Workers Union Formed, Various Worker Problems At Google Revealed

Photo illustration (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - More than 200 employees of Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc, formed a union for representative offices in the United States and Canada. This was done to strengthen protests against working conditions and business practices carried out by the two US technology companies.

The union was formed because previously the workers had failed to force company leaders to negotiate. The "Alphabet Workers Union" is believed by its supporters to protect workers' rights from threats of dismissal or other forms of retaliation from superiors.

The trade union was formed from an informal group of workers who also frequently advocated for employee rights. Having a trade union also allows workers to raise funds to help struggling employees and can raise stronger protests against the company, said union leaders and labor observers.

Alphabet Workers Union will become part of the United States Labor Communications network, which also houses workers from other technology companies, including Verizon Communications Inc and Alphabet AT&T Inc. Members will contribute one percent of their total compensation / salary.

Google's Director of Human Resources Operations, Kara Silverstein, said on Monday, January 4 that the company supports efforts to protect “workers' rights” and will work together to make this mission a reality.

Minority working group

Unlike other labor unions in the US, the Alphabet Worker Unions are called a minority group of workers because they are unable to force companies to negotiate to determine employee salaries or other issues.

The US Labor Law allows Alphabet to waive requests from unions until a majority of employees support the demands. The Alphabet Labor Union also plans to invite third parties as members of groups that the company often does not take into account.

The top union leaders realized they would not immediately get support from their fellow workers. This is because salaries are above average, free food, and facilities for fitness facilities, make trade unions less relevant to the technology industry.

However, advocacy for labor rights is starting to be carried out at Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Workers Union Deputy Chair Chewy Shaw said some factions of workers in recent years could force companies to meet demands for equality at work and more ethical business practices.

The workers' protests prompted Google to create new policies related to investigations into workplace eligibility and to suspend cooperation on drone projects with US troops. Shaw said the Alphabet union plans to launch more campaigns supported by new sources of funding and recognition from various circles.

Google received a lot of criticism, especially from the US labor inspection agency, regarding the company's unilateral action to fire employees because they protested the policies of the leaders and tried to form a labor union. Google said the dismissals were carried out according to legal regulations.