Hustle culture may be the norm at tech companies in the AI era, but the work will stop tomorrow at publishing platform maker 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. The agency 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. He wrote that whether employees want to fully take the day away from work, do a partial work day, or orient their work towards something aligned with the strike’s goals is up to them.
The executive 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 and analysis. So while it can allow its employees to take the day off to protest, Stubblebine said Medium will coordinate with the necessary teams to ensure there is 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 executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, were criticized for attending the screening of an Amazon MGM Studios documentary on the day federal immigration agents shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Many rank-and-file tech employees have demanded that ICE and CBP get out of U.S. cities, as evidenced by an 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 organizations are donating to the Trump campaign. He 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 federal DEI positions, curriculum removals, and legal targeting. Stubblebine said that their business thrives when the country thrives, and so being out there representing is good for their mission.