A union was born inside Google

Calling it a "union" is probably a historical distortion, just as it could appear completely misleading to those who read in this word all the historiography that the defense of the worker has taken on over the centuries. However, at least in a figurative sense, the word "union" is the one that best represents the drive that led over 200 Google employees to unite around the same flag, forming a group to defend their own interests in front of the company.

If it is not a real union, it is however probably the beginning of an unavoidable evolution, the search for a representation that is weak at a global level and that in Silicon Valley is felt stronger than ever. Indeed, for traditional unions, it sounds like an alarm bell that can be discussed again when the same sirens from California sound elsewhere.

Alphabet Workers Union

The group takes the name Alphabet Workers Union, an entity that was born under the umbrella of the Communication Workers of America Union's Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA): 227 workers (out of a total of 132,121) who signed an agreement to join forces and give body to a univocal representation. Not a closed group, that's for sure: a handful of workers who represent only the initial nucleus of a team that leaves its doors open waiting for new entries. The aims are not yet clear, but there is already a first strong signal to characterize the action of the AWU: 1% of the annual salary of the signatories will be used as a social safety net for those who face redundancies or problems with the 'company.

It is useless to think of the union according to the Italian meaning: it would be even more misleading than this name already is in putting on the clothes of the AWU. The union of 227 Google workers and contractors, however, has a strong meaning especially at the end of many months of tension on several fronts. Furthermore, this is not an absolute novelty: other large technology groups have already had to face internal frictions of this type, without ever reaching up to now an official recognition that would institutionalize the existence of the group and transform it into an accredited interlocutor at the top of Mountain View. How will Google react?

Alphabet Workers Union promises democratic action through democratically elected representatives, presumably bringing forward issues of principle that will go far beyond just "class struggle": the feeling is that part of the group's workforce are looking above all for a greater idiosyncrasy with the company they work for, which could lead to the exploration of new actions and new principles on which to synchronize the heartbeat of company and employees.

Source: Techcrunch