Google Workers Form Union to 'Promote Solidarity, Democracy, and Social and Economic Justice'
The tech titan "has a responsibility to its thousands of workers and billions of users to make the world a better place," two of the union's leaders wrote. "We can help build that world."
Activists held a rally during Google's annual shareholders meeting in Mountain View, California on May 14, 2014. (Photo: John Green/MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images)
Decrying numerous policies and practices they say violate Google's "don't be evil" founding principle, more than 200 of the Silicon Valley tech giant's workers on Monday announced they are forming a union, a move that was applauded by progressive lawmakers and labor advocates nationwide.
The Alphabet Workers Union (AWU)—named after Google's parent corporation—says it "strives to protect Alphabet workers, our global society, and our world," and to "promote solidarity, democracy, and social and economic justice." It will operate as part of the Communications Workers of America and will be open to all 120,000 of the company's employees.
"We deserve a workplace that respects us, where we can work for a fair wage without fear of abuse or discrimination. We deserve meaningful control over the projects we work on and the direction of this company."
—Parul Koul and Chewy Shaw, AWU
"For far too long, thousands of us at Google and other subsidiaries of Alphabet... have had our workplace concerns dismissed by executives," Parul Koul and Chewy Shaw, respectively AWU's chair and vice chair, wrote in a New York Times op-ed on Monday.
"Our bosses have collaborated with repressive governments around the world," Koul and Shaw said. "They have developed artificial intelligence technology for use by the Department of Defense and profited from ads by a hate group. They have failed to make the changes necessary to meaningfully address our retention issues with people of color."
"Most recently, Timnit Gebru, a leading artificial intelligence researcher and one of the few Black women in her field, said she was fired over her work to fight bias," Koul and Shaw continued. "Her offense? Conducting research that was critical of large-scale AI models and being critical of existing diversity and inclusion efforts. In response, thousands of our colleagues organized, demanding an explanation."
We're Alphabet workers. We’ve been organizing for over a year, & we’re finally ready to share why.
This morning, we're announcing #AWU, the first union open to *all* workers at any Alphabet company.
Every worker deserves a union—including tech workers.https://t.co/m2Qmjwz32V
— Alphabet Workers Union (@AlphabetWorkers) January 4, 2021
And the only thing that's changed anything is worker organizing.
Worker organizing got Project Maven & Project Dragonfly cancelled.
It got 20,000+ Googlers to walk out against sexual harassment.
It got $15 min wage & healthcare for contractors.
And it's going to get us more.
— Alphabet Workers Union (@AlphabetWorkers) January 4, 2021
"Both of us have heard from colleagues—some new, some with over a decade at the company—who have decided that working at Alphabet is no longer a choice they can make in good conscience," added Koul and Shaw.
They then listed some of the successful employee activism that has borne results in recent years, including ending participation in the Project Maven AI warfare project with the Pentagon; terminating the Dragonfly censored search engine in China; winning a $15 per hour minimum wage for some subcontracted workers; and an end to forced arbitration of sexual harassment and other claims.
Koul and Shaw stressed that Alphabet "has a responsibility to prioritize the public good. It has a responsibility to its thousands of workers and billions of users to make the world a better place."
"As Alphabet workers, we can help build that world," they wrote.
Unionization is the exception to the rule in Silicon Valley. And unlike traditional labor unions, AWU is a so-called minority union—it represents only a small percentage of the company's 260,000-strong global workforce—that will not negotiate contracts.
"Our goals go beyond the workplace questions of, 'Are people getting paid enough?' Our issues are going much broader," Shaw, an engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area, told the Times in a report about the new union. "It is a time where a union is an answer to these problems."
omg I’m SO EXCITED to finally announce this. We organized a union at Google — @AlphabetWorkers Union is here!(1/n) pic.twitter.com/0l5LRlB8KL
— Auni A (@trombauni) January 4, 2021
I'm a Google employee and, now, a proud card-carrying member of the Alphabet Workers Union.
Tech workers need a union because we can't rely on the good graces of tech leaders to do right by us and society. https://t.co/u9Q4CDRqDP
— Dr. Alex Hanna (@alexhanna) January 4, 2021
Veena Dubal, a law professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, called AWU a "powerful experiment."
"If it grows—which Google will do everything they can to prevent—it could have huge impacts not just for the workers, but for the broader issues that we are all thinking about in terms of tech power in society," Dubal told the Times.
Progressive lawmakers and labor advocates hailed Monday's announcement.
"The time is long overdue for the workers who built Big Tech to have a voice in their workplace," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chair of the House Labor Caucus.
I stand in solidarity with @AlphabetWorkers who are organizing to form a union at Google. What these workers are fighting for is not radical. They want fair wages and a workplace free from abuse, retaliation, intimidation and discrimination. And that is exactly what they deserve.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 4, 2021
Congrats to these workers for this great start to 2021!
People said you couldn’t organize tech workers. But today workers @Google have announced @AlphabetWorkers, a union for all workers at Google with— Congressman Chuy García (@RepChuyGarcia) January 4, 2021
"The future of tech is stronger with the power of a union," tweeted AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer Liz Shuler. "We stand in solidarity with Alphabet workers who are courageously organizing for a better future at Google!"
