Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Google Workers Form New Labor Union, a Tech Industry Rarity
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
January 4, 2021

Share

A group of Google engineers announced Monday they have formed a union, creating a rare foothold for the labor movement in the tech industry.

About 225 employees at Google and its parent company Alphabet are the first dues-paying members of the Alphabet Workers Union. They represent a fraction of Alphabet’s workforce, far short of the threshold needed to get formal recognition as a collective bargaining group in the U.S.

But the new union, which will be affiliated with the larger Communication Workers of America, says it will serve as a “structure that ensures Google workers can actively push for real changes at the company.” Its members say they want more of a voice not just on wages, benefits and protections against discrimination and harassment but also broader ethical questions about how Google pursues its business ventures.

Google didn’t immediately return an emailed request for comment Monday.

Unionization campaigns haven’t historically been able to gain much traction among elite tech workers, who earn big salaries and other perks like free food and shuttle rides to work. But workplace activism at Google and other big tech firms has grown in recent years as employers call for better handling of workplace sexual harassment and discrimination, opposition to Trump administration policies and avoiding harmful uses of the products they’re helping to build and sell.

“One of the reasons why it’s taken a while for workers to get to this point is because the leaders of these companies did a good job of convincing workers they were these benevolent folks who were going to provide for them, kind of a paternalistic model,” said Beth Allen, communications director at the CWA.

“That got them a long way,” Allen said, but workers have increasingly realized they need “to come together and build power for themselves and have a voice in what’s going on.”

The National Labor Relations Board typically recognizes petitions to form new unions when they get interest from at least 30% of employees in a given location or job classification.

Allen said the Alphabet Workers Union is not currently planning to pursue official recognition as a collective bargaining group. Instead, she said it will work similarly to public sector unions in states that don’t allow public employees to bargain collectively.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Israel Orders Al Jazeera to Close Its Local Operation, Seizes Some Equipment

DON'T MISS

Pro-Palestinian Protesters at USC Comply With Order to Leave

DON'T MISS

Israel Vows Military Operation ‘in the Very Near Future’ After Latest Hamas Attack

DON'T MISS

After Losing Population in Recent Years, California Grows Again. Is That a Good Thing?

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Announces 2024 Graduate Deans’ Medalists

DON'T MISS

Yellen Says Threats to Democracy Risk US Economic Growth, an Indirect Jab at Trump

DON'T MISS

New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority

DON'T MISS

As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants

DON'T MISS

At Time of Rising Antisemitism, Holocaust Survivors Take on Denial and Hate in New Digital Campaign

DON'T MISS

FUSD Trustees Name Misty Her as Interim Superintendent. National Search Yet to Start

UP NEXT

Merced’s Treacherous ‘Tunnel Lane’ Removed from Northbound Highway 99

UP NEXT

US Airstrike Targeting Al-Qaida Leader in Syria Killed a Farmer, American Military Says

UP NEXT

Another State Department Official Resigns Over Biden’s Gaza Policy

UP NEXT

Senators Want Limits on Government’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology for Airport Screening

UP NEXT

Biden Says ‘Order Must Prevail’ on Campuses, but He Won’t Send National Guard

UP NEXT

Police Dismantle UCLA Tent Camp, Take Pro-Palestinian Protesters Into Custody

UP NEXT

Fresno State’s Randa Jarrar Dragged Out of Event Featuring Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik

UP NEXT

Trump Calls Judge ‘Crooked’ After Facing a Warning of Jail Time if He Violates a Trial Gag Order

UP NEXT

Biden’s Historic Marijuana Shift Is His Latest Election Year Move for Young Voters

UP NEXT

The Latest | In Israel, Blinken Pushes Hamas to Agree on Gaza Cease-Fire Deal

After Losing Population in Recent Years, California Grows Again. Is That a Good Thing?

19 hours ago

Fresno State Announces 2024 Graduate Deans’ Medalists

2 days ago

Yellen Says Threats to Democracy Risk US Economic Growth, an Indirect Jab at Trump

2 days ago

New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority

2 days ago

As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants

2 days ago

At Time of Rising Antisemitism, Holocaust Survivors Take on Denial and Hate in New Digital Campaign

2 days ago

FUSD Trustees Name Misty Her as Interim Superintendent. National Search Yet to Start

Local Education /

2 days ago

Gov. Newsom Appoints Judges for Fresno, Merced Counties

2 days ago

Assemblymember Soria Dodges Questions About Defamation Lawsuit

2 days ago

Israel Briefs US on Evacuation Plan for Palestinians Ahead of Planned Rafah Assault

2 days ago

Israel Orders Al Jazeera to Close Its Local Operation, Seizes Some Equipment

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close Sunday, escalating a long-ru...

14 hours ago

14 hours ago

Israel Orders Al Jazeera to Close Its Local Operation, Seizes Some Equipment

14 hours ago

Pro-Palestinian Protesters at USC Comply With Order to Leave

Photo of Benjamin Netanyahu
14 hours ago

Israel Vows Military Operation ‘in the Very Near Future’ After Latest Hamas Attack

19 hours ago

After Losing Population in Recent Years, California Grows Again. Is That a Good Thing?

2 days ago

Fresno State Announces 2024 Graduate Deans’ Medalists

2 days ago

Yellen Says Threats to Democracy Risk US Economic Growth, an Indirect Jab at Trump

2 days ago

New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority

2 days ago

As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend