(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . I work for Daily Kos: What we do is important, and it takes all of us [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-14 It wasn’t always like that. A decade ago, I was working in DC building websites and software for members of Congress—offices ranging from Maxine Waters, Ted Lieu, and Hakeem Jeffries to Michelle Bachmann, Paul Ryan, and John Boehner (right?!?). That resulted in high highs and low lows. Some days, I’d be happily working with Jared Polis’ office to set up a page on their site with LGBTQ+ resources; other days I’d be helping Steve King’s office send out a newsletter about how Obama was born on Mars or whatever. Those were the times that I despaired about how even if I were to become the best software engineer in the world, the net effect I would have would still be negative. I wanted something better. It took some searching and a lot of other jobs, but I finally found something better here. I remember reading the Daily Kos as a college student (dropout) during the Bush years when I was finding my political identity so the prospect of working here was exactly what I was always looking for. I love the fact that everything I do at my job is in some small way helping push for a better future for my kids’ generation. This push happens because of labor. The labor of every worker at the Daily Kos is what causes the results you see. Every dollar raised. Every signature. Every candidate elected. It is your free labor as a Community member that makes this possible. You read and recommend and comment and share and interact and all that time you spend with us helps us push a little further. It’s my hope that in return for your labor, we’re providing you with news, community, entertainment, and hopefully a little joy in some dark times. As a tech worker, I’m sick to death of the fantasy that one person is—or even a few people are—responsible for innovation. Innovation only happens when people labor in community toward a common goal. These people are vitally important. No one is an interchangeable cog. No one is superfluous. We’re seeing this play out in real-time as Elon Musk fires half the workers at Twitter, breaks up the community, and tries to play the lone genius. He, like so many other managers, forgets where the power lies. I joined the Daily Kos Guild (DKG) and became the Engineering Team Steward soon after getting hired. I was glad to hear that Daily Kos Management (DKM) voluntarily recognized the Guild and was hopeful we could become a model of what a progressive workplace could look like. Imagine my disappointment when, instead of bargaining over ways to live our politics out in the way we work, we’ve been stuck going back and forth with seemingly unprepared managers just trying to start negotiations. According to DKM, the financial red flags started showing a year ago. They started discussing layoffs in September—and never mentioned any of this during our bargaining sessions. Rather than come to the DKG first so we could mitigate the harm caused by our decreasing revenue, DKM continued business as usual: approving conference expenditures, hiring new employees, and spending on new internal management software. Now, when we propose cost-saving measures, they are dismissed as “kicking the can down the road” because we have to account for not just this year’s shortfall, but last year’s as well. DKM initially announced their intent to lay off 25% of the unionized workforce. The Guild has succeeded in negotiating for a voluntary buyout option, first, and then the possibility of implementing other cost-saving measures short of layoffs. We appreciate these hard-won gains. Even if the engineering department stays intact, losing the people responsible for the Community and content of the site could have devastating effects on the future of Daily Kos. Who cares how great the site looks and functions if it’s just full of reposted AP articles? A move like that could be the beginning of the end of the Daily Kos. The DKG is not going to just let that happen. I’m not going to just let that happen. I finally found something better and I’m not going to give up on it. How to Support the Daily Kos Guild: Recommend this story—help it reach and stay on the Trending list. Leave a comment, even if it is just a word or two, to let them know you are an ally. Memes, gifs, union logos, photos, emojis, anything—say hello! Follow the DKG Solidarity group! Send a Kosmail to @DK Guild to let us know you’re with us Share a link to all stories posted within the DK Guild Solidarity group on all social media, and tag us @DailyKosGuild on Twitter and Instagram. Use these hashtags when possible: #DailyKosGuild #NegotiateWithDKG #Solidarity Follow @DailyKosGuild on Twitter and Instagram. Please also follow individual Daily Kos writers and Staff on Twitter and Instagram. Please sign the DK Guild petition: Tell Daily Kos to uphold its mission, values, and commitment to working people , and share the petition link with others Share this story with pro-union friends and family through texts, email, and personal conversation! DKG represents 54 Daily Kos staff members and another 6 "disputed" positions, accounting for 68% of Daily Kos' total workforce. DKG is a Pacific Media Workers Guild member, a local of the NewsGuild/Communication Workers of America, and was certified as the bargaining unit of represented staff in 2022. As a member of The NewsGuild/Communication Workers of America, we move in solidarity with all our union colleagues across the country and the larger worker rights movement. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/14/2152811/-I-work-for-Daily-Kos-What-we-do-is-important-and-it-takes-all-of-us Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/