Tech Conference 2023
09:00 Friday, 13 October 2023
The Berlin Tech Workers Coalition will host the largest English speaking and tech worker-led conference in Germany, together with our trade unions ver.di B+B and IG Metall Berlin.
Friday, 13 October is open for all Works Council members (registration required). As a Works Council training per BetrVG 37(6), you can do this training during working hours, and conference fee is paid by your employer. Registration is mandatory. Find further instructions here. Email us conference@techworkersberlin.com if you have questions!
Saturday, 14 October is free of cost and open for all tech workers. It will have both a broader focus on social movements, trade union organising and political education. Fill out the form below to register for the Saturday portion. Some people will want to attend both portions of conference, while others attend one of them.
Registration
- October 13 Works council training, register here.
- October 14 All Tech Workers – register via the form below *
This is our second conference, read about the first edition. Last year participants gathered at IG Metall’s Berlin office, this year’s conference will take place at ver.di’s headquarter in Berlin.
We are bringing 120 English speaking tech workers from 50+ companies together for a two day conference in Berlin. Year round, we regularly network and stay in touch with each other. The conference is an opportunity to celebrate each others’ milestones, successes and learnings over the year.
There will be interactive workshops, discussions, and the opportunity to activate your workplaces. Topics include societal issues like rent, inflation, ecology and practical workplace issues like surveillance, gender pay gap, mass-layoffs and migrant organising.
The conference is open to tech workers of all experiences and engagement levels from beginners to expert. If you are interested in speaking/presenting on a specific topic, please get in touch with us, we have a few slots remaining!
If you have further questions or are interested in attending, you can get in touch with conference@techworkersberlin.com for further info.
13 October Schedule
| Time | Panel |
|---|---|
| 08:00 | ☕️ Morning Check in |
| 09:00 | Introduction and Welcome |
| 10:00 | Ice Breaker and Issue Identification Workshop Antje Dieterich (she/her), ver.di Phoebe Schmidt (she/they), Contentful Works Council |
| 12:00 | 🥙 Lunch including vegetarian/vegan food |
| 13:00 | Workshop 1: Works Council Communication with Co-workers in Mobile/Remote Scenarios yv (they/them), former works council chair Raphael Kamps (he/him), G.IBS |
| 13:00 | Workshop 2: Legal Framework for Collaboration between Works Councils and Trade Unions Janine Kaldeweier (she/her), Lawyer, DKA Yonatan Miller (he/him), ShareNow Works Council Chair Joey Rosenberger (he/him), Telekom Youth Council |
| 13:00 | Workshop 3: Workers’ Profile Rights and Algorithmic Surviellance Maike Pricelius (she/her), G.IBS Prof. Phoebe Moore (she/her), University of Essex, Essex Business School |
| 13:00 | Workshop 4: What is a Finance Committee and its role in downsizing scenarios? Dr. Adrian Mengay (he/him), Forba |
| 14:45 | ☕️ Coffee break |
| 15:00 | Workshop 5: Works Agreements on Mobile Work: Risks and Opportunities Britta Berlet (she/her), CARIAD Works Council Chair Jordan Coll (he/him), SoundCloud Works Council Thomas Weber (he/him), IG Metall |
| 15:00 | Workshop 6: The Works Council’s Role in Workplace Downsizing Scenarios (Mass Layoffs) Yonatan Miller (he/him), ShareNow Works Council Chair Artur (he/him), Klarna Works Council Daniel Weidmann (he/him), Lawyer, DKA |
| 15:00 | Workshop 7: Data Protection in the Works Council Office: Duties of the Works Council and its Members Micha Heilmann (he/him), Lawyer, DKA |
| 17:00 | Reflection and Closing |
| 18:00-22:00 | Get Together and Celebrate Eiswerk Berlin Koepenicker str. 40-41. Food and drinks provided. |
14 October Schedule
| Time | Panel |
|---|---|
| 10:30 | ☕️ Welcoming Words |
| 11:15 | Interactive activity and setting the stage Kay Alave (she/her), Data Engineer Carolina Cabrera John (she/they), Data Analyst |
| 12:15 | 🥙 Lunch including vegetarian/vegan food |
| 13:00 | Panel: Collective Bargaining – Success Stories from the Real World Moderation: Jax Hudspeth (she/they), HelloFresh Works Council Silvia Habekost (she/her), Nurse at a Berlin hospital and ver.di A member of collective bargaining committee at ASML and IGMetall |
| 14:30 | Workshop 1: Climate Change and Tech Moderation: Malene Guergen (she/her), Journalist Amira Moeding (they/them, she/her), PhD Student, University of Cambridge Ongoo Buyanjargal (she/her), Union Organizer Dr. Daniel Gutiérrez (he/him), ver.di |
| 14:30 | Workshop 2: Union busting, works council mobbing Moderation: Daniel Weidmann (he/him), Lawyer, DKA Lola (she/her), HelloFresh Works Council Chair Marta Rozmysłowicz (she/her), coordinator with IP, a Polish affiliate of Amazon Workers International |
| 14:30 | Workshop 3: Sexism, Gender Pay Gap, and How We Can Win Moderation: Deanna Knudsen (she/her), HelloFresh Works Council Dr. Adrian Mengay (he/him), Forba Luisa Rodrigues (she/they) |
| 14:30 | Workshop 4: The Deutsche Wohnen & co. Expropriation Campaign, the Berlin Housing Crisis, and How You Can Get Involved Lily Cichanowicz (she/her), Right to the City Dom Bunnett (he/him), Right to the City Ian Clotworthy (he/him), Deutsche Wohnen & Co. Enteignen |
| 16:00 | Report back and Commitments for Future Projects |
| 16:30 | Closing |
Venue
ver.di Berlin-Brandenburg, Paula-Thiede-Ufer 10
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