The union is expected to increase tensions between Google engineers, who work with autonomous cars, artificial intelligence and Internet search, and the company’s management. Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, and other executives have tried to tackle an increasingly activist workforce – but have made mistakes.
Last month, federal officials said Google had unfairly laid off two employees protesting their work with immigration authorities in 2019. Timnit Gebru, a black woman who is a respected artificial intelligence researcher, also said last month that the Google fired her after she criticized the company’s approach to hiring minorities and the prejudices embedded in AI systems. His departure sparked a storm of criticism about Google’s treatment of minority employees.
“These companies think it’s a bone in the throat to even have a small group of people who say, ‘We work at Google and we have another point of view,’” said Nelson Lichtenstein, director of the Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Google may well be successful in decimating any organization that comes to the ground.”
The Alphabet Workers Union, which represents employees in Silicon Valley and cities like Cambridge, Massachusetts and Seattle, offers protection and resources to workers who join it. Those who choose to become members will contribute 1% of their total compensation to the union to fund their efforts.
Last year, the CWA lobbied to unionize white-collar technology workers. (The NewsGuild, a union representing employees of the New York Times, is part of the CWA) The initiative initially focused on employees of video game companies, who often work long hours and face layoffs.
In late 2019, CWA organizers began meeting with Google employees to discuss a union campaign, workers who attended the meetings said. Some employees were receptive and signed cards to officially join the union last summer. In December, the Alphabet Workers Union held elections to select a seven-person executive council.