Retail partners at couple Google Fiber stores in Kansas City, Missouri, voted to merge, becoming the first group represented by the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) to gain collective bargaining power and win the recognition of the Department of Public Relations. National Labor Force (NLRB).
After a campaign to force workers to attend meetings and anti-union messages, despite demands for neutrality, workers on Friday voted 9-1 in favor of AWU representation. Some of them are gathered around the computer to watch the vote counting on Zoom. When the decisive ballots were counted, they grinned and raised their hands in the air.
Though the unit is small, AWU hopes it’s the start of something big. AWU President Parul Koul said: “I absolutely think this will be the first of many events. The workers are employed by BDS Connected Solutions, a staffing company with which Google contracts to provide customer service for its broadband offering. The union petitioned to designate Google as a joint employer, which would require Google to negotiate with employees, but the company refused. Instead of fighting a protracted war that could delay the election, AWU and the workers decided to forgo the inclusion of Google, meaning the employees would negotiate with the BDS alone.
Last summer, when the workers asked the BDS management about compensation for the work they had done, they said they had no budget. When Google’s new contract goes into effect in October, they get a 4% increase. “It’s not even a cost-of-living increase in 2021-2022,” said Eris Derickson, a Westport Road store worker and organizer. Furthermore, they will forgo raises and bonuses in 2020, despite the fact that the business seems to be doing well. “Everybody is pretty upset about it. So the decision to merge was born from there.”
“Over time, it has become increasingly clear to us that if we want to protect the things we love about our work, we need to be united,” says Derickson. She was inspired by the wave of labor activism that arose during the pandemic, including high-profile union campaigns in Starbucks stores. “We felt we could be next in the chain,” she said.
In a statement, a Google spokesperson wrote, “We have numerous contracts with both organized and non-union suppliers and respect the right of their employees to make participatory choices. unionize or not. The decision of these contractors to join US Communications Workers is a matter between the worker and their employer, BDS Solutions Group. “BDS did not respond to a request for comment.
Derickson heard about the AWU shortly after the group went public in January 2021. Later that year, she saw a petition the union was circulating, calling on Google to fairly compensate temporary people. residents, suppliers and contractors (TVC). TVCs make up more than half of Google’s workforce and typically pay lower wages, lower benefits, and less job security than full-time employees. Laura Padin, a labor attorney for the National Employment Law Project who co-authored the National Employment Law Project 2021, said: report titled “Temps in Tech.” This model allows companies to avoid paying stock options, retirement contributions, health insurance, and avoiding liability as an employer. After Microsoft settled a lawsuit over this practice in 2000, the companies changed their approach, ironically an even more precarious agreement, often requiring a temporary layoff. six months before returning to the same role.
