An official with the National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that Google parent Alphabet should be recognized as the "joint employer" of a group of YouTube Music contract workers.
According to a regional director of the NLRB, Alphabet has authority over the contract workers' pay, benefits, and working conditions, converting them into actual employees.
The Ruling Also Constitutes That YouTube Music Contractors Be Allowed To Join Unions
Over 60 workers in Austin, Texas are currently vying to join the Alphabet Worker Union (AWU), according to Gizmodo.
If successful, they will be able to bargain with Google's parent corporation for the same benefits and salary as full-time workers.
Additionally, it could mark a turning point for the countless other low-wage contract workers who keep other major internet corporations operating.
Google, which plans to appeal the decision, contends that the worker's only employer should be Cognizant, a subcontractor.
Director of the NLRB's regional office in Fort Worth Timothy Watson stated in his 15-page decision that Google has immediate and direct control over the compensation, working conditions, supervision, and direction of the YouTube contractors.
The director claimed that Google, to a lesser extent, exerts influence over the workers' pay by "setting minimum standards."
"We are proud to win a precedent-setting victory not just for ourselves, but also for workers across the country, where technology companies in particular have innovated new ways to deny responsibility for their workers' livelihoods," YouTube Music contract worker Sam Regan says.
This is done through the process of subcontracting, gig work, and other poor employment practices, Regan adds.
The YouTube Music employees are a potential bargaining unit and should be given the chance to vote to formally join the union, according to NLRB regional director Timothy Watson as well.
The employees reportedly already paid AWU dues, but they did not have formal negotiating rights.
One of the first of its sort for a major global tech business like Alphabet, the union claims to have over 1,300 members, including full-time Google engineers as well as contract workers and vendors.
Read More: YouTube Music Officially Welcomes Podcasts On The Platform
The Contractors At YouTube Music Fight Back
The decision was made about six months after a supermajority of Austin-based YouTube contract workers signed union cards and applied for union recognition with the board, Gizmodo says.
Almost 40 employees went on strike last month in protest of the company's return-to-office policy, which they allege jeopardizes their ability to support themselves.
Even though supposedly about a quarter of them were working remotely from outside the state on February 6, Cognizant, the YouTube subcontractor, insisted that employees report to work that day.
"Workers are paid around $19 an hour and thus, cannot afford the relocation, travel or childcare costs associated with in person work," the YouTube music workers claim.
The NLRB's decision regarding Alphabet's employment status, if upheld, would be the tech giant's army of independent contractors' second important triumph in less than a week.
Following protests, some 5,000 Google contract workers who evaluated the effectiveness of the company's search and advertising technologies had their compensation increased to $15 per hour.
Furthermore, the AWU filed a petition asking Google to ensure that its salary and benefit standards apply to all of its employees.
Related Article: YouTube Music Now Comes With Custom Radio Stations - How Can You Make One?
