Posts tagged Google
Op-ed: Why Employers Forcing a Return to Office is Leading to More Worker Power and Unionization
February 23, 2023 // It's important to recognize that this turn to worker power is happening in the context of massive layoffs by tech companies, which are becoming less willing to offer perks like remote work to their workforce. In fact, there's evidence that some companies such as Twitter are using return-to-office mandates to get workers to quit voluntarily, to avoid paying severance. Employers are increasingly getting the upper hand, as workers who feel anxious about the economy are reluctant to make demands for more remote work. However, such strategies may well backfire against employers in the long term if they spur increases in labor union organizing; even though individual employees might be anxious about their jobs, together they can press their case, especially given an unemployment rate of 3.4%, the lowest in over 50 years. And even tech workers are finding new jobs in three months or so, pointing to the strength of the labor market despite some shift toward employer power.
Google contractors in Austin strike for better union practices
February 22, 2023 // The release went on to detail that if workers are forced to return to the office, they are "faced with 'voluntarily termination' for being unable to physically show up at the office." During the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the employees were hired remotely and do not live close enough to the Austin office to commute on a regular basis. "At $19/hr, workers are not paid enough to afford gas, childcare and other costs related to in-person work. The current RTO mandate is an attempt to derail union organizing and for the striking YouTube Music workers, the ULP strike is the only thing protecting their jobs," the release stated.
Exclusive: YouTube contractors to strike over forced return to office
February 6, 2023 // Cognizant says that the workers' contracts have always stated that the jobs were in-office jobs and that it communicated to workers since Dec. 2021 that it would provide 90 days notice when employees were expected back in the office. "Cognizant respects the right of our associates to disagree with our policies, and to protest them lawfully," the company said in a statement to Axios. "However, it is disappointing that some of our associates have chosen to strike over a return to office policy that has been communicated to them repeatedly since December 2021."
YouTube’s in-office mandate is ploy to squash unions, workers claim
January 31, 2023 // An NLRB complaint filed Jan. 24 alleges that Alphabet’s return-to-work mandate is a “response to the union effort.” A spokesperson for Cognizant told HR Dive that the employer had communicated return-to-office policies “repeatedly and consistently” to all of its workers since December 2021 via email, the company’s internal website and team meetings, the spokesperson said. “The employees in Austin were fully aware of the intention to return to the office prior to the filing of a [NLRB] petition. Moreover, all associates working on this project were hired with the understanding that the jobs were based in an Austin office location,” the spokesperson said. “The small number of associates who voluntarily left the Austin area, and are unable or unwilling to return have the opportunity to be considered for assignments on other client projects at Cognizant. There is simply no merit to these claims.”
Google Axes 12,000 Jobs As Big Tech Layoffs Continue
January 25, 2023 // The Google layoffs follow heavy jobs cuts at Facebook parent company Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce and numerous other firms as higher interest rates and fears of a recession hammer the tech sector. According to an analysis conducted earlier this week by The Standard, tech companies have laid off roughly 90,000 workers in the last year and more than 12,000 workers in San Francisco during this month alone. Those layoffs span major local employers such as Salesforce and a smattering of smaller startups.
Disney CEO Bob Iger wants employees to return to the office four days a week
January 10, 2023 // “Starting March 1, employees currently working in a hybrid fashion will be asked to spend four days a week on-site, targeting Monday through Thursday as in-person workdays,” Iger said in an internal email obtained by MarketWatch. The edict, just weeks after Iger took over Disney DIS, +0.91% from ousted CEO Bob Chapek, is the latest from a high-profile executive asking employees to return to the office at least three days a week. Last month, Snap Inc. SNAP, -0.22% CEO Evan Spiegel said the company expects employees to spend at least 80% of their time in the office beginning in February, according to an internal memo. Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL, +0.78% GOOG, +0.73% Google, Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.41%, Twitter Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, -0.41% have made similar requests.
UNION CLAIMS ALPHABET BLOCKS WORKERS FROM ACCESSING PAY TRANSPARENCY DATA
November 8, 2022 // Alphabet Workers Union-Communications Workers of America, which seeks to represent directly employed and contingent workers at Google, on Thursday filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. It alleges Alphabet and two of its staffing vendors prohibited contract workers from accessing an internal pay transparency spreadsheet. Accenture Flex and Crowd Staffing,
Waymo workers form union in the latest push to organize Silicon Valley
October 12, 2022 // The cafeteria workers at the Mountain View-based company cite the high cost of living in the Bay Area and the lack of strong benefits while working for one of the world's most valuable companies. Waymo is owned by Google parent company, Alphabet. The workers are employed by Sodexo, which contracts service work for Google and other companies. Organizers say they have a majority of union cards signed from the roughly two dozen-person bargaining unit.
New ‘Striketober’ looms as US walkouts increase amid surge in union activity
September 26, 2022 // According to the labor action tracker at Cornell University, strikes in 2022 so far have significantly outpaced strike activity in 2021, with 180 strikes involving 78,000 workers in the first six months of 2022, compared with 102 strikes involving 26,500 workers in the first six months of 2021. The tracker recorded 41 strikes that started between 15 August and 15 September 2022, involving 35,250 workers.
Opinion: Unions could succeed where Senate Democrats fail
July 27, 2022 // They can also make demands well beyond traditional worker benefits. For example, they can seek requirements to include a voter registration form with new employee paperwork and paid time off to vote. They can also bargain with companies to allow use of their facilities as polling places. In other words, they can help expand access to voting even when Republicans in Congress and state legislatures are trying to do the opposite. Unions also can make proposals for paid time off and reimbursement if an employee needs to go out of state for an abortion. The cost and inconvenience of such absences might make businesses somewhat more inclined to support candidates who support in-state abortion care. charitable giving, Republicans, MAGA crowd, low- and middle-income workers,