"Against Tech Oligarchy" by JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine. Publication date 15 Sept 2026.

This is an interesting book setting out the success and failure of Tech workers to unionise in the USA. The authors have been involved in this themselves and provide first hand accounts of it in various Tech organisations. It is well written and helped me to have a better perspective on the apparent U-turn of some of the owners of large Tech companies on their political allegiances. It also demonstrated to me the severe challenge of anyone standing up to those with extreme wealth. There are positive moments and definite successes including the collaboration between traditional Tech workers and those working in more manual roles (eg: in the warehouses). I was also appalled to learn of the environmental impact of the data centres used by the Tech organisations and the lack of concern that the US government seems to show for these. The book highlighted a number of ethical concerns in the use of data by Tech organisations and the danger of the lack of regulation or requirement for governance or review. I was not initially sure about the title but it became apparent as I read that this is absolutely what the owners of the largest Tech organisations have become. The book is a good read if you want to get a better understanding of how the Tech organisations operate (although there will be some who do not demonstrate such behaviours), have an interest in Labour law and a reiteration that extreme wealth often means that individuals seem to be able to operate in the way that they choose. I would have liked to have read clearer recommendations from the authors as to how the workers in the Tech industry and more broadly, the wider population can continue to appropriately challenge the Tech oligarchy. I was gifted a free copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an objective review. I gave it 4 stars out of 5. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/247256199-against-tech-oligarchy