Alphabet Workers Union

Alphabet Workers Union
FoundedJanuary 4, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-01-04)
Location
Members
1,200 (Oct. 2022)
AffiliationsCampaign to Organize Digital Employees,
CWA Local 9009
Websitealphabetworkersunion.org

Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), also informally referred to as the Google Union,[1][2][3] is an American trade union of workers employed at Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, with a membership of over 800, in a company with 130,000 employees, not including temps, contractors, and vendors in the United States.[4][2] It was announced on January 4, 2021 with an initial membership of over 400,[5] after over a year of secret organizing, and the union includes all types of workers at Alphabet, including full-time, temporary, vendors and contractors of all job types.

It has been called a minority union and a solidarity union.[6] AWU itself is not registered with the National Labor Relations Board and cannot engage in collective bargaining.[7][2][8] In March 2022, subcontractors of Google Fiber became the first within the AWU to gain NLRB recognition.

  1. ^ Schiffer, Zoe (January 25, 2021). "Exclusive: Google workers across the globe announce international union alliance to hold Alphabet accountable". The Verge. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Marshall, Aarian (January 12, 2021). "Google's New Union Is Already Addressing Political Issues". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. The AWU is somewhat unusual in that it is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America but won't seek recognition or collective bargaining rights through the National Labor Relations Board. "We will use our reclaimed power to control what we work on and how it is used," AWU writes in its mission statement. "We will ensure Alphabet acts ethically and in the best interests of society and the environment." The group says it now has more than 700 dues-paying members. But that's still a tiny percentage of Alphabet's 130,000 employees—and an even smaller share of the company's total workforce, including temporary workers, contractors, and vendors. The union is unusual in another respect, because it welcomes contractors and temporary workers.
  3. ^ Harnett, Sam (January 14, 2021). "New Google Union Triples in Size in First Week, But Faces Formidable Challenges". KQED Inc. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  4. ^ Schiffer, Zoe (January 11, 2021). "The Google union just passed 700 members". The Verge. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  5. ^ Conger, Kate (January 4, 2021). "Hundreds of Google Employees Unionize, Culminating Years of Activism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Hahne, Bruce (January 4, 2021). "Google workers launch a solidarity union". alphabetworkers.substack.com.
  7. ^ Paul, Kari (January 4, 2021). "More than 200 US Google employees form a workers' union". the Guardian. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Tiku, Nitasha. "Google workers launch unconventional union with help of Communications Workers of America - The Alphabet Workers Union will push for change without traditional collective bargaining rights". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 5, 2021.