Tech & the City

Reining in tech corporations so communities can define our own futures

Together, we’ve built our cities into thriving, diverse places to call home.

From looking out for our neighbors to doing the hard jobs that keep things running, we pour our time and hearts into making our cities places where our families can thrive, our communities are strong, and our neighborhoods are vibrant.

The Challenge

Across the US and around the world, a small number of tech corporations are exerting more and more control over all aspects of our lives. These firms are undermining our democracy, concentrating wealth into the hands of a few, and pushing dangerous surveillance regimes.

The tech industry is a leading driver of economic and racial inequality. The sector pushes up rents and holds down wages for workers of color.
At the same time, tech corporations are extracting millions of public dollars, demanding tax breaks and development subsidies from cities in exchange for locating offices and data centers. These projects rarely bring the promised benefits, especially for marginalized communities.
Meanwhile, tech firms seek to sell cash-strapped local governments the promise of more efficient “smart cities.” In practice, that often means services that only benefit the wealthiest, surveillance systems that exacerbate racialized police violence, and handing over our data to corporations that then sell it to the highest bidder.

Our Approach

Through national coalitions and on-the-ground organizing, we’re building the power to reclaim democratic control of our cities. We are bringing together the people whose jobs, neighborhoods, and governments are being distorted by the outsized influence of tech corporations.

We’re taking on corporations like Amazon and Uber so their workers are paid the true value of their work, have the freedom to join a union, and are protected from abuse hiding behind technology.
We’re reasserting democratic stewardship of our shared resources and infrastructure: insisting our tax dollars go to parks not corporate handouts, our public land is used for affordable homes instead of data centers, and our transportation systems move people rather than stock prices.
We’re insisting our leaders have the backbone to stand up against privatization schemes and racist surveillance products.