An Alphabet subcontractor has filed for union recognition and bargaining power with the National Labor Relations Board or NLRB. The group works at YouTube Music Content Operations, and a supermajority of 58 workers signed the union cards, as mentioned in Engadget.
There have been several reports of company giants not giving their employees fair pay or treatment. It seems that Google is not exempted from having workers unionize to fight for better compensation.
AWU-CWA
The Alphabet Workers Union-Communications Workers of America or AWU-CWA, expressed in a statement that the workers ensure that music content is available and approved worldwide, which is for the 2.1 billion active listeners worldwide for YouTube.
The workers that are voting to unionize are based in Austin, Texas. Since they were already paying AWU-CWU dues, they now seek bargaining rights. The NLRB already scheduled a hearing which will happen on the 14th of November.
The union was formed in January 2021, and since then, they have garnered 1,200 members. This includes Alphabet workers that are either full-time, temporary, vendor, or contract workers. The AWU-CWA expressed that they will not stop organizing until workers have dignity on the job, the pay and benefits they deserve, and a seat at the table.
AWU-CWA Chair Parul Koul, who is also a software engineer at Google, said that they were honored to welcome the employees from the YouTube Music Content Operations team, as members of the Alphabet Workers Union-CWA. He added that Google platforms like YouTube have been successful thanks to Google, and the efforts of thousands of contract workers.
He also expressed that they were excited to see the workers bring Alphabet to the bargaining table, and use their power to get quality pay, benefits, and rights for the job they deserve, according to Tech Today.
Other Issues
Earlier this year, a group of workers in Kansas City voted to unionize with AWU-CWA against Google Fiber. The Alphabet Workers Union filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board. The complaint accused the company of firing Google data center workers to retaliate for union activity. The union also mentioned that two workers from Google, who attempted to discuss pay and working conditions were fired.
At the end of August 2022, it was shared on AWU-CWA's Twitter account that Ariel, one of its members, was forced to resign. Ariel spoke up about Google's AI contract with Israel, and Google supposedly gave her an ultimatum between moving overseas or leaving.
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— Alphabet Workers Union (AWU-CWA) (@AlphabetWorkers) August 30, 2022
Ariel, an AWU member who's been speaking up about Google's AI contract w/Israel, was forced to resign today after Google's ultimatum: move overseas or leave.
This is retaliation, pure & simple. Ariel's been ousted like so many others at Google.https://t.co/9ZkVHDKLA3
Just recently, this late October, AWU-CWA also shared an article about Google opening a new office in North Carolina, saying that the company was quick to celebrate the region's diversity. The account holder also claimed that the workers were hired locally, and would receive the company's lowest pay in the country.
They stated that Google claims that workers in their extended workforce are paid a minimum of $15 an hour, but some workers, even those who rate the quality of Google's search results, make a minimum of $10 per hour.
