{"id":4838,"date":"2021-01-04T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=146097"},"modified":"2021-01-04T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T17:00:00","slug":"google-workers-say-the-endless-wait-to-unionize-big-tech-is-over-you-have-a-union-when-you-say-you-have-a-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/04\/google-workers-say-the-endless-wait-to-unionize-big-tech-is-over-you-have-a-union-when-you-say-you-have-a-union\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Workers Say the Endless Wait to Unionize Big Tech Is Over \u2013 \u201cYou have a union when you say you have a union.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The five most valu\u00adable com\u00adpa\u00adnies in Amer\u00adi\u00adca are all big tech com\u00adpa\u00adnies, and none of them are union\u00adized. Com\u00adpound\u00ading this exis\u00adten\u00adtial<\/a> chal\u00adlenge for orga\u00adnized labor is the fact that the huge work forces of the com\u00adpa\u00adnies make union\u00adiz\u00ading them seem an impos\u00adsi\u00adbly large task. Now, one union has solved that prob\u00adlem with a rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion\u00adary approach: Just start. <\/p>\n

This morn\u00ading, work\u00aders at Alpha\u00adbet, the par\u00adent com\u00adpa\u00adny of Google, announced the for\u00adma\u00adtion of the Alpha\u00adbet Work\u00aders Union<\/a> (AWU), affil\u00adi\u00adat\u00aded with the Com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtions Work\u00aders of Amer\u00adi\u00adca, one of the few major unions that has ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00aded resources<\/a> to orga\u00adniz\u00ading the tech indus\u00adtry. The AWU is start\u00ading with just over 200<\/span> mem\u00adbers\u2009\u2014\u2009a tiny frac\u00adtion of the more than 200<\/span>,000<\/span> total Google employ\u00adees<\/a>, includ\u00ading full timers and con\u00adtrac\u00adtors, that make up the $1<\/span>.2<\/span> tril\u00adlion com\u00adpa\u00adny. But, after years of iso\u00adlat\u00aded issue-based activism by employ\u00adees, they real\u00adized that if they ever want\u00aded a union, the only way to get it was to forge ahead. <\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>A lot of us joined the com\u00adpa\u00adny because we believed in the val\u00adues. That wasn\u2019t a sec\u00adondary thing, that was why we joined,\u201d says Chewy Shaw, a Google soft\u00adware engi\u00adneer since 2013<\/span> who is now the vice chair of the AWU. Shaw describes a slow sour\u00ading of his rela\u00adtion\u00adship with the com\u00adpa\u00adny in recent years, as work\u00aders per\u00adceived as trou\u00adble\u00adsome were pushed out by hos\u00adtile man\u00adage\u00adment, and oth\u00aders chose to leave over sharp eth\u00adi\u00adcal dis\u00adagree\u00adments about the company\u2019s direc\u00adtion. The inter\u00adnal uproar<\/a> last year over Google\u2019s con\u00adtracts with gov\u00adern\u00adment agen\u00adcies like ICE was a clar\u00adi\u00adfy\u00ading moment for Shaw, who decid\u00aded that if he was going to stay at the com\u00adpa\u00adny, he had to start organizing. <\/p>\n

Since the 2018<\/span> Google walk\u00adouts protest\u00ading sex\u00adu\u00adal harass\u00adment (and the sub\u00adse\u00adquent retal\u00adi\u00ada\u00adtion<\/a> against its orga\u00adniz\u00aders), Google has been the most high pro\u00adfile hotbed of work\u00ader orga\u00adniz\u00ading among the big tech com\u00adpa\u00adnies\u2009\u2014\u2009though all of that orga\u00adniz\u00ading focused on spe\u00adcif\u00adic issues as they arose, rather than on form\u00ading a union. Shaw began attend\u00ading events that employ\u00adees set up relat\u00aded to orga\u00adniz\u00ading: a lun\u00adcheon, a book club, a lec\u00adture. Even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly, he con\u00adnect\u00aded with CWA staff and began actu\u00adal labor orga\u00adniz\u00ading in earnest. Last June, a group called Googlers Against Racism got more than 1<\/span>,000<\/span> employ\u00adee sig\u00adna\u00adtures on a Cowork\u200ber\u200b.org peti\u00adtion<\/a> urg\u00ading the com\u00adpa\u00adny to take a num\u00adber of steps to pro\u00admote diver\u00adsi\u00adty and end con\u00adtracts with police. That group pro\u00advid\u00aded a pool of inter\u00adest\u00aded activist work\u00aders that led direct\u00adly to dis\u00adcus\u00adsions about union\u00adiz\u00ading, and to recruits for the union. Shaw says that the fir\u00ading<\/a> last month of Timnit Gebru, an inter\u00adnal crit\u00adic of the com\u00adpa\u00adny, was \u200b\u201c<\/span>a real\u00adly big ral\u00adly\u00ading moment.\u201d <\/p>\n

