Over 200 workers at Google and other Alphabet units formed a labor
union for US and Canadian offices, building on years of protests over working
conditions and business practices
By Paresh Dave
OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) -More than 200 workers at Google and other Alphabet
Inc units on Monday formed a labor union for U.S. and Canadian offices,
building on years of protests over working conditions and business practices
but falling far short of the support needed to force the tech giant to the
bargaining table.
Backers believe
the "Alphabet Workers Union," which evolved from an informal group of
activist employees, will better shield members from firings or other forms of
retaliation. It will also enable the group to collect dues to hire support
staff and attack the company more aggressively than in the past, internal
leaders and outside labor experts said.
The union will be
part of the Communications Workers of America labor group, which also
represents employees from Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc Alphabet
members will pay dues of 1% of their total compensation.
Kara Silverstein,
director of people operations at Google,
said in response on Monday that the company supports its employees'
"protected labor rights" and will "continue engaging directly
with all our employees."
Unlike traditional
labor unions in the U.S., the Alphabet group is a so-called "minority
union" that will not be able to force the company to collectively bargain
over wages or other issues.
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