On Januover 400 employees (out of 130,000) of Alphabet (parent company of Google) formed the Alphabet Workers Union (CWA Local No. In October 2020, Blue State Digital also voted to form a union with CWA Local No. In August 2020, CODE-CWA organized the first successful strike of 21 contract script writers in the game industry at Voltage Entertainment, which lasted for 21 days and resulted in pay increases and improved transparency. The union dissolved prior to the company's acquisition by Fastly in 2022. Glitch signed a collective bargaining agreement in March 2021, the first in the American tech industry. Around the same time, the company laid off a third of its staff of 50 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company voluntarily recognized their union. Glitch staff announced intentions to unionize with the CWA Local No. team who was later fired, following the ouster of another high-profile researcher, Timnit Gebru.Campaigns CODE-CWA Campaigns by Company The union also criticized the suspension earlier this year of Margaret Mitchell, a leader of Google’s Ethical A.I. So far in terms of taking action, the union has condemned Google’s YouTube subsidiary for a “lackluster” policing of hate on its service following the U.S. Capitol riots. “But as we’ve always done, we’ll continue engaging directly with all our employees.” “Of course our employees have protected labor rights that we support,” says Kara Silverstein, Google’s director of people operations. Google declined Fortune’s request for an interview and instead provided a statement. “How can we find pressure points and attack from different directions?” “We’re going to have to be unconventional and creative,” Ahsan says. To succeed against such a huge company, the union admits that it must be nimble. “Who better to do reputational damage than people who are on the inside?” Fine says.Īuni Ahsan, an executive council member for Alphabet’s union, said the pace of recruiting new union members demonstrates that workers believe they can change the status quo at Google. For example, it could publicly expose any Google projects that are deemed unethical, organize work stoppages, and help federal and state governments with their ongoing antitrust investigation into the company. Janice Fine, director of Rutgers University’s Center for Innovation in Worker Organization, argues that Google’s union, despite its minority status, has power. The union is part of the Communications Workers of America, which represents 700,000 workers nationally, mostly in the telecom, media, and airline industries. Although the union is small-it has just 900 members out of 135,000 Alphabet employees globally-its leaders say they are pleased with how things are going.Īs a “minority union,” it has limited power and can’t force Alphabet to bargain over a labor contract. In addition to improving working conditions, the new union hopes to pressure Google to work only on tech that serves the public good. Google ultimately agreed to some employee demands like eliminating forced arbitration for sexual harassment and assault cases. That episode was followed by a walkout of 20,000 Googlers who were upset about the company’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations against executives. Many employees complained that the project, ultimately shelved amid the uproar, prioritized money over free speech. That was when news leaked that Google was working on a censored search engine for China, called Project Dragonfly. The Alphabet union made its public debut in January, but its roots arguably date back to three years ago. In some cases, as at Amazon, it’s blue-collar workers, while elsewhere, such as at Google, the push includes high-paid engineers. The type of employee being recruited by unions varies by company. “This is a reaction to the level of power these megacorporations are having on people’s lives,” says Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director at Cornell University’s labor research center, the Worker Institute. Meanwhile, employees at crowdfunding service Kickstarter have already formed a union. The unionization effort failed to garner sufficient support, but organizers plan to challenge the result. In March, Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama wrapped up voting on whether to unionize amid the company’s intense opposition. Once considered to be utopias, with high pay and free food, many technology companies are now increasingly seen by some of their staff as adversaries.įacebook employees held a virtual walkout protesting the company’s lax stance on then-President Donald Trump’s inflammatory posts on its service. The union’s founding and its face-off with Google over Wait are examples of growing worker activism across the tech industry. Original Photo: Michael Short-Bloomberg/Getty Images
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