Four ousted Google workers to file charges with federal labor board BY EMILY BIRNBAUM - 12/03/19 09:02 AM EST 32
Google's decision last month to fire four longtime employees involved in worker activism has kicked off a firestorm of internal protest and public demonstrations.
Now, those four ousted workers say they are filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board, predicting the federal labor board will "confirm that Google acted unlawfully."
A source familiar with their efforts told The Hill they plan to file the charges this week.
In a Medium post on Tuesday morning, the Google workers, who were fired in recent weeks, urged their former colleagues and tech industry peers to fight back against their employers — some of the largest and most powerful companies in the world.
The blog post, signed by each of the workers, comes amid a wave of escalating tension between management and workers at Google. The workers have alleged that Google is systematically working to stifle any dissent within the company, including by hiring a public relations firm known for union-busting and changing its policies around accessing internal documents. Google has denied those allegations, insisting that it is not retaliating against any workers and fired the group for violating new data-security policies.
The group includes Laurence Berland, who spent 11 years at Google; Paul Duke, who was with the company for more than eight years; Rebecca Rivers, an employee of four years; and Sophie Waldman, who spent one year and 10 months at Google. The workers allege the company retaliated against them because they were all involved in worker activism at Google — pushing for better working conditions and pressing the company to make more ethical decisions.
"We come from different offices," they wrote. "We have different roles, different managers, and different life stories. What brought us all together is that we've stepped up to help organize our colleagues, to work together for a better, safer, fairer and more ethical workplace."
"But Google didn't respond by honoring its values or abiding by the law," the workers continued. "It responded like a large corporation more interested in revenue growth than in ensuring worker rights and ethical conduct. Last week, Google fired us for engaging in protected labor organizing."
Google has faced a number of NLRB charges over the years and recently settled with the board over allegations that it suppressed its employees from speaking out in the workplace. Under the settlement, Google has posted notices reminding workers of their rights in its internal messaging boards.
Over the past several years, Google workers have emerged at the forefront of the tech activist movement, a wave of protest by tech workers across the country against how they are treated and whether the companies they work for are acting ethically.
In the Medium post, the workers encouraged tech workers to "organize, to join with your colleagues, and hold your bosses accountable."
"Until we all come together in solidarity — for our workplace, for our communities, and for our world, nothing will change," they wrote. "But every one of us knows what we need and what the world deserves, and together we can make a difference."
The workers allege the company retaliated against them because they were all involved in worker activism at Google — pushing for better working conditions and pressing the company to make more ethical decisions.
The workers allege the company retaliated against them because they were all involved in worker activism at Google — pushing for better working conditions and pressing the company to make more ethical decisions.
The workers allege the company retaliated against them because they were all involved in worker activism at Google — pushing for better working conditions and pressing the company to make more ethical decisions.
question：Are there any unions for software developers?
answer： This is very localised. There are unions that represent programmers in the UK and very useful they are too. Most people seem to think that unions are there purely for group negotiation and gratuitous militancy. In reality in this sort of union those things are pretty rare and their main function is to provide legal advice and support for their members that they simply couldn't afford otherwise. Given how many programmers talk about being shafted by management, doesn't that sound like a good idea?
We produce a product - code - but we're not like typical unionized laborers. We're also not professionals like doctors and lawyers and accountants. (Can you imagine some hospital administrator demanding that a surgeon work overtime on Saturday - with no extra pay - to push a few more patients through?)
Really, we're highly skilled craftspeople, very similar to medieval stonemasons. The folks who built the great cathedrals of Europe varied tremendously in their abilities and qualifications, and job-hopped quite a bit - and still managed to have a Europe-wide guild. And woe betide the nobleman or bishop who screwed over a master mason... they could just kiss their project good-bye.
I often think we, too, should have a guild - especially when I read so many questions on Stack* relating to software developers being underpaid, having no life due demands to work huge amounts of unpaid overtime, and having to put up with crappy working conditions.
美国医生 union： UAPD Union of American Physicians and Dentists 美国律师 union: National Organization of Legal Services Workers (NOLSW)， 各省区还有自己的争劝组织比如NYC的 The Legal Services Staff Association 美国职业篮球联赛 union： NBPA National Basketball Players Association
The workers allege the company retaliated against them because they were all involved in worker activism at Google — pushing for better working conditions and pressing the company to make more ethical decisions.
