholigarchy.com
Against Tech Oligarchy
Worker Resistance in the World's Most Powerful Industry. By JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine.
040
Reposted by JS Tan
jimmy @counteroptimize.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
js and clarissa's book is the one we've been waiting for: a guide to the tech worker movement written by and for worker-organizers come out to one of their many tour events as well
093
Reposted by JS Tan
Cecilia Rikap @ceciliarikap.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
New review of my book "The Rulers. Corporate Power in the age of AI and the Cloud" @versobooks.bsky.social was published at the London School of Economics' review of books Read it here: blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofb... Let's work to make utopias real!!
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Big Tech and the rise of intellectual monopolies - LSE Review of Books
The Rulers by Cecilia Rikap argues Big Tech rules through networked capitalism & intellectual monopolies, controlling knowledge, digital infrastructures & data
0317
Reposted by JS Tan
Eli Friedman @elifriedman.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Don't miss this one
041
Reposted by JS Tan
Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 18/08/2026
The day has come! “The Nerd Reich” is now available at your favorite local bookstore. I’ll be on @msnowreports.bsky.social at approximately 10:30 am ET to talk about it. Tune in. And buy it! First week sales make a huge difference. If you keep reading, I keep fighting.
Promotional graphic for the nerd Reich book. Quote from Publishers Weekly: “ transfixing it’s an ominous look at an insular elite arrayed against American democracy.”
28597186
Reposted by JS Tan
Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
🧵I've been writing about communities taking on big heartless corporations for well over 30 years and I have never seen an issue bring together a coalition as wide, or as deep, as the battle against AI data centres. This quote from a Kentucky farmer who refused millions to sell her land says it all:
71106243
Reposted by JS Tan
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
My book AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY, out Sept 15, is available for pre-order at againsttecholigarchy.com. It chronicles the rise of tech workers' activism, how they courageously came together to challenge the industry's most powerful bosses, and how their movement changed Silicon Valley forever. 1/
513955
Reposted by JS Tan
Hagen Blix @hagenblix.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Having seen a few bits already, I'm excited about this book!
031
Reposted by JS Tan
dgorganize (he/him) @dgorganize.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I was lucky enough to be an early reader of Against Tech Oligarchy from @haymarketbooks.org, and have been recommending it enthusiastically ever since If union model design or organizing for fundamental change resonates with you, you'll love this case study in tech— whichever industry you work in
0143
Reposted by JS Tan
Ethan Marcotte @ethanmarcotte.com · 17/08/2026
I was SO EXCITED when I heard JS and Clarissa were working on this book, because I couldn’t have written *my* book without their literal years of activism and organizing within the tech labor movement. This is going to be an invaluable read, folks. Can’t wait to get my hard copy ❤️
1283
Reposted by JS Tan
Quinn Slobodian @quinnslobodian.com · 17/08/2026
Read @js-tan.bsky.social and Clarissa Redwine's book on @haymarketbooks.org open.substack.com/pub/highvalu...
open.substack.com
Against Tech Oligarchy
I've written a book! Its about tech worker activism and, relatedly, the rightward turn of Silicon Valley's ultra-rich—and its coming out next month.
17027
JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
My book AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY, out Sept 15, is available for pre-order at againsttecholigarchy.com. It chronicles the rise of tech workers' activism, how they courageously came together to challenge the industry's most powerful bosses, and how their movement changed Silicon Valley forever. 1/
513955
Reposted by JS Tan
Tim Newman @tnewmsblues.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
"By organizing, they are insisting that people closest to AI’s development should have a voice in its direction. Listening to them is not just a matter of workplace fairness. It is essential to our ability to govern AI" Ft @js-tan.bsky.social @nataliyan.bsky.social @emilymazo.bsky.social research!
283