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A comment on Big tech's anti-labor playbook has come for Wikipedia. Parent comment

Re:Big tech's anti-labor playbook has come for Wikipedia by anigbrowl on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @05:53PM (#48286514)
You make it sound like they're demanding multi-mmilion $ bonuses. FTA:

The union’s demands are embarrassingly modest

This is what Wiki Workers United is asking for. Transparency and accountability from leadership toward both staff and movement communities. Real staff input on annual planning before decisions are finalized. An end to inconsistent hiring, firing, and promotion practices. The ability to safely dissent. Mental health support for the workers who deal with the community directly. Their organizing principle, borrowed from disability rights, is nothing about us without us.

I'm unclear why Wikimedia has brought in a wall Street finance guy as CEO, but complaining about labor while shrugging indifferently at the money people imposing a hierarchical model of control on a community-driven venture is absurd.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Big tech's anti-labor playbook has come for Wikipedia by bawolff on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @06:18PM (#48286769)
In what world is Bernadette Meehan a "wall street finance guy"?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Big tech's anti-labor playbook has come for Wikipedia by eaglelamp on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @06:31PM (#48286890)
From Wikipedia:

>After graduation, she worked on Wall Street, first at JPMorgan Chase and then Lehman Brothers. She later joined the United States Foreign Service.

Looks pretty wall street to me.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Big tech's anti-labor playbook has come for Wikipedia by bawolff on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @06:38PM (#48286968)
I wasn't actually aware of that, but key point here is that she quit that job in 2004. I'm not sure i'd describe someone who worked in wall street 20 years ago as a "wall street guy"
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Big tech's anti-labor playbook has come for Wikipedia by quadrifoliate on Wednesday May 27, 2026 @12:31AM (#48289669)
Looking at her resume, I don't see anything about writing encyclopedias or keeping them online.

I think "Wall Street person" is a reasonable description. Perhaps "Career government person with a Wall Street background", which still doesn't give her any background to understand at a deep level what Wikipedia's editors and staff do day-to-day.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Big tech's anti-labor playbook has come for Wikipedia by bawolff on Wednesday May 27, 2026 @02:59AM (#48290679)
A lot of what people do at Wikimedia is try and thread a compromise path through various factions of stakeholders. I could see how career diplomat would have some transferable skills.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Big tech's anti-labor playbook has come for Wikipedia by skeeter2020 on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @10:26PM (#48288741)
these demands are also embarassingly vague and based on situational judgement. They can claim that there's no transparency, accountability, consultation and that inconsistency continues regardless of what happens, if they don't like the outcome. I'd have a lot more sympathy if they asked for some concrete things, even if those were specifically defined funding or programs. "The ability to safely dissent." - WTF does that mean? where do you draw the line? We've all worked with that person who thinks they're "dissenting" when in reality they're just being an asshole.
[ Parent | on HN ]