Over 200 Google workers formed the Alphabet Workers Union yesterday. While the group initially represents a small fraction of Google’s 120k+ employees and is not organized around a specific set of demands, it will aim to “build a structure to create worker power” within the tech giant. Specifically, the group is expected to focus on both employee-related protections and ethical use of Google products around the world. Google issued a statement on the union yesterday, noting that it supports protected employee labor rights, but that it will “continue engaging directly” with employees.
More context: The union was launched with the support of the Communications Workers of America, a union that represents over 700k workers across several industries including IT, telecom, media, and others.
Extra: Employees at crowdfunding platform Kickstarter voted to unionize last year, forming the first union of white-collar, full-time employees in the US tech industry.
The New Paper
This story is from the January 5, 2021 edition of The New Paper – a clear, concise daily briefing that makes fact-first news easy to consume. Try it today.