美国医生 union： UAPD Union of American Physicians and Dentists 律师 union: National Organization of Legal Services Workers (NOLSW)， 各省区还有自己的争劝组织比如NYC的 The Legal Services Staff Association
Should Lawyers Form Their Own Unions？ BY MOLLY MCDONOUGH ge
Amid all the gloomy news of the sour economy and law firm layoffs, there have been a few comments at ABAJournal.com urging lawyers to band together and form unions. Crazy talk, you think? Not according to these posts at PrawfsBlawg “Law-Firm Associates Should Unionize” and Law Memo “Attorney Labor Unions.” The article reposted on Law Memo makes the point that lawyers could form unions. PrawfsBlawg chimes in with reasons they would be powerful: “Associates at big law firms are perfectly suited to unionize. They are overworked and underpaid. And partners utterly depend on them. If associates actually used their latent collective bargaining power, it seems to me they could extract huge concessions from partners.”
This made us wonder what a union for lawyers would look like.
BY EMILY BIRNBAUM - 12/03/19 09:02 AM EST 32
Google's decision last month to fire four longtime employees involved in worker activism has kicked off a firestorm of internal protest and public demonstrations.
Now, those four ousted workers say they are filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board, predicting the federal labor board will "confirm that Google acted unlawfully."
A source familiar with their efforts told The Hill they plan to file the charges this week.
In a Medium post on Tuesday morning, the Google workers, who were fired in recent weeks, urged their former colleagues and tech industry peers to fight back against their employers — some of the largest and most powerful companies in the world.
The blog post, signed by each of the workers, comes amid a wave of escalating tension between management and workers at Google. The workers have alleged that Google is systematically working to stifle any dissent within the company, including by hiring a public relations firm known for union-busting and changing its policies around accessing internal documents. Google has denied those allegations, insisting that it is not retaliating against any workers and fired the group for violating new data-security policies.
The group includes Laurence Berland, who spent 11 years at Google; Paul Duke, who was with the company for more than eight years; Rebecca Rivers, an employee of four years; and Sophie Waldman, who spent one year and 10 months at Google. The workers allege the company retaliated against them because they were all involved in worker activism at Google — pushing for better working conditions and pressing the company to make more ethical decisions.
"We come from different offices," they wrote. "We have different roles, different managers, and different life stories. What brought us all together is that we've stepped up to help organize our colleagues, to work together for a better, safer, fairer and more ethical workplace."
"But Google didn't respond by honoring its values or abiding by the law," the workers continued. "It responded like a large corporation more interested in revenue growth than in ensuring worker rights and ethical conduct. Last week, Google fired us for engaging in protected labor organizing."
Google has faced a number of NLRB charges over the years and recently settled with the board over allegations that it suppressed its employees from speaking out in the workplace. Under the settlement, Google has posted notices reminding workers of their rights in its internal messaging boards.
Over the past several years, Google workers have emerged at the forefront of the tech activist movement, a wave of protest by tech workers across the country against how they are treated and whether the companies they work for are acting ethically.
In the Medium post, the workers encouraged tech workers to "organize, to join with your colleagues, and hold your bosses accountable."
"Until we all come together in solidarity — for our workplace, for our communities, and for our world, nothing will change," they wrote. "But every one of us knows what we need and what the world deserves, and together we can make a difference."
对，而且要放下自身的臭架子，以前瞧不起工人的工会，没想到资本家剥削起我们来一点不比对工人下手轻。 现在加班是习以为常，疲惫不堪！
搞笑吧，这四个人是因为努力工作被开的吗？人家是activists好吧。真成立了公会，最先做的就是整老黄牛中国码工。民主党的公会做一行害一行，难道还没看清吗？
支持湾区码工保护自身权益！
悲哀啊，悲哀。。。
The workers allege the company retaliated against them because they were all involved in worker activism at Google — pushing for better working conditions and pressing the company to make more ethical decisions.
