The organizing effort starts with a deliberately broad constituency: workers are building a CWA-backed union that includes both direct employees and contractors. Later coverage shows that contractor inclusion became a live test of that model, when Accenture-employed Google contractors sought to organize with the Alphabet Workers Union and argued Alphabet was their joint employer.
The effort also quickly expanded beyond a single U.S. group through an alliance of unions in 10 countries, while U.S. members raised concerns about how that international alliance was announced. The story is therefore an early step in a larger contest over Alphabet workers’ representation and coordination.
First-order effects
Google and Alphabet employees and contractors gain a shared CWA-backed vehicle for organizing, rather than separate channels based on employment status.
Google must engage with a public worker organization whose membership design reaches beyond its direct payroll.
Second-order effects
Contracting firms such as Accenture become more central to Alphabet labor disputes, as contractor organizers press the case that Alphabet is their joint employer.
The union’s international expansion broadens its organizing reach, but the reported U.S. members’ dispute over the alliance shows coordination can become a governance fault line.
Third-order effects
Alphabet’s labor relations may increasingly be shaped by worker groups that organize across direct and contracted roles, rather than by individual employment entities alone.
The later NLRB-recognized Google Fiber bargaining unit indicates a path from broad worker advocacy to formal bargaining units, even as wider union coordination remains contested.
The trend: Alphabet worker organizing is moving toward cross-employment and cross-border representation, with contractor status and union governance determining how durable that coalition becomes.
We're Alphabet workers. We've been organizing for over a year, & we're finally ready to share why. This morning, we're announcing #AWU, the first union open to *all* workers at any Alphabet company. Every worker deserves a union—including tech workers. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Today we are proud to announce our historic partnership with @AlphabetWorkers— the first union for ALL workers at @Google. Workers have been building the Alphabet Workers Union for a while, and we're excited for what's to come. https://www.nytimes.com/...
“Google's director of people operations, said: “We've always worked hard to create a supportive and rewarding workplace for our work force. Of course, our employees have protected labor rights that we support.” Ver funny: “rights that we support.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
We'll be open to *all* Alphabet workers—full-time employees & TVCs. If you're a worker at any Alphabet company, join us. https://alphabetworkersunion.org/
Google workers are unionizing (!!) In the announcement, they're calling out controversial government contracts like Project Maven, and the sudden firing of @timnitGebru in December: https://twitter.com/...
I'm a Google employee and, now, a proud card-carrying member of the Alphabet Workers Union. Tech workers need a union because we can't rely on the good graces of tech leaders to do right by us and society. https://twitter.com/...
Yet problems persist. We still have discrimination, harassment, & retaliation at Google. Over half our workforce are TVCs—paid less, w/fewer benefits, for often the exact same work. A few at the top are getting enormously rich while others see nothing of that wealth.
The past few years at Google have been tumultuous: secret military AI projects, multi-million dollar payouts to execs who sexually harassed our coworkers, profiting from hate speech, & more. Coworkers who've voiced concerns have even been fired, illegally, as retaliation.
The union will be open to all 120,000 workers at Alphabet, including contractors known as ‘TVCs’ who make up half of Google's workforce but are not afforded the same benefits and rights as Google employees. https://www.vice.com/...
What a great way to start 2021. Workers of @google have come together to form a union, affiliated with @CWAUnion. Its is a natural next step after so many other efforts to fix problems- Way to go! https://www.nytimes.com/...
This is right: *all* tech workers deserve a union—drivers, software engineers, security, cafeteria workers, everyone who makes these tech companies move. Solidarity with all the Alphabet workers at #AWU! https://twitter.com/...
“We care deeply about what we build and what it's used for. We are responsible for the technology we bring into the world.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Our executive chair & vice chair in the NYT this morning, explaining why we're building on past organizing at Google & starting #AWU. “We are joining together—temps, vendors, contractors, and full-time employees—to create a unified worker voice.” https://www.nytimes.com/...