Oakland, January 4: In a first in the company's history, a fraction of Google employees including engineers and other workers united to form a workers' union. Named as the "Alphabet Workers' Union" - after Google's parent company Alphabet Inc - is focused towards streamlining employee activism rather than negotiation pay structures with the management.
The union has registered itself with the Communications Workers of America, an amalgam represents workers in telecommunications and media sectors of the United States and Canada. The union's development was a secret activity that has been brewing for about a year, and it was only last month when they elected their leader. Google Offering Free Weekly COVID-19 Tests to 90,000 US Employees: Report.
The union, as of now, comprises of 225 engineers and other workers of Google. The numbers form only a small fraction of around 260,000 employees of the search-engine giant. Although the union fails to emerge as highly significant in terms of size, its formation is being considered as a landmark event in the realm of Silicon Valley.
The tech giants in San Francisco's innovation hub are considered to be anti-union - as the socialist-style formations are considered to impose stumbling blocks on the cycle of production.
The Alphabet Workers' Union is unlikely to work like traditional unions. The latter's role is to ensure pay parity and preventing labour exploitation. On the other hand, the union of Google workers is expected to give structure and longevity to employee activism that has been brewing for years, US media reports citing union insiders said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 04, 2021 06:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).