对啊，是争取更公平正道的工作环境的 activist， 有啥问题吗？
还有哇，activist 跟努力工作并没有冲突啊。
悲哀啊，悲哀。。。
你不觉得吗？阿东
天呐。能不能放轻松一点。。。
凡事都是双面的。我觉得想轻松一点，平均一点，可能会喜欢工会。想搏一把出人头地的人，应该不会喜欢工会。 ---发自Huaren 官方 iOS APP
肯定搞不成
不过工会的开销其实蛮大的，我家的在政府，每张paycheck去掉一笔数，平时有事没事也要“贡献”一点，还有很多别的东西。。。
现在的工会黑了去了。有利益的地方就有肮脏。像mafia, 不过不会明着杀人犯法。
---发自Huaren 官方 iOS APP
都不知道那几个同学是家里有矿的还是开公司的了。
现在这种只有雇主说话没有马公说话的制度很不公平。
工会和工会区别很大！ 你真是张嘴就来。 了解下欧洲高科技行业的工会或者行业权益保护组织再说吧！
你连工会是干啥的都不知道，就敢说胡来，还欧洲高科技公司的工会，我来给你讲个欧洲投行的工会运作，我前公司解雇一个人必须花上3年以上，所以根本也没法招人，想要的人进不来，想赶走的人赶不走。欧洲公司也不敢随便找人干活，最后活都放到英国去干。
question：Are there any unions for software developers?
answer： This is very localised. There are unions that represent programmers in the UK and very useful they are too. Most people seem to think that unions are there purely for group negotiation and gratuitous militancy. In reality in this sort of union those things are pretty rare and their main function is to provide legal advice and support for their members that they simply couldn't afford otherwise. Given how many programmers talk about being shafted by management, doesn't that sound like a good idea?
https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/9481/are-there-any-unions-for-software-developers
难怪欧洲高科技被美国秒杀啊。。。。美国挨踢行业是大量外国人撑起来的，用工会基本上是自杀
interesting question.
We produce a product - code - but we're not like typical unionized laborers. We're also not professionals like doctors and lawyers and accountants. (Can you imagine some hospital administrator demanding that a surgeon work overtime on Saturday - with no extra pay - to push a few more patients through?)
Really, we're highly skilled craftspeople, very similar to medieval stonemasons. The folks who built the great cathedrals of Europe varied tremendously in their abilities and qualifications, and job-hopped quite a bit - and still managed to have a Europe-wide guild. And woe betide the nobleman or bishop who screwed over a master mason... they could just kiss their project good-bye.
I often think we, too, should have a guild - especially when I read so many questions on Stack* relating to software developers being underpaid, having no life due demands to work huge amounts of unpaid overtime, and having to put up with crappy working conditions.
被秒杀，呵呵了。
不过同是IT人的话，你愿意宁可被蹂躏也不要工会和权益保护组织，那我也无话可说。
看看教师工会，汽车行业工会，甩都甩不掉。码工可以选择的职业范围那么广，根本没必要为了几个SB boss，去成立几乎100%会走入权力斗争的组织。有这个精神还不如多投几个resume，甚至开一个小副业增加竞争力。
对付坏老板最好的方法就是增加市场竞争。google现在最大的问题是垄断，我看它不顺眼很久了。真希望能有另外一个有力竞争者出现。
没那么绝望。弯曲的码工是不是眼里只有facebook和google啊。美国IT就业市场很大的。码工还要抱怨就业环境，其他行业怎么活？
单纯re这句。
正在发生的。。。。。。你看下。
哈佛研究生联盟工会今日起罢工集会抗议
哈佛研究生联盟成员因与学校未达成合约协议，12月3日午夜开始罢工。
数十名哈佛研究生联盟(Harvard Graduate Students Union) 成员及支持者今晨在大风雪中集会抗议。该工会2425名成员多为担任学校教职和研究工作的研究生和博士生，因与学校未达成合约协议，3日午夜开始罢工。
你看看我上面贴的，哈佛大学的硕士和博士都“绝望”罢工了。
关键是团结起来以后又要被工会的人摘桃子，最后工会领导和资本家变成了两个巴掌来回打，受苦的还是底层码工。现在美国的社会，这个问题可以说无解
除了哈佛就没别的大学了么？此处不留爷自有留爷处 当然自身竞争能力有限又要高工资好福利工会的确是个好工具
挨踢行业不止不是只有硅谷一个地方 也不是只有flag这几家公司 现在挨踢行业到处在招人 真有水平的挖人的不要太多
看看底特律的汽车行业 当年工会牛的时候甚至发避孕套 然并卵 欧洲现在到处死气沉沉 德银去年要合并德国邮政银行因为工会反对裁员流产 看欧洲银行现在和美国银行比简直了
的确是，其他挨踢的行业也可以争取自己的利益啊，这里说的是马公业。
争取自己利益最好的办法就是跳槽
老黄牛是个贬义词
Google 跳去 Amazon， 还是压力加班剥削。
还是一句话 血汗公司之外还很多别的公司 又要高工资又要不加班又要福利好又要工作有保障 先掂量掂量自己有多少能耐
天底下也不止是这几家大公司。想拿超贫困线的大包裹，又想朝九晚五不加班不受累，天底下哪有那么好的事。真有这么好的事，轮得到外国人么。
也是一句话，血汗公司不应该可以 get away with it.
