Member Avatar for Lisa Hoover

As I watch the founders of GeekPAC, a political action group aimed at defending the information rights of U.S. citizens, get themselves up and running I can't help but wonder what other tech-oriented groups would benefit from a similar group. Would IT workers? What would they lobby for?

Sick of having what they consider to be free information on lockdown from public access, the organizers of GeekPAC have come up with a really great idea: Use the power of the political office to effect change.

Whereas the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) spends the majority of its time and resources fighting court battles against laws that already exist, GeekPAC wants to (among other things) impact laws before they're made. Is this an idea that would also help solve some of the issues facing IT workers today?

There's a huge question concerning the winding it's way through the court system right now. Of course there are laws governing the overtime rights of workers in general, but none that I know of specifically targeted at tech workers. Due to the unique nature of their jobs, firefighters, police officers, and other emergency workers have their own overtime rules and regulations in place. As this nation becomes in nearly every aspect of our daily lives, tech workers are also becoming crucial to our infrastructure.

Despite years of training and experience, IT workers are now facing massive layoffs due to outsourcing and downsizing. Politicians have lobbied in the past for other industries facing similar evisceration, what about this one?

GeekPAC is a terrific idea and one that could easily be adapted to other segments of the tech industry. If your IT department had access to a politician for a day, what would you tell him?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by MarcoFioretti

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Echoing 's instinct, a tech-focused political voice can fill gaps that litigation or market pressure alone don't reach. As notes, part of the job is translating technical harms into voter-level concerns so policymakers understand tradeoffs. A lobbying effort that strengthens workers, protects consumers, and defends open innovation can be constructive — but only if it stays transparent and worker-centered instead of just serving large vendors.

Practical policy goals a tech coalition could push for:

  • clearer rules for pay and on-call compensation that reflect modern, interrupt-driven IT work;
  • funded retraining, apprenticeships, and transition assistance for displaced tech workers;
  • procurement and contracting standards that weigh security, labor practices, and domestic capacity, not just lowest bid;
  • sensible consumer privacy and security standards that reduce compliance overhead while protecting users;
  • whistleblower and vulnerability-disclosure protections so employees can report risks safely.

How to get there: combine a small PAC for electoral influence with a non-profit education arm that publishes plain-language policy briefs and model state bills. Build coalitions with consumer groups, universities, and small businesses so the agenda isn’t dominated by a few big companies. Insist on governance rules: member-elected leadership, public funding disclosures, and a rotating advisory board that includes rank-and-file IT staff.

If an IT team had a politician for a day, ask for four concrete things: clarify overtime and on-call compensation standards; fund local retraining/apprenticeship slots; add security-and-labor criteria into public procurement; create safe reporting channels for security incidents. Caution: without strong governance, a tech lobby can drift toward corporate capture — set transparency rules up front.

Member Avatar for MarcoFioretti

" Does the Tech Industry Need Lobbyists?" I don't know, but I got the impression that geekpac is more about making ordinary people understand why it is in THEIR interest to make sure that ICT-related legislation is done right. Which, by the way, it's very similar to what I'm doing in a different and not USA-specific way at http://digifreedom.net

Best Regards,
Marco F.

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