Student Testimonial
January 16th, 2025
To whom it may concern:
My name is Anish Wuppalapati, and I am a Master’s student in Georgetown’s Public Policy program involved in the student-run Georgetown Tech Policy Initiative (GTPI). I’ve often found myself taking stock of the way the tech industry has changed the world over the past few decades, not just in the obvious ways – sweeping changes in information processing, ease of communication, efficiency in systems – but also in personal ways. My parents moved to the United States in the late ‘90s because of opportunities afforded to them by the tech industry, with my dad taking a job at Intel and staying with the company for over 25 years, joined by a community of others like him. Like many second-generation immigrants, I owe my current privileges to my parents and their journey, and the tech industry is a major milestone within it.
This is why the current state of the tech industry frustrates me. I know what this industry represents to myself and to so many others; I know what this industry is capable of; and yet, one cannot ignore the way industry leaders take advantage of their employees. In 2024, about 542 tech companies laid off 151,484 employees. My community in Portland, Oregon was hit massively as people were laid off from long-time positions at Nike and Microsoft and, most prominently, Intel. I can accept layoffs as a “necessary evil” in many industries; however, here, where layoffs are seen as a means to help companies’ stock prices, and where AI is seen as a substitute for payrolled staff, and where industry tycoons are richer than they’ve ever been, I am much less accepting.
Other horror stories from the tech industry are not hard to come by. Content moderation practices by major social media companies (especially Meta) spring to mind – while one would assume that moderation is mostly automated, it is actually a process that is often outsourced to countries in the Global South, especially those in which working conditions are harsher (and, often, cheaper). These workers work overtime and are exposed to graphic and upsetting material with no support from the parent companies (ie. Meta) or their direct employers (contract companies, like Sama). It’s impossible to fathom the mental toll this takes on an individual. The responsibility for these workers should fall squarely on the employers, and yet, we see no accountability. Similar stories emerge from Amazon warehouses, with the company even manipulating data to downplay major workplace safety concerns. Another story of impossible demands and unfair wages, with the instigating company doing its best to bury the lede.
On hearing stories like these, I think back to my community, to my dad, to my own story, and I’m hit by a wave of disgust. Content moderators, warehouse workers, and IT workers have vastly different experiences, yes, but they all occupy space on the “lower rungs” of the tech industry ladder. That ladder only seems to extend further, with management and the upper caste getting more and more out of reach and seeing the lower rungs as more and more disposable. All this, despite the fact that workers are the reason this industry thrives, the reason this industry has become the backbone of the American economy. It is imperative that we provide more protection to all members of the tech industry by disincentivizing industry leaders from engaging in mass layoffs, abusive outsourcing practices, workplace harm, et cetera. This is where your support can make a difference.
I’ve listed some organizations below which have led the charge on workers’ rights advocacy and tech ethics. Please consider donating or lobbying in support of tech industry workers.
Tech Workers Coalition
Stanford Social Innovation Review
Center for American Progress
