Hustle culture may be the norm at tech companies in the AI era, but the work will stop tomorrow at publishing platform makers Medium. Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine is giving its employees permission to take the day off to participate in tomorrow’s nationwide general strike protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Activists behind the general strike are calling for “no work, no school, and no shopping” amid a push to defund ICE, which has escalated raids in U.S. cities, killing several people including two U.S. citizens earlier this month in Minneapolis.
In a Slack message shared today with Medium staff, Stubblebine says all employees are free to participate in the strike however they see fit.
“Whether or not you want to fully take the day away from work, or do a partial work day, or orient your work towards something that feels aligned to the goals of the strike, that is up to you,” he wrote in a general announcements channel.
The exec clarified that Medium is not “in the business of dictating people’s politics,” so the choice to participate was an individual one, not a company mandate.
Of course, the publishing platform has an important role in helping people share news, opinion, insights, and analysis around politics, culture, and other topics. So it can allow its employees to take the day off to protest, Stubblebine said Medium will coordinate with the necessary teams to ensure there’s a plan for “business continuity” on Friday.
Tech leaders, including Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean, have been outspoken in protest of ICE. Still, many large tech companies and executives have spent the last several weeks courting favor with the Trump administration. Some execs — including Apple CEO Tim Cook — were criticized for attending the screening of the Amazon MGM Studios-produced “Melania” documentary on the day federal immigration agents shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Many rank-and-file tech employees, meanwhile, have demanded that ICE and CBP get out of U.S. cities, as evidenced by the open letter signed by more than 500 tech industry employees.
Stubblebine seems to share that opinion, writing that Medium has a responsibility to “make its stance clear,” especially “as many other tech orgs are donating to the Trump campaign.” He also said that Medium’s product exists to help “elevate truth and diverse voices,” not hateful content or racism.
His message also reiterated Medium’s support for DEI, the set of pro-diversity policies the Trump administration has attempted to dismantle through executive orders, the elimination of DEI positions in the federal workforce, curriculum removals, legal targeting, and more.
“Our business thrives when the country thrives, and so being out there representing is good for [our] mission,” Stubblebine said.
