Ethan Marcotte
LightNews LightNews
banner
ethanmarcotte.com
Ethan Marcotte
@ethanmarcotte.com
11K followers 440 following 2.9K posts
designer, writer, roommate to two kittens. here’s my website: https://ethanmarcotte.com/

I think you deserve a union, and I wrote a book about that: https://youdeserveatechunion.com/

hi friend

(headshot by @elaina.bsky.social)
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
ethanmarcotte.com
Ethan Marcotte @ethanmarcotte.com · Dec 5
It is that time of year, so I thought I’d mention that my book YOU DESERVE A TECH UNION is very much a thing you can buy for any tech workers in your life. Or yourself!

You can buy it just about anywhere books are sold—or hey, ask your library to grab a copy! ethanmarcotte.com/books/you-de...
Three bright red copies of the book “You Deserve a Tech Union” are stacked on a gray wooden surface. The stack is flared slightly, so that the corners of the lower books are peeking out from below. A screenshot of two pages from the digital version of “You Deserve a Tech Union”, showing the beginning of Chapter 3, titled “What is a Union? Screenshot of three testimonials, titled “Praise for You Deserve a Tech Union”. Peter Olney, retired organizing director of the ILWU and the co-editor of Labor Power and Strategy, described the book as, “A wonderful back-pocket book, perfect for any tech worker interested in powering up and getting a union.” The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee described the book as “A compelling and galvanizing read — not just for tech workers, but for anyone who is union-curious. ” Nozlee Samadzadeh, a member of the New York Times Tech Guild, said, “You Deserve a Tech Union is a how-to guide, a history lesson, and a manifesto all in one. Ethan Marcotte starts by laying out the case for unionization in tech, and ends with a rallying cry for using our power as workers. I wish we’d had this book as we organized the New York Times Tech Guild.”
ethanmarcotte.com
LABOR SICKOS* OF NEW YORK: the authors of AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY are doing an event *tonight* in Brooklyn. RSVP link is below, stop by if you can!

events.ticketleap.com/tickets/powe...

* affectionate

#nyc #1u #labor #TechLabor
Event poster for a live podcast episode of WORKING CLASS HISTORY, featuring JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine. September 16 at 7pm ET, taking place at Powerhouse Arena, Brooklyn.
September 16, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
cara.city
somehow did not own a copy of this and I've now fixed this problem
debcha.bsky.social Deb Chachra @debcha.bsky.social · 9d
Labo(u)r Day is a good time to remind folks about YOU DESERVE A TECH UNION by @ethanmarcotte.com — collective organizing and worker power is maybe *especially* important for these industries that shape all of our lives, especially now.

ethanmarcotte.com/books/you-de...
You Deserve a Tech Union — Ethan Marcotte
Read this page on ethanmarcotte.com
ethanmarcotte.com
September 8, 2026 at 12:11 AM
ethanmarcotte.com
I’m still so proud of this little book. If you read it, I hope it’s useful to you.

And I’ve said it before, but if you’d like a copy but don’t feel you can swing the purchase right now—shipping costs, how your budget’s looking this month, whatever—just send me an email. We’ll figure it out.

❤️‍🔥
debcha.bsky.social Deb Chachra @debcha.bsky.social · 9d
Labo(u)r Day is a good time to remind folks about YOU DESERVE A TECH UNION by @ethanmarcotte.com — collective organizing and worker power is maybe *especially* important for these industries that shape all of our lives, especially now.

ethanmarcotte.com/books/you-de...
You Deserve a Tech Union — Ethan Marcotte
Read this page on ethanmarcotte.com
ethanmarcotte.com
September 7, 2026 at 10:22 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
debcha.bsky.social
Labo(u)r Day is a good time to remind folks about YOU DESERVE A TECH UNION by @ethanmarcotte.com — collective organizing and worker power is maybe *especially* important for these industries that shape all of our lives, especially now.

ethanmarcotte.com/books/you-de...
You Deserve a Tech Union — Ethan Marcotte
Read this page on ethanmarcotte.com
ethanmarcotte.com
September 7, 2026 at 4:14 PM
ethanmarcotte.com
@dame.is okay so how do i opt out of this, short of deleting my entire account
dame.is dame @dame.is · 20d
I’ve long wondered why Bluesky hadn’t yet setup a hosted MCP for the Atmosphere to make it even more accessible to AI agents, so I decided to do it myself with @aturi.to!

Give it a spin: aturi.to/mcp

Covers the protocol, Bluesky, APIs, docs, and more!
aturi.to Aturi @aturi.to · 20d
Introducing… Atmosphere MCP

With just one URL, you can give your AI agent or coding interface streamlined access to the AT Protocol, Bluesky, and the Atmosphere.

