Silicon Valley Rising came together in 2015 as a coalition of labor, community and faith groups that were invested in ensuring that the booming tech economy benefits, rather than displaces, working families in the region.
Low wage workers do their part to make Silicon Valley the most prosperous region in the world, yet they struggle every day to feed their families, pay their rent, and take care of themselves and their children when they are sick. Although the region’s top tech firms made a record $103 billion in profits in 2013, one in three Silicon Valley households did not make enough money to meet their most basic needs.
While their direct employees are often well compensated, high tech companies contract out most of their jobs to workers who are poorly paid and don’t receive basic benefits. In the past two decades, the number of Silicon Valley jobs in subcontracted industries has grown three times as fast as overall Silicon Valley employment.
And in a stark diversity gap, Black and Latino people make up the majority of these janitors, food service workers, maintenance workers, security guards, and shuttle bus drivers who help build and sustain the tech economy — yet comprise just 10% of the core tech workforce.
Median Wages for Tech and Contract Workers
For more information check out our report on tech’s invisible workforce.
