Google worker organization
[3][additional citation(s) needed] Google has seen a rise in worker activism since 2018,[4] with a swiftly changing internal culture in which staff have been alienated by scandals including a 2017 memo about Google's culture and diversity policies, revelation of a large exit package offered to an executive accused of sexual harassment, and staff accusations of retaliation.
[1] The company denied the allegations but instituted new policies against employee protest and in-office politics, which further eroded worker trust from parts of its staff.
[9] A September settlement with the National Labor Relations Board in response to Stapleton and Whittaker's departures required policy clarifications that explicitly let employees act collectively and discuss workplace issues with each other and the press.
[2] The settlement did not reduce tensions, which re-escalated in November[8] when The New York Times reported that Google had been working for several months with IRI Consultants, a firm known for promoting union busting.
[14] In 2021 court documents revealed that between 2018 and 2020 Google ran an anti-union campaign called Project Vivian to "convince them (employees) that unions suck".
[16] In March 2023, Google and the employee led Special Negotiating Body signed a European Works Council framework agreement and set an election date for 6 months later.
In 2020, inspired by the Google walkouts, a group of Zooglers, with the assistance of Syndicom trade union formed a Staff Council (Swiss Standard German: Personalvertretung).
[9] A publicized, 200-worker demonstration in San Francisco protested the suspension of Rebecca Rivers and Laurence Berland as unjust and demanded their reinstatement.
A Google memo attributed the dismissals to security breaches,[8] "accessing and distributing business information outside the scope of their jobs",[2] and explained their action as a "rare" case.
[23] CNBC described the Thanksgiving Four firings as virally amplifying their critics' platform, turning them into overnight "heroes", and leading other employees to share stories of being targeted for activism.
[5] Around the same time, the company curtailed its weekly town hall meetings in response to leaks, reducing their frequency and narrowing their focus from general management questions to product and business strategy.
[8][6] Internal activists cited other recent policy changes in their accusation of company retaliation against collective action: employee guidelines on political speech,[1] web browser history trackers, anti-union consultants,[23] and a calendar tool to track events with over 100 participants.
[2] Court documents later showed that the company ran a program code-named Project Vivian during this period to engage workers and convince them against supporting unions.
Google said Spiers was fired not for the content of her message but for using a security and privacy tool for an unrelated purpose, and without business justification or team authorization.
[30] The National Labor Relations Board returned a formal complaint against Google in December 2020 with the allegation of company interference in protected organizing activity.
[31] Google's Bay Area cafeteria workers, contracted through the multinational food service company Compass Group, voted to unionize in late 2019.
