Alphabet Workers Union

Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), also informally referred to as the Google Union,[1][2][3] is a trade union of workers employed at Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, with a membership of over 700.[4] It was announced on January 4, 2021 with an initial membership of over 400,[5] after over a year of secret organizing, and it includes all types of workers at Alphabet, whether they are full-time, temporary, vendor or contractor workers and no matter what job they do. It has been called a minority union and a solidarity union,[6] and is not registered with the National Labor Relations Board.[7] It is part of the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees, an effort to organize unions at tech companies, and affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, a larger trade union.

Alphabet Workers Union
FoundedJanuary 4, 2021 (2021-01-04)
MembersOver 800
AffiliationCampaign to Organize Digital Employees,
CWA Local 1400
CountryUnited States and Canada
Websitealphabetworkersunion.org

The AWU cites historian and activist Staughton Lynd's Solidarity Unionism: Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below (published by PM Press) for the concept of solidarity unionism.[6]

Positions

The union says it fights to improve the workers' wages, and fight against abuse, retaliation and discrimination, and for the demands of disadvantaged workers at Google such as contractors.[7][8] It fights to stop sexual harassment in the workplace.[9] It aims to stop Google from allowing its social media platforms such as YouTube to function as a hub for right-wing extremism and white supremacy.[10] It opposes Google's contracts which improve technology for the U.S. Military,[11] and the company's collaboration with the police forces,[12] citing the need to stop war and police persecution of black people.

It advocates for prioritizing the needs of the worst off workers, supporting just social causes, the freedom to decline work that employees consider unethical, the democratic election of union leaders and democratic union decision-making, protecting the environment, and taking a stand against discrimination based on age, caste, class, country of origin, disability, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation.[13] It supports Google workers' history of struggle for user privacy, against gender and race wage gaps, for fair treatment of contractors, to cease Alphabet products' collaboration with discrimination of LGBTQ+, and for immigrant rights.[14]

The union argued that Alphabet may do wrongful things for the sake of profit, and that having an union allows workers to make the world a better place by pressuring the company to drop its bad practices and ensure tech labor is used for good purposes. The company has retaliated against workers for speaking out, and the union says it would allow workers to have a say in how things are run and act as a mechanism for workers to speak safely, being protected by the collective strength of workers.[15]

References
  1. Schiffer, Zoe (2021-01-25). "Exclusive: Google workers across the globe announce international union alliance to hold Alphabet accountable". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  2. "Google's New Union Is Already Addressing Political Issues". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  3. "New Google Union Triples in Size in First Week, But Faces Formidable Challenges". KQED. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  4. Schiffer, Zoe (2021-01-11). "The Google union just passed 700 members". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  5. Conger, Kate (2021-01-04). "Hundreds of Google Employees Unionize, Culminating Years of Activism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  6. Hahne, Bruce. "Google workers launch a solidarity union". alphabetworkers.substack.com.
  7. "More than 200 US Google employees form a workers' union". the Guardian. 2021-01-04. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  8. "Google, Alphabet employees unionize". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  9. "Google workers form new labor union, a tech industry rarity". ABC News. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  10. "Google's New Union Is Already Addressing Political Issues". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  11. "Google Workers, Demanding Change at Work, Are Launching a Union With the Communications Workers of America". Alphabet Workers Union. 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  12. "Campaigns". Alphabet Workers Union. 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  13. "Our mission". Alphabet Workers Union. 2021-01-01. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  14. "History of Alphabet Workers Union". Alphabet Workers Union. 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  15. "Google Workers Speak Out About Why They Formed A Union: 'To Protect Ourselves'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-01-16.

See also
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