This text discusses the working conditions of data workers in Spain working at outsourcing companies and providing services for Apple.

Building on my own experiences and on interviews conducted with colleagues, this text documents our experiences in the workplace, how we resist, and our demands. I start by describing the key problems we face, from the monotony, futility and intense pressure to achieve impossible productivity targets that one experiences as a data worker to the illegal wage discrimination according to language markets our employer has in place. Our experience stands in stark contrast with the high-tech glamour promised by those selling AI systems.

I outline how the structures of this industry allow large, international outsourcing companies to have more and more data processed at ever-lower costs for tech giants—in this case Apple. Our employers take advantage of vague laws, weak enforcement of protections, and the helplessness of their employees to maximize their own profits. And the client pits outsourcing companies against one another to squeeze even lower prices for their high-quality AI training data.

But we are not quietly submitting to this exploitation. My colleagues and I resist in multiple forms: refusal, individual protest, litigation, collective action and unionization. I discuss the different forms of resistance — small stones in a powerful gear mechanism — and the challenges we face, calling for stronger support from society and policy-makers.

Data workers are exploited not only in the Global South, but also right here in the heart of Europe. My goal is to draw attention to the abuses in the industry and to shake up society and the political sphere, urging them to support us.

Hard-won labor rights are being eroded and increasingly curtailed. The companies are raking in billions in profits, but the negative consequences are being passed on to the employees and, ultimately, to civil society.