A hustle culture may be the norm at tech companies in the age of AI, but starting tomorrow, it will stop working on publishing platform Medium. Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine has given his employees permission to take time off to participate in tomorrow’s national general strike protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Activists on general strike are calling for people to “stop going to work, stop going to school, stop shopping” as they call for ICE to be defunded. ICE has escalated raids in US cities, killing several people, including two Americans in Minneapolis earlier this month.
In a Slack message shared with Medium staff today, Stubblebine said all employees are free to participate in a strike as they see fit.
“It’s up to you whether you want to take that day off from work completely, work partially, or direct your work in line with the goals of the strike,” he wrote on a public announcement channel.
The executive clarified that since Medium is not “in the business of influencing people’s politics,” the choice to participate is personal and not a mandate from the company.
Of course, publishing platforms play an important role in helping people share news, opinions, insights, and analysis on politics, culture, and other topics. Stubblebine said Medium will coordinate with the necessary teams on Friday to develop a “business continuity” plan to allow employees to take time off to protest.
Technology leaders, including Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean, have been outspoken against ICE. Still, many big tech companies and executives have spent the past few weeks trying to curry favor with the Trump administration. Some executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, were criticized for attending a screening of the Amazon MGM Studios documentary “Melania” on the day federal border agents shot and killed Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Preti.
Meanwhile, many rank-and-file tech workers are calling for ICE and CBP to leave U.S. cities, as evidenced by an open letter signed by more than 500 tech industry workers.
Stubblebine seemed to agree, writing that Medium has a responsibility to “make its position clear,” especially since “many other tech organizations have donated to the Trump campaign.” He also said that Medium’s products exist to “elevate truth and diverse voices,” not hateful content or racism.
His message also reiterated Medium’s support for DEI, including a series of pro-diversity policies that the Trump administration is dismantling through executive orders, eliminating DEI positions in the federal workforce, eliminating curriculum, and legal targeting.
“It’s good to represent our country because when our country prospers, our business also prospers.” [our] It’s a mission,” Stubblebine said.
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