Concerns and Indefinite Strike Regarding Operator Payments

Dear Storj,

I am writing to you on behalf of a group of operators working in the Storj network
(at the time of publication, about 8+Pb Used storage and 2000+ nodes had already confirmed participation). Our goal is to bring to your attention a situation that has recently arisen and is causing us serious concern.

We would like to discuss the recent reduction in operator payments from the network management. We understand that running a business in a competitive environment requires certain measures, but such significant reductions in wages directly impact our well-being and motivation.

We are aware that network management claims that all changes in labor remuneration are necessary to ensure the stability and growth of the company. However, as operators, we are aware that these changes are accompanied by a significant decline in our income, which in turn negatively affects the quality of our work and our motivation.

Therefore, we intend to initiate an indefinite strike by periodically shutting down nodes. We will be organizing node shutdowns for one day every month until a satisfactory level of wages is found for the Network Service Operator.
Since the introduction of tariff changes, the actual revenue of the Network Service Operator has decreased by approximately one and a half times, despite your promise to maintain it at the previous level. There has also been no increase in egress and stored data. Therefore, if it is of crucial importance to reduce expenses on traffic payment, we suggest raising the storage tariff to $2.5, and everyone will be satisfied.
The first node shutdown is scheduled for November 11th at 17:00 UTC+0.

We want to emphasize that our decision to go on strike is not taken lightly, and we fully understand its consequences for us and the company. However, we do not see any other way to express our dissatisfaction and draw attention to our concerns. We had a previous discussion where we hoped that the management would stop at that point, but unfortunately, the management has continued to reduce the payment.

  1. In July, we were taken aback, but there was an explanation provided regarding the economic reasons, etc., and reluctantly, we accepted it.
  2. You had promised to increase the traffic to compensate for the decline in revenue, but instead, two satellites were removed.
  3. Now, without any explanation, you are further reducing the compensation, citing that “it’s only 2/3 of 1/5, and just pennies” while mentioning that the SNO does not oppose it. However, we strongly object to this decision.

We urge network management to consider our demands and sincerely hope for a constructive and open dialogue. We believe that together we can find a compromise solution that takes into account the interests of all parties.

We express our deep concern for the current state of our network and wish to convey our heartfelt desire to actively participate in its development. The network plays a crucial role in our daily operations, and it is essential that we collectively strive to improve its performance and capabilities. We firmly believe that by working together, we can address the existing challenges and explore opportunities for advancement.

Additionally, we would like to extend a special invitation to all operators to join us in our strike action. We understand the significance of unity and collective action in advocating for our rights and concerns. United, we can make a stronger impact and bring attention to the issues that need urgent attention. We kindly request your participation and solidarity in this important endeavor.

The commencement of the campaign is scheduled for November 11th, with a planned downtime duration of 24 hours for node shutdown:

  • UTC: 17:00
  • GMT: 17:00
  • Central European Time (CET): 18:00
  • Eastern European Time (EET): 19:00
  • Atlantic Standard Time (AST): 13:00
  • South Atlantic Time (SAT): 14:00
  • Pacific Standard Time (PST): 09:00
  • Eastern Standard Time (EST): 12:00
  • Central Standard Time (CST): 11:00
  • Mountain Standard Time (MST): 10:00
  • Alaska Standard Time (AKST): 08:00
  • Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST): 07:00
38 Likes

I also support this event.

5 Likes

Exactly! And now we see “total payouts is only a 12% decrease”

5 Likes

It is possible to develop a range of non-flat tariffs for clients depending on storage time. Make it beneficial for both clients and SNO.

3 Likes

Fair comments, I will support this event. I don’t like the idea of continued salary cuts.

4 Likes

You do know Storj wants less storagenodes right. They dont want to have to pay more your the reason there lowering the prices in the first place. As much as I hate to say it this is just empty threats, They already said they want less SNOs. Maybe its time to down grade the amount of storagenodes your running. This isnt mining you cant just throw a bunch of money at something and expect it to last forever.

Ive already shutdown 5 of my nodes because they werent profitable and im ok with that but at the end of the day Storj is paying people to cheat the system etc an well it catches up.

4 Likes

But in new spam from there we see this: “Storj Soars to New Heights: 226% Growth Year Over Year; New Partnership and Customer Milestones”
so… where is this 226%?

6 Likes

I don’t have large amount of data, but will support the strike.

2 Likes

They seem to have written that they will be watching, and I hope the truth will dawn on them that they are wrong now.
“If it turns out we are wrong about the sustainability of these payout rates then we will of course adjust in order to maintain the health and performance of the network.”

3 Likes

Shutting off your nodes just gives more data and repair traffic to nodes that stay online. It will also improve network performance.

7 Likes

I’m in. I am not happy with declining incomes in an era of high inflation.
In the spring I received $700, and now $400. At the same time, the storage volume has increased by 70% or even more!

Or it may lead to data loss with a large number of strike participants.

3 Likes

Yes, of course temporary data loss.

Possibly. But in situations like this, everyone wants the other guy to shut their node down. They support you shutting yours down, but they will keep theirs up to gain the data you lose.

I have many nodes, I’m not shutting them down. I look forward to filling my drives from those that do.

4 Likes

I’m in, otherwise there will be new “announcements” every 3 months

3 Likes

Well, how much will you earn from this)))? It’s so silly… you’re just trying to manipulate. The situation now is such that all node operators really need to come together and make sure they are heard.

3 Likes

but amount of nodes and space also risesed even more than 226%

1 Like

What? Maybe if community off ALL nodes, network perfomance will go to infinity and beyond?)))

No, I’m just being practical. If a strike were to work to threaten data, that would just inspire Storj Labs to likely move customer data to the cheaper SOC2 side and abandon the public side. I don’t think such a strike would do much of anything as not enough SNO’s even visit this forum for it to matter.

Instead of threatening to damage the network it would be more beneficial to discuss alternatives in the main thread if you feel Storj can earn in some other way that could then be reflected back to SNO payouts. Helping to build better ideas and a stronger network is ideal, tearing it down is not.

4 Likes

SNO payouts are just a small part of the Labs’ expenses

5 Likes