Google Fiber subcontract workers in Kansas City, Missouri, have recently voted to join the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) and have successfully secured bargaining rights with leadership.
According to a CNBC report, the workers consist of 10 full-time workers employed under BDS Connected Solutions through Google's parent company, Alphabet, Inc. They work in a retail store for Google Fiber, which is Google's project that provides high-speed internet access to 19 US States, including Missouri, per Google Fiber.
Google Fiber Subcontractor Vote Details
According to Fortune, the subcontractors previously filed their petition for a vote to join the union with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on January 4, 2022, the first anniversary of the AWU's establishment.
The subcontractors' petition also called for the NLRB to name BDS Connected Solutions as the employer instead of Google.
The subcontractors voted 9 to 1 in favor of unionizing with the hope that Google subcontract workers and full-time employees receive equal protections and benefits.
Fortune noted that the 10 subcontractors are now the first AWU-Communication Workers of America (CWA) that have bargaining rights with leadership thanks to the NLRB's formal recognition. Previous Alphabet union members were found to not have gone to that length, and as such, they could not negotiate with their employer for labor contracts.
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The AWU now has more than 800 members in various locations across the company, but it previously operated through a "minority union" model, in that the union does not have bargaining rights with leadership.
CNBC mentioned that the Kansas City subcontractors' efforts could motivate other worker unions and groups to pursue their own elections.
Eris Derickson, a retail associate at BDS Connected Solution and Google Fiber and one of the 10 subcontractors, said that their campaign faced many efforts to discourage them from exercising their right to a collective voice on the job. However, it was clear to them that they can "positively shape [their] working conditions to ensure [they] all have access to the quality pay, benefits, and protections [they] have earned."
"We all enjoy our work with Google Fiber and look forward to sitting at the negotiating table with BDS Connected Solutions to set a new standard for our workplace to improve both worker, customer, and company experience," Derickson said.
BDS Connected Solutions was unable to comment regarding this development, CNBC said.
Inspiration to Workers in Other Sectors
CNBC reports that the subcontractors' success is part of a broader movement in the tech industry where employees under tech companies are trying to unionize. In fact, Amazon workers across several locations are doing just that, with them being in the process of voting for the second time on whether to form a union or not.
This movement is also found in other labor sectors such as retail and foodservice sectors at companies like Starbucks and Recreational Equipment, Inc.
Even tech workers at the New York Times are fighting union-busting attempts to deter them from forming a union, according to the Guardian.