• Ask about repos & lexicons
• Learn about the protocol
• Analyze an account’s post history

38 agent tools

Try it: aturi.to/mcp
August 27, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
daisy-pitkin.bsky.social
Not one cent to Starbucks until workers get a contract! Pass it on!
aflcio.org AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · 20d
America’s unions stand with @sbworkersunited.org baristas in boycotting stand-alone corporate Starbucks stores.

Join us – take the pledge and let’s show Starbucks that working people stand with baristas until they win a fair contract.

No Contract? No coffee!
https://www.boycottstarbucks.net/
BOYCOTT STARBUCKS
Starbucks is the biggest violator of U.S. labor law in modern history. Join the movement - Boycott Starbucks!
www.boycottstarbucks.net
August 27, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
chappelltracker.bsky.social
therapist: have you ever considered that you might have perfectionist tendencies

me: no

therapist: why is that

me: because if I were a perfectionist I'd be the best at it
August 27, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
vimiller.bsky.social
Shout out to @davistint (on instagram), who made these incredible hand-printed signs after seeing posts about our fight for AI protections last week!

union journalists 🤝 local chicago artists
NO AI USE
A light blue sign with lines alternating blue and red ink reading: “Chicago deserves authentic journalism not artificial content”
August 25, 2026 at 7:45 PM
ethanmarcotte.com
grim reaper’s fucking UP this week
August 26, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
lfelizleon.bsky.social
New from me with Jane Slaughter:

United Auto Workers members are voting by mail ballot for their top officers, for the second time in the union’s 91 years. Ballots went out August 21 and are due back by October 5.

labornotes.org/2026/08/uaw-...
UAW Members Voting for International Officers
United Auto Workers members are voting by mail ballot for their top officers, for the second time in the union’s 91 years. Ballots went out August 21 and are due back by October 5. The contest will de...
labornotes.org
August 26, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
horrorsong.blog
I can fix her
sagadoggie.bsky.social Kitty (now Doggie Dog) @sagadoggie.bsky.social · Jan 27
Kind of a long title but this movie sounds wild
A cinema billboard showing THE BRUTALIST BABYGIRL NOSFERATU FROM GROUND ZERO
August 26, 2026 at 3:34 AM
ethanmarcotte.com
good morning ONLY to organized labor
sbworkersunited.org Starbucks Workers United @sbworkersunited.org · 22d
🚨BREAKING: Our union of over 12,000 baristas are officially calling for a Starbucks boycott.

Read this statement penned by Starbucks workers on why a boycott from ALL customers, allies, and organizations is necessary to fight back against corporate greed:
BOYCOTT STARBUCKS is written inside a zig-zaggy speech bubble against crumbled paper. Beside it are the Starbucks Workers United logo and an image of a coffee cup being poured out. We, the 12,000 and growing members of Starbucks Workers United, call on everyone who stands with working people to boycott Starbucks until they finalize a contract with union baristas and stop union-busting. What we’re fighting for is simple: a minimum $17/hr wage, enough hours to live on, better staffing in our stores, and basic workplace protections. Every year, our living costs rise but our wages don’t keep up – a growing pressure many American workers are feeling as corporate greed accelerates unchecked in our country. Starbucks is banking on customers' blind loyalty to the integrity and values this company once stood for in order to keep squeezing them for profits. At a time when working-class people across the country are struggling in a challenging economy, it is no longer possible to be both a Starbucks customer and in support of workers; choosing to spend money at Starbucks is choosing a law breaking corporation over the baristas who make your coffee everyday exactly as you ask for it. Starbucks has violated U.S. labor law more than any other company in modern history–the NLRB and its judges have found that Starbucks committed hundreds of labor violations and there are currently more than 550 unresolved unfair labor practice charges still pending against the company. Instead of finalizing a fair and reasonable union contract, Starbucks has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of care for the workers who fuel the company’s profits by wasting millions of dollars on AI and technology that doesn’t work, launching countless gimmicky drinks designed to distract from real problems, and inventing pointless policies that do nothing but make our jobs harder. This ongoing, irrational behavior by Starbucks and its refusal to settle a fair union contract with workers leaves us with no other choice than to call for a boycott. We know when working people stand up together, we win. No Contract? No Coffee.
August 26, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
rahawahaile.bsky.social
I want to add that Dolly wrote this song less than a decade after eugenicist Harry M. Caudill's Night Comes to the Cumberlands was published, pathologizing Appalachia during the country's "War on poverty." That "Despite your contempt, the things I love are worth loving" part runs DEEP.
bowiesongs.bsky.social Bowiesongs (C. O'Leary) @bowiesongs.bsky.social · 22d
a favorite bit of writing on Dolly: David Cantwell on "Coat of Many Colors" "I am poor, but I will be more than that. I *am* more than that. Despite your contempt, the things I love are worth loving."
Coat of Many Colors is not a documentary or even a memory, but a story she's telling herself. The adult Parton presents this childhood story says a lot about the survival tactics of poor kids generally, and of Dolly Parton specifically. It might, for example, explain Parton's flamboyant stage dress through the years. More substantially, it tells how a poor kid from the Blue Ridge Mountains has to make sense of life if she has ambitions, as we know Dolly Parton most certainly did. ...I am poor, but I will be more than that. I am more than that. Despite your contempt, the things I love are worth loving. And since my mother slaved over this amazing coat for me, I must be worth loving, too."
August 25, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
metaltxt.bsky.social
Well, what I always say, "I just want everybody to be treated good." I try not to get into the politics of everything. I try to get into the human element of it. I have some of everybody in my own immediate family and in my circle of employees. I've got transgender people. I've got gays. I've got lesbians. I've got drunks. I've got drug addicts — all within my own family. I know and love them all, and I do not judge. And I just see how broken-hearted they get over certain things and I know how real they are. I know how important this is to them. That's who they are. They cannot help that any more than I can help being Dolly Parton, you know, the way people know me. If there's something to be judged, that is God's business. But we are all God's children and how we are is who we are.
August 25, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
lifewinning.com
all rise for the international anthem of workers of the world www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbxU...
Dolly Parton - 9 To 5 (Official Video)
YouTube video by DollyPartonVEVO
www.youtube.com
August 25, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
scottandrew.com
Folks, I’m rebuilding my music email list.

