Isobel Asher Hamilton
Fri, August 19, 2022
Pro-choice protestors.MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Google's worker union wants the company to better protect users and workers seeking abortion care.
The union said over 650 Google workers signed a petition calling for major changes.
The petition asks the company to stop collecting data from users who search for abortion services.
Hundreds of Google workers are pressuring the company to make major changes to protect users and workers following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The Alphabet Workers' Union — a union for employees at Google's parent company Alphabet — circulated a petition that garnered over 650 signatures, the union said in a Twitter thread.
One of the petition's demand is that Google stop collecting data from users searching for abortion information.
"We know companies are often legally required to hand over data, which is why we're demanding Google stop collecting data on users seeking abortion information — period. It's the only way to protect it from law enforcement," the union said in its Twitter thread.
The AWU cited the case of a 17 year-old and her mother who were accused in June of obtaining an illegal abortion for the teenager, and whose Facebook data was given to law enforcement.
"We can't allow that at Google," the AWU said.
It also said Google must work to get rid of ads for "misleading 'pregnancy crisis centers.'"
Pregnancy crisis centers do not offer abortion services or medical care. Bloomberg reported this week Google Maps frequently directs users searching for abortion clinics to pregnancy crisis centers instead.
A June report by nonprofit the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found 37% of Google Maps results for abortion services directed users to anti-abortion centers.
The union is also demanding the company look after its contractors when they need medical care related to abortions.
Google announced along with many companies that it would offer benefits to employees such as covering travel expenses for seeking out-of-state medical care ahead of Roe being struck down.
The AWU said these policies should be extended to cover Google's contracted workers, which it says make up more than half its total workforce.
It is also demanded Google stop political donations and lobbying altogether.
"Google has given at least half a million [dollars] to anti-abortion PACs, despite all the highfalutin language about abortion rights," the union said in a tweet.
It added the damage done by lobbying goes beyond abortion.
"Alphabet's political donations are significant — and too often they're directed at anti-worker causes, funneling money to candidates actively stripping away our rights," it said.
Alphabet spent $11.8 million on lobbying in 2021, according to lobbying transparency nonprofit Open Secrets.
The AWU said it sent its petition to CEO Sundar Pichai and other top executives on Monday, and had not yet received a response as of Thursday.
Google did not immediately respond when contacted by Insider about the AWU's petition.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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