Talia Jane Explained

Talia Jane
Birth Name:Talia Ben-Ora
Education:California State University, Long Beach (BA)
Occupation:Journalist
Known For:Labor activism

Talia Jane (born Talia Ben-Ora in 1990 or 1991)[1] is an American writer and labor activist. They are known for bringing attention to minimum wage compensation across tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Education and career

Jane attended community college until they transferred to California State University, Long Beach, where they earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature.

Activism at Yelp

In February 2016, Jane published an open letter on Medium to Jeremy Stoppelman, the chief executive officer of Yelp, where they worked as a customer service representative for Yelp's Eat24 food delivery service. The letter contrasted the minimum-wage hourly pay of their role and the high cost of living in the Bay Area, highlighting the workers' $12.25 hourly wages, the cost of housing and groceries, and poverty issues among their colleagues.[2] Jane said the only housing they could afford with their pay was 30 miles east in Concord, and had no money left for food after rent and transportation to work.

They were fired shortly after they published the letter, the news of which garnered significant media attention.[3] Jane was both credited for sparking an important conversation about living wages,[4] [5] and criticized for their method of delivery.[6] [7] In an analysis for the Washington Post, writer Malcolm Harris noted that Jane was "pilloried in the media as just another entitled millennial who wanted things handed to them" but noted of the resulting wage increase: "Many large labor actions have achieved less".[8]

They said that they were told they were being terminated due to the Medium post, would receive severance of $1,000, and would not be allowed to return to work at Yelp. Stoppelman denied that Jane's termination was related to the letter, and a spokesperson for Yelp stated, "We do not comment on personnel issues."[9] However, two weeks later, after former employee Jaymee Senigaglia wrote her own open letter, Yelp published justification for her termination on Twitter.[10] [11]

In April 2016, Yelp raised the pay of Eat24 customer service representatives from $12.25 to $14 an hour, added 11 paid holidays (up from zero), and increased the number of days of paid time off from 5 to 15. Yelp did not reference Jane in its announcement and said that changes had been in the works since quarter 4 2015 – three months before Jane published their letter. Employees at Yelp reportedly disputed this claim and believed Jane was the "whistleblower" who prompted the changes.[12] [13]

Jane was named one of Business Insiders 100 "most amazing and inspiring people in tech right now" as well as one of Inc's "25 Coolest Women in Silicon Valley," both of which credited their open letter for the subsequent conversations about living wages in Silicon Valley.[14] [15]

Journalism

Jane is a freelance journalist and has contributed to Mic,[16] Vice,[17] Allure,[18] Elle,[19] and The Guardian.[20] They also worked as a writer for Full Frontal with Samantha Bees trivia game This Is Not A Game: The Game.[21]

As an independent reporter, in 2020, Jane attended protests in Manhattan following the death of football player Johnathan Price[22] and later election protests in Washington, D.C.[23] According to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, in late 2023, Jane faced harassment while reporting at pro-Israel demonstrations in Manhattan held following the Hamas-led attack on Israel,[24] and they were later that year hit with a book at a protest against a Drag Story Hour event in New York.[25]

Personal life

Jane grew up in Concord, California with their mother, Debra McClanahan, a practicing Wiccan, and near their father. At 10 years old, Jane unknowingly became an accomplice to spree killers Glenn Helzer, Justin Helzer, and Dawn Godman, after Jane's mother purchased movie tickets as an alibi for the trio. Their mother testified against the killers, and was later committed to a psychiatric ward; Jane went to live with their grandparents in Southern California.[26] They later wrote about the experience.[27]