Yasemin Zahra, chair of Labor Against Racism and War, asserted that by unionizing, "Google workers are not just standing up to management but also Lockheed-Martin and ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] ties in the company. Silicon Valley giants are military-intel contractors. Incredible!"
by Rob Lever
Employees at Google and other units of parent firm Alphabet announced the creation Monday of a union, aiming for a bigger role in company decisions in a move which steps up the activism brewing in Silicon Valley giants.
The Alphabet Workers Union, affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, aims to represent well-compensated tech workers as well as temporary workers and contractors, according to a statement.
The new labor group is focusing not only on pay and benefits but also a role in ethical decisions by the tech giant and protection from allegedly arbitrary firings for activism.
"We hope to create a democratic process for workers to wield decision-making power; promote social, economic, and environmental justice; and end the unfair disparities between TVCs (temporary, vendors and contractors) and FTEs (full time employees)," the union's website said.
As of the end of December, the union had some 200 members. It will be open all employees at Google and Alphabet units including autonomous car division Waymo, connected device maker Fitbit and life sciences division Verily.
In a New York Times op-ed, the union's chair Parul Koul and vice chair Chewy Shaw said that the focus will be "to ensure that workers know what they're working on, and can do their work at a fair wage, without fear of abuse, retaliation or discrimination."
They said they would press Google on ethical decisions including in the use of artificial intelligence.
"Its motto used to be 'Don't be evil,' " they wrote "We will live by that motto."
The move comes with Google and other tech giants under heightened scrutiny by antitrust enforcers in the US and elsewhere for their growing dominance of key economic sectors.
New deal for tech?
"There is a growing techlash against the large technology companies as they are accumulating great wealth and a number of their workers are unhappy with the high cost of living in Silicon Valley, working conditions, AI ethics, and corporate decision-making," said Darrell West, a fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center for Technology Innovation.
"Tech employees want a greater say in what is happening and want to see greater social responsibility from the sector. This unionization drive differs from past ones from the industrial era in focusing not just on pay and benefits, but the broader role of technology in society."
Large tech firms, which offer generous compensation to software engineers and other skilled workers, have largely avoided labor drives but have faced growing unrest over workplaces issues in recent years.
At Amazon, which has tens of thousands of warehouse workers, organizing drives have focused on working conditions and safety during the pandemic.
One of the catalysts at Google was the recent firing of Timnit Gebru, a Black artificial intelligence ethics researcher and outspoken diversity activist.
The company also faced a backlash from employees over its involvement with a Pentagon project known as Project Maven, which Google eventually ended.
"This union builds upon years of courageous organizing by Google workers," said Nicki Anselmo, a Google program manager and union member.
"From... opposing Project Maven, to protesting the egregious, multimillion dollar payouts that have been given to executives who've committed sexual harassment, we've seen first-hand that Alphabet responds when we act collectively."
Google's director of people operations Kara Silverstein, said in a statement: "We've always worked hard to create a supportive and rewarding workplace for our workforce.
"Of course our employees have protected labor rights that we support. But as we've always done, we'll continue engaging directly with all our employees."
Arthur Wheaton, a researcher at Cornell University's school of industrial and labor relations, said the union could face challenges if it seeks recognition by the company, needing some 30 percent to force an election and a majority to win representation.
"Union organizing drives take a long time with no guarantees of success," Wheaton said. "US labor law is not very good for workers rights. It is tilted heavily in management's favor."
Explore further Amazon girds for challenge in warehouse union drive
© 2021 AFP
Google employees said Monday they have formed a union, a first in Silicon Valley.
JAN. 4, 2021 / 12:29 PM
Jan. 4 (UPI) -- More than 200 Google employees have formed a union, the group said Monday, creating a credible challenge to Silicon Valley culture that has shied away from union workforces.
The new Alphabet Workers Union, to cover 225 engineers and other workers at Google's parent company, elected its leadership in secret last month and earned affiliation with the Communication Workers of America.
The CWA represents union workers in the telecommunications and media industry throughout the United States and Canada.
"This union builds upon years of courageous organizing by Google workers," Nicki Anselmo, Google's program manager said in a statement.
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"From fighting the 'real names' policy to opposing Project Maven, to protesting the egregious, multimillion-dollar payouts that have been given to executives who've committed sexual harassment, we've seen first-hand that Alphabet responds when we act collectively.
"Our new union provides a sustainable structure to ensure that our shared values as Alphabet employees are respected even after the headlines fade."
Google issued a statement about the union's announcement, saying it supports its employees' rights to organize.
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"We've always worked hard to create a supportive and rewarding workplace for our workforce," said Kara Silverstein, Google's director of people operations. "Of course, our employees have protected labor rights that we support. But as we've always done, we'll continue engaging directly with all our employees."
Dylan Baker, a Google software engineer, said the union will help the company reflect the values of its workers.
"This is historic; the first union at a major tech company by and for all tech workers," Baker said.
"We will elect representatives, we will make decisions democratically, we will pay dues, and we will hire skilled organizers to ensure all workers at Google know they can work with us if they actually want to see their company reflect their values."
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