The organized labor movement has a new ally: venture capitalists

[Omaha Steve]

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-08-12/venture-capital-startup-unit-labor-organizing

BY SAM DEAN STAFF WRITER AUG. 12, 2022 8:20 AM PT

The staff at PEN America made the announcement in June: They were forming a union.

Like their fellow workers at Starbucks stores and Amazon warehouses around the country, the employees of PEN, a literary and human rights nonprofit, decided to form an independent union, unaffiliated with any of the dozens of major labor unions across the country. But in this case, there was a twist.

“We’re so grateful to have been supported by @UnitUnionizing throughout this drive,” the union drive leaders tweeted. “We’ve learned so much from their organizers, legal advisers, and comms experts!”

A startup backed by Silicon Valley venture capitalists, Unit of Work is an unlikely candidate for the role of labor movement champion. Its outside investors have made fortunes backing technologies such as artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies and video games. One is among California’s foremost critics of public-sector labor unions.

FULL story at link above.