In May 2019, Jane was the recipient of a sexually explicit message via Twitter that was sent to them by a Seattle Times reporter. The reporter was suspended by the Times[28] [29] [30] and resigned from the paper on June 7, 2019.[31]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Bever. Lindsey. February 23, 2016. The Yelp employee who wasn't making enough money to eat. The Washington Post. December 18, 2021.
  2. Web site: Mack. David. February 20, 2016. This Woman's Post On Poverty Went Viral And She Lost Her Job. December 19, 2021. BuzzFeed News.
  3. Web site: Bergen. Mark. February 20, 2016. Yelp Customer Service Employee Protests Low Pay in Medium Post, Is Promptly Fired. December 19, 2021. Vox.
  4. Web site: Golshan. Tara. February 24, 2016. The controversy over a fired Yelp employee's open letter, explained. December 19, 2021. Vox.
  5. Web site: McKay. Tom. February 22, 2016. This Yelp Employee's Open Letter to the CEO Has Sparked an Important Conversation. December 19, 2021. Mic.
  6. Web site: Bariso. Justin. February 22, 2016. Emotional Intelligence 101: Why a Millennial's Letter to Yelp's CEO Got Her Fired. December 19, 2021. Inc.com.
  7. Web site: Pontefract. Dan. February 21, 2016. Was Yelp Being Fair When It Fired Talia Jane?. December 19, 2021. Forbes.
  8. News: Harris. Malcolm. June 9, 2017. Why do millennials keep leaking government secrets?. The Washington Post. September 29, 2017.
  9. Web site: Weinberger. Matt. A Yelp employee publicly complained to the CEO that she couldn't afford to buy groceries — hours later, she was fired. December 19, 2021. Business Insider.
  10. News: Singletary. Michelle. March 3, 2016. It's better to have a boss who's a jerk all the time. The Washington Post. December 18, 2021.
  11. News: Bowles. Nellie. March 2, 2016. Yelp rejects complaint from fired single mother in latest high-profile public spat. The Guardian. December 18, 2021.
  12. Smiley. Lauren. April 28, 2016. The Revelations of Lady Murderface. Backchannel. December 19, 2021. 1059-1028.
  13. News: Truong. Alice. April 28, 2016. Yelp increases wages after firing an employee who was critical about their low pay. Quartz. March 8, 2017.
  14. News: Carson. Biz. July 6, 2016. THE SILICON VALLEY 100: The most amazing and inspiring people in tech right now. Business Insider. March 24, 2017.
  15. News: Martin. Emmie. July 14, 2016. Icons of Entrepreneurship: 25 Coolest Women in Silicon Valley Right Now. Inc.com. March 24, 2017.
  16. Web site: Talia Jane. December 19, 2021. Mic. March 20, 2017 .
  17. Web site: Talia Jane. December 19, 2021. Vice.
  18. Web site: Talia Jane. December 19, 2021. Allure.
  19. Web site: Talia Jane. December 19, 2021. ELLE.
  20. Web site: Talia Jane. December 19, 2021. The Guardian.
  21. Web site: This is Not a Game: The Game . dead . May 12, 2019 . TBS.com . June 7, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180607201907/https://www.tbs.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee/articles/thisisnotagame.
  22. News: Tracy . Thomas . Shea slams 'spoiled brat' protesters . November 12, 2022 . Daily News. New York . October 7, 2020 . 2 . Newspapers.com.
  23. News: Spearman . Kahron . Video shows Proud Boys member punching journalist during 'Million MAGA March' . November 12, 2022 . . November 16, 2020.
  24. Web site: Freelance journalist harassed, press badge briefly stolen at pro-Israel rally . . February 10, 2024.
  25. Web site: Freelance journalist struck with book at NYC protest against drag story hour . August 22, 2023 . . February 10, 2024.
  26. Web site: Episode 6: Talia Jane vs Yelp. December 19, 2021. There Are No Girls On The Internet.
  27. Web site: Jane. Talia. June 30, 2014. 7 Things I Learned as an Accomplice to Mass Murder. December 19, 2021. Cracked.com.
  28. News: Arnold . Amanda . Seattle Times Reporter Suspended After Sending Writer Wildly Inappropriate DMs . November 12, 2022 . . May 6, 2019.
  29. Web site: Millman. Zosha. May 5, 2019. Seattle Times reporter Mike Rosenberg suspended after sending sexually harassing messages. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. January 30, 2021.
  30. News: Levine . Jon . Seattle Times Reporter Suspended After Sexual Harassment Accusations . November 12, 2022 . . May 6, 2019.
  31. News: Millman . Zosha . Report: Seattle Times reporter Mike Rosenberg resigns weeks after sending sexually harassing DMs . November 12, 2022 . . June 11, 2019.