Employees of DC location software company Mapbox are starting a union

Employees from D.C. location software company Mapbox announced an intention to form a union for U.S. workers.

“We, the workers of Mapbox, power a live location platform relied on by hundreds of millions of people,” a vision statement for the union reads. “We are building and advocating for our users, working to provide for ourselves and the ones we love, and collectively invested in improving our communities. To support these goals and more, we are forming our union.”

Now, we know what you might be thinking, but trust us, unions for tech workers are more necessary than they may appear. Employees at Mapbox partnered with the Communication Workers of America CODE-CWA Campaign in order to form the union. The union intends to support all 222 U.S. employees at the company, including those in non-tech roles. It is seeking formal recognition from the company.

Today, workers from all departments at @Mapbox are proud to announce that we’re unionizing with @CODE_CWA to form the Mapbox Workers Union.

Read our vision statement below:https://t.co/WdiykgTDRN

— Mapbox Workers Union (@MapboxUnion) June 15, 2021

The decision to unionize follows reports of a deal with SVF Investment Corp. 3, backed by Softbank, that would take the company public. The deal, if it comes to fruition, could value the company at around $2 billion. The company said in April that discussions were in late stages but there was still room for the deal to fall through, and investment banks Cantor Fitzgerald, Citi, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and UBS.

Trevor Specht, an IT developer at Mapbox, told Bloomberg that those taking part in the union want to help preserve what’s good in the company and help with addressing any future decisions. Mapbox employees were inspired to seek a union after the launch of campaigns at Alphabet and the tech employees for the New York Times, Bloomberg reported, and two-thirds of employees have already signed union cards. 

“We see ourselves as part of a larger movement— it’s bigger than just Mapbox,” Specht told the outlet. “Things are really moving in organizing in the tech industry. And, you know, we’re part of that.”