Google employees just formed The Alphabet Worker's Union

[Peter-Andre]

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/04/technology/google-employees-union.html

This seems like really good news! Do you guys think this will be the start of more unions in the American tech industry? What do you think will be the future of this particular union?

[aurum]

@Peter-Andre

I'm still unclear of what their goals are after having skimmed the article. But in general I'd say it's a good sign. People organizing has always been at the forefront of change.

That said, I think our problems are deeper than any union can address. Unions are not going to challenge our economic and financial system. But without that level of change, it's likely we will just see many problems on repeat in different circumstances.

[Peter-Andre]

@aurum It seems like it's just a humble start. I believe their intention is to expand the union over time. If I understood things correctly, they wanted to have a robust and loyal base to expand on instead of creating a much larger union without the same level of loyalty and support, so we'll see how that plays out for them. The union is also just a smaller part of a push for more activism within Google. Here is a relevant quote from the article:

Quote

But unlike a traditional union, which demands that an employer come to the bargaining table to agree on a contract, the Alphabet Workers Union is a so-called minority union that represents a fraction of the company’s more than 260,000 full-time employees and contractors. Workers said it was primarily an effort to give structure and longevity to activism at Google, rather than to negotiate for a contract.

 

[aurum]

7 minutes ago, Peter-Andre said:

The union is also just a smaller part of a push for more activism within Google.

I did see that. My question to them would be what are the larger activism goals at Google? What will they do with all this activism? What is the vision?

I respect what they're trying to do but it still feels unclear to me what they're seeking to accomplish.

[Peter-Andre]

15 hours ago, aurum said:

I did see that. My question to them would be what are the larger activism goals at Google? What will they do with all this activism? What is the vision?

I respect what they're trying to do but it still feels unclear to me what they're seeking to accomplish.

@aurum I believe they're generally just pushing for a healthier work environment with better working conditions. They focus especially on fighting against harassment and discrimination in the workplace. They also want workers to have more of a say in how the company is run and make sure it behaves more ethically instead of just maximizing profits, particularly when it harms the environment.

Here is a link to their official mission statement: https://alphabetworkersunion.org/principles/mission-statement/