March 14 marks the annual celebration of Pi Day, a symbolic holiday among those in the tech industry. This year, enthusiasts and workers from industry giants like Google, Apple, and Microsoft will protest as part of the Tech Stands Up movement.
Born as an initiative on Facebook, the mass demonstration has gained the support of more than 1,500 people who say they will attend. The rally gathers displeased tech workers in the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza in front of Palo Alto’s City Hall.
Tech Stands Up is the latest movement to surface in protest to President Donald Trump and the controversial policies he has implemented in nearly two months of his tenure. Organizers say, though, that the focus is not on the government.
Tech Stands Up wants the industry to practice what they preach
Brad Taylor and Mckenzie Lock penned and published a manifesto for Tech Stands Up over the weekend, days before the event taking place this Tuesday. The rally was to be held on March 14 at 1:59 p.m. so the digits matched those of Pi.
In the open letter, the organizers of the even made a call to action for everyone from tech giants to small startups to uphold the values they so proudly list on their websites, especially now in times of social turmoil.
Tech Stands Up aims at appealing to the collective conscience of tech workers, making them realize their responsibility as a groundbreaking field that has the chance of playing a bigger role in steering the country’s direction toward progress.
Moreover, Taylor and Lock say they want people in the industry to participate in initiatives that make their communities better, empathize with others so they can build technological solutions to their problems, and mobilize to work with companies that are ethically and morally sound.
Tech Stands Up wants to give a helping hand to startups
From the Tech Stands Up movement, the primary concern is clearly the new administration and the potential threats they pose to the sector going forward. Policies like the Muslim travel ban profoundly affect the workflow and professional environment in Silicon Valley.
The tech industry is perhaps one of the most immigrant-rich fields in the United States, and, not coincidentally, also one of the most promising regarding both short and long-term growth and development.
For this reason, the Tuesday demonstration also wants to offer a helping hand to companies that may be struggling with this conflict, so they embrace policies of social inclusion, economic equality, and labor protection.
Next up on the public agenda, scientists will rally in Washington D.C. and concentrate at the National Mall on April 22. The March for Science will coincide with Earth Day.
Source: USA Today
