Surveillance, Spacing, Screaming and Scabbing: How Digital Technology Facilitates Union Busting
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arXiv
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| Hauptverfasser: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866912962145419264 |
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| author | Reiber, Frederick Kim, Nathan McDonald, Allison Calacci, Dana |
| author_facet | Reiber, Frederick Kim, Nathan McDonald, Allison Calacci, Dana |
| contents | Despite high approval ratings for unions and growing worker interest in organizing, employees in the United States still face significant barriers to securing collective bargaining agreements. A key factor is employer counter-organizing: efforts to suppress unionization through rule changes, retaliation, and disruption. Designing sociotechnical tools and strategies to resist these tactics requires a deeper understanding of the role computing technologies play in counter-organizing against unionization. In this paper, we examine three high-profile organizing effort--at Amazon, Starbucks, and Boston University--using publicly available sources to identify four recurring technological tactics: surveillance, spacing, screaming and scabbing. We analyze how these tactics operate across contexts, highlighting their digital dimensions and strategic deployment. We conclude with implications for organizing in digitally-mediated workplaces, directions for future research, and emergent forms of worker resistance. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_03130 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Surveillance, Spacing, Screaming and Scabbing: How Digital Technology Facilitates Union Busting Reiber, Frederick Kim, Nathan McDonald, Allison Calacci, Dana Human-Computer Interaction Despite high approval ratings for unions and growing worker interest in organizing, employees in the United States still face significant barriers to securing collective bargaining agreements. A key factor is employer counter-organizing: efforts to suppress unionization through rule changes, retaliation, and disruption. Designing sociotechnical tools and strategies to resist these tactics requires a deeper understanding of the role computing technologies play in counter-organizing against unionization. In this paper, we examine three high-profile organizing effort--at Amazon, Starbucks, and Boston University--using publicly available sources to identify four recurring technological tactics: surveillance, spacing, screaming and scabbing. We analyze how these tactics operate across contexts, highlighting their digital dimensions and strategic deployment. We conclude with implications for organizing in digitally-mediated workplaces, directions for future research, and emergent forms of worker resistance. |
| title | Surveillance, Spacing, Screaming and Scabbing: How Digital Technology Facilitates Union Busting |
| topic | Human-Computer Interaction |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.03130 |