To most geeks and tech enthusiasts around the world, the word 'Google' is nothing new. And to them, Google (and its parent company Alphabet) are likely their two dream places to work.
From 'colorful' offices located in many places around the globe, the company that was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in the late 1990s for a search engine called 'BackRub', showcases flexibility in work, multitude of perks and benefits.
But things aren't always the way they are, or were.
A group of employees working for Google and Alphabet announced the formation of a union in order to voice their concerns about their employers.
Calling it the 'Alphabet Workers Union', the organizers said that the new union would be open to all employees and contractors of Google and its parent company Alphabet, regardless of what they do.
What this means, temporary workers, vendors, and contractors (known internally as TVCs) who would normally be excluded by labor law from conventional collective bargaining, can join this union.
According to a op-ed post by Parul Koul and Chewy Shaw, who serve on the board of the Alphabet Workers Union as executive chair and vice chair, respectively:
"Our bosses have collaborated with repressive governments around the world. 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."
Unlike most unions, the Alphabet Workers Union does not demand the Google nor Alphabet to produce a new contract whatsoever, or seek collective bargaining rights. Instead, the union aims to represent workers and organize activists within the company who voluntarily join.
In an announcements, representatives of the union said that the union was formed following a number of concerns about the way the company was conducting its business, pointing to examples such as the controversial Project Maven project that was undertaken for the Pentagon and was then abandoned in the wake of public criticism from employees, to how Android father Andy Rubin got away with sexual misconduct..
Read: Google's Parent Company Alphabet, Settles A Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit For $310 Million
The union is also formed in response to a range of other controversies, including growing workplace concerns, like pay disparity, inequality, and more.
Koul and Shaw alleged that Alphabet punishes internal critics of the company on topics that are important for the public to know. This includes antitrust lawsuits against the company, and how executives of the company consolidate their power at the cost of minority groups like Black, trans, queer and disabled workers.
"Our union will work 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," Shaw and Koul wrote.
“This union builds upon years of courageous organizing by Google workers,” said Nicki Anselmo, Program Manager at Google.
“From fighting the ‘real names’ policy, to opposing Project Maven, to protesting the egregious, multi-million 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."
Through the Alphabet Workers Union, organizers aim to launch series of campaigns to rally votes from Google workers. Initially, about 230 Google employees and contractors had signed cards in support of the union.
Following the formation of the union, Google in a statement said that it would “continue engaging directly” with its employees.
“We've always worked hard to create a supportive and rewarding workplace for our workforce,” said Google’s director of people operations, Kara Silverstein.
"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.”
The Alphabet Workers Union is formed amid increasing disagreements with company executives.
The news comes one month after the U.S. National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint alleging Google illegally fired Laurence Berland and Kathryn Spiers, who were Google employees organizing employee protests.
It also follows the firing of prominent AI ethicist pioneer Timnit Gebru in December.
If successful, this union has the capacity to limit executives’ authority, while inspiring similar efforts across Silicon Valley and beyond, which has mostly avoid unionization.
Google and Alphabet employees who want to join the union need to commit 1% of their annual compensation to the union. The money is meant to pay for legal fees and for organizing the staff.
"There are also contributions to CWA 1400 and the CWA international union to cover required costs, but this is a relatively small portion of the dues collected from Alphabet workers," wrote the union on its FAQ page.
Within just a week, AWU grew from around 230 people to more than 700.
