The Precarity of Tech’s Shadow Workforce

Earlier this year, a nonprofit organization called the TechEquity Collaborative released the results of its Contract Worker Disparity Project, an investigation into the “shadow workforce” that powers many tech firms. The culmination of a year of research into the disparities in contract work, the report features survey data and first-hand accounts from contract workers in tech who describe range of challenging conditions and inequities, particularly relative to the lavish pay and perks that are offered to full time employees of companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon.

To learn more about the key findings of the report, to hear more about what it's like to make your living in one of these roles, and to get a sense of the types of policy solutions that would address these inequities, we spoke with:

• Samantha (Sam) Gordon, Senior Vice President of Programs TechEquity Collaborative
• Shannon Wait, Campaign Assistant with Alphabet Workers Union, part of the Communications Workers of America Local 1400