After Donald Trump's election in 2016, the tech industry sprang into action to oppose his right-wing agenda, with workers and CEOs alike joining mass mobilizations against the new president's anti-immigrant policies. But it wasn't long before the tech bosses started to fall in line with the new administration.

In response, tens of thousands of tech workers began protesting against their own employers for betraying the progressivism that once defined the industry—including organizing against military contracts, walking out to protest tech's role in the climate crisis, and even launching a wave of union drives. By the early 2020s, these workers had sparked what observers were calling the tech worker movement, one that seemed capable of checking the industry's reckless growth and reactionary drift.

But as the movement grew, so did the employer's backlash. A new class consciousness took root among tech's billionaire owners. Hellbent on stamping out any and all dissent, tech executives began lashing out against the "woke" ideology they blamed for turning their once loyal employees against them—and replacing the good tech of the 2010s with incessant layoffs, grind culture, and a management style that treats workers as far more disposable.

Against Tech Oligarchy provides a gripping account of this inspiring movement and the rise of hostile labor politics that define Silicon Valley today.