To entice you, subscribers get a free copy of my new song “The Muse (The Work Is The Wage).”

Recorded in Seattle in Pearl Jam’s studio by Shawn Simmons (The Head And The Heart, Hey Marseilles).

I hope you’ll check it out!

scottandrew.music
Scott Andrew | Singer-songwriter
Scott Andrew | Singer-songwriter | Americana-flavored acoustic pop
scottandrew.music
August 24, 2026 at 6:54 PM
ethanmarcotte.com
good morning ONLY to organized labor
wbng.org Washington-Baltimore News Guild @wbng.org · 23d
VICTORY: The Guild @postguild.bsky.social wins reinstatement for @washingtonpost.com columnist @karenattiah.bsky.social in wrongful termination arbitration, underscoring the protections collective bargaining agreements provide workers against retaliatory discipline ✊

wbng.org/news/karen-a...
The Guild wins reinstatement for Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah in wrongful termination arbitration
F
wbng.org
August 24, 2026 at 2:21 PM
ethanmarcotte.com
i was out of town this weekend, and immediately upon returning to boston i was greeted by what i can only describe as AN OMEN
A seagull defiantly stands atop a “Don’t Walk” traffic signal.
August 24, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
ellyzoe.bsky.social
😂 this does seem to be the new agreement

With alt text
The IBM “A COMPUTER CAN NEVER BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE” slide, but instead of the real second part of the line (“therefore a computer must never make a management decision”), it says: “THEREFORE A COMPUTER MUST ALWAYS DO THE HACKING HAHA WHAT ARe they gonna do, put a computer in jail? Haha "oops it's alive" Imao”
August 23, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
noveltycistern.bsky.social
CHEKHOV'S GOT A GUN
CHEKHOV'S GOT A GUN
WHAT WILL THE CLIMAX BEEEEE
WHEN WE HIT ACT THREEEEEEE
August 22, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
ceej.online
they put up a dada center just outside of town and life has been unbearable ever since. thing looks like a fucking fish
August 20, 2026 at 1:20 AM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
guncelawits.bsky.social
ethanmarcotte.com/books/you-de...
August 10, 2026 at 5:48 PM
ethanmarcotte.com
> THE MACHINE IS DISGUSTING AND MUST BE DESTROYED

www.jwz.org/blog/2026/08...
Do Not Talk To Me About "AI"
I had some cards printed up. These are unlikely to change any minds, but they will defintely shorten some incredibly tedious conversations at the bar. Here's a PDF if you'd like some of your own.
www.jwz.org
August 19, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Ethan Marcotte
aworkinglibrary.com
People are like, you can’t refuse LLMs forever, someday you’ll have to use them. But listen, motherfuckers, I have been refusing to drive a car for the entirety of the twenty-first century. I am *practiced.* Refusing AI is easy mode.
August 19, 2026 at 5:44 PM