Open Source Resistance advocates for companies to treat OSS maintenance as critical infrastructure work, not a side project. Maintainers should use work hours to review PRs, update dependencies, and fix code essential to company operations without bureaucratic hurdles. This aligns with how technical debt is already managed, emphasizing practicality over permission-seeking.

The Manifesto, led by Mike McQuaid (GitHub Sponsors, Homebrew), argues that companies extracting value from OSS must support maintainers through paid time or funding. Alternatives like the Open Source Pledge ($2,000/year per developer) and Open Source Friday (two weekly hours) exist, but the Resistance pushes for inherent job responsibility. Legal risks, such as IP ownership disputes, require careful contract negotiation and confidentiality adherence.

Sustainable balance—not quiet quitting—is key. Maintainers should prioritize projects their employer depends on, avoiding unrelated or proprietary work. While some employers already fund OSS, many still demand unpaid labor. Senior engineers, with leverage, are best positioned to lead this shift, ensuring critical dependencies remain viable without compromising personal or professional boundaries.