(In response to today\u2019s news, the com\u00adpa\u00adny said in a state\u00adment: \u200b\u201c<\/span>We\u2019ve always worked hard to cre\u00adate a sup\u00adport\u00adive and reward\u00ading work\u00adplace for our work\u00adforce. Of course our employ\u00adees have pro\u00adtect\u00aded labor rights that we sup\u00adport. But as we\u2019ve always done, we\u2019ll con\u00adtin\u00adue engag\u00ading direct\u00adly with all our employees.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Google is a com\u00adpa\u00adny of engi\u00adneers, and if there\u2019s one thing engi\u00adneers under\u00adstand, it\u2019s struc\u00adtur\u00adal issues. After the 2018<\/span> walk\u00adout, \u200b\u201c<\/span>it became clear to me that it wasn\u2019t enough. We weren\u2019t able to move the com\u00adpa\u00adny the way it need\u00aded to be moved,\u201d says Auni Ahsan, a soft\u00adware engi\u00adneer and one of the union\u2019s found\u00ading mem\u00adbers. \u200b\u201c<\/span>We need a struc\u00adture that we can devel\u00adop that can be resilient.\u201d <\/p>\n

Shaw scoffs at the long\u00adstand\u00ading canard that engi\u00adneers are con\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly hos\u00adtile to labor orga\u00adniz\u00ading, an idea that has often been float\u00aded with\u00adin both the labor and tech worlds to explain why the tech indus\u00adtry remains large\u00adly non-union. \u200b\u201c<\/span>Peo\u00adple are at a com\u00adpa\u00adny that has orga\u00adnized 250<\/span>,000<\/span> peo\u00adple to work on sim\u00adi\u00adlar projects,\u201d he notes dri\u00adly. As Google employ\u00adees have worked with CWA to build their union, they have also been study\u00ading labor his\u00adto\u00adry and Amer\u00adi\u00adcan labor law, and their diag\u00adno\u00adsis of the weak\u00adness\u00ades in today\u2019s labor move\u00adment has helped inform their path. \u200b\u201c<\/span>We\u2019ve been think\u00ading some of [the decline of unions] is due to how peo\u00adple have been lean\u00ading on the legal struc\u00adture, and it does\u00adn\u2019t give enough pro\u00adtec\u00adtion unless you fit a spe\u00adcif\u00adic sce\u00adnario,\u201d Shaw says. <\/p>\n

The AWU\u2019s struc\u00adture could be a mod\u00adel for future tech orga\u00adniz\u00ading. It will be a dues-sup\u00adport\u00aded orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion, like a union, but it will be open to both full time employ\u00adees and con\u00adtrac\u00adtors, who make up more than half of Google\u2019s work force. The union has been orga\u00adniz\u00ading in secret, mean\u00ading that much of its recruit\u00adment work was restrict\u00aded to the social net\u00adworks of its var\u00adi\u00adous employ\u00adee orga\u00adniz\u00aders. They decid\u00aded to go pub\u00adlic after claim\u00ading 200<\/span> mem\u00adbers, and they hope that the rush of pub\u00adlic\u00adi\u00adty will bring in thou\u00adsands of more mem\u00adbers in short order. AWU will not be able to engage in for\u00admal col\u00adlec\u00adtive bar\u00adgain\u00ading like a union that rep\u00adre\u00adsents the entire staff, but it will be a per\u00adma\u00adnent, grow\u00ading, and very vocal<\/a> labor group posi\u00adtioned square\u00adly inside one of the world\u2019s most pow\u00ader\u00adful com\u00adpa\u00adnies\u2009\u2014\u2009some\u00adthing that would have been vir\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly impos\u00adsi\u00adble if CWA had tried to fol\u00adlow a tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal union orga\u00adniz\u00ading route with\u00adin Google. <\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Thou\u00adsands or mil\u00adlions of peo\u00adple will wake up and see this sto\u00adry and see that you don\u2019t need to wait for the labor board to approve your union,\u201d Ahsan says. \u200b\u201c<\/span>You have a union when you say you have a union.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on Radio Free<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The five most valu\u00adable com\u00adpa\u00adnies in Amer\u00adi\u00adca are all big tech com\u00adpa\u00adnies, and none of them are union\u00adized. Com\u00adpound\u00ading this exis\u00adten\u00adtial chal\u00adlenge for orga\u00adnized labor is the fact\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4838"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4839,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838\/revisions\/4839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}