Although Google started as a small tech company in Silicon Valley, it’s grown to be one of the most recognizable brands on the planet — with over 120,000 workers worldwide and hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue every year.
Any corporation of that size has a huge amount of power to get what it wants. So a group of Googlers are banding together to address their employer with a newly united voice.
On Monday, a group of workers from Google and other companies in the Alphabet family formally announced the formation of the Alphabet Workers Union. This union is supported by the Communications Workers of America union and members of CWA Local 1400.
This union will give Google and Alphabet workers a larger platform in order to collectively address certain concerns. In the union’s statement, it calls out transparency problems in high-profile firings, government contracts deemed unethical and large exit packages for executives accused of sexual harassment.
An important detail of this union is that it’s open to anyone who works for Google or under the Google/Alphabet umbrella — including companies like Fitbit, Waymo, Verily and more. This means that even contract workers and temps can join the union. The AWU says that around half of Google workers are hired as temps, vendors or contractors, and thus don’t get the same benefits as full-time employees.
“This is historic — the first union at a major tech company by and for all tech workers,” Google software engineer Dylan Baker said in the AWU statement. “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.”
Although this is the first union of its kind, it’s not the first time Google workers have used collective bargaining to address concerns over business practices. In 2017, Google contracted with the Pentagon for Project Maven — a project that was designed to use AI in defense and military applications. However, several employees raised concerns over the program and Google ultimately decided not to renew its contract.
“We’ve always worked hard to create a supportive and rewarding workplace for our workforce,” Kara Silverstein, director of people operations at Google, said in a statement to Built In. “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.”