其实马公业的各种剥削，基本已经是这个行业的 norm。 你以为小公司不累？ 小公司才是剥削的最厉害的，又累钱又少。
马公的行业工资已经是美国翘楚了 如果你觉得自己做马公是被剥削了你完全可以去做别的 相信无数人削尖脑袋都想填你的空
奴隶社会时一样！ 干活的可以多吃一碗饭，生病不能干活的奴隶也是都抢着说自己没事，可以干活。
你能这么算吗？ 问题是。
完全 missed the point. 关键是，为啥马公业就要受剥削受欺压？为啥做了马公就不能为自己争取利益？ 社会与法律应该保护所有行业。
就是这么简答的道理。
有些老中硬杠的能力，有时候真的想起那句话：这么好的员工，不让他们吃点苦头，真对不起他们这觉悟。
你说的都是剥削H1B的小公司吧。只招有身份的公司常年挂着招聘广告招不到人，钱没有FLAG那么多但毕竟跟其他行业比还是高薪，而且按时下班9－5之外不用干活。again天下没有免费的午餐，没卖那个命咱也不指望拿那个价钱。
血汗工厂之所以可以get away with it，还不是吃准了很多人需要sponsorship，candidate pool接近于无限大。你不乐意干，来自印度的Raj立马越洋电话打过来，半价抢活儿干。
科技行业可不像汽车行业，工厂设备都在本地，想找廉价劳动力大老远的过来不容易，也没法掩人耳目。你要是支持把科技公司这条剥削h1b的路堵死，后来人再想留美国也难了。
码工跟奴隶比？那么服务行业的人是什么？码工的福利基本都是有保障的，我们公司身体不好的码工可以拿long term disability，流水线上的工人就没那么好了。
同样念四年书 挨踢行业起薪近10万 会计起薪多少 小学老师起薪多少 时薪来算挨踢行业的报酬也是遥遥领先的 你的所谓硅谷奴隶吃比别的奴隶三五倍的饭还在抱怨 底层维权我理解 医生律师维权你也理解么？NBA NFL球员要涨工资你大概也十分理解
开玩笑！ 奴隶老了干不活儿，奴隶主还得养人家一辈子呢！ 资本家谁管你！
你搞笑呢。 现在哪个行业，不是靠labor，不是靠青年人的血汗顶着？ 不是靠中年人卖命扛着？
各个行业都有自己的组织保护自己的正当利益， 这有什么错？
我不是码工，码工也赚得比我多，我也支持他们！
这逻辑上有什么问题？
医生也有行业保护自己， 律师也有， 国会议员都有！
欧美年轻人正进入no zuo no die的状态。经历一次经济危机，没工作，没钱吃饭，毛病能治好一半。太宠的孩子就是想太多，隔壁孩子还要各种礼物。
30，50万年薪说没发养老也太矫情了哦 或者你可以去政府大学银行给养老金的地方吗当然又要养老金又要3，50万年薪就是太贪了
it has nothing to do with money....
唉，你就是一千万一年的高薪，你的性感美女老板也不能、也不敢性骚扰你！
这很难理解吗？
去硅谷难道不是本着钱去的？美国又不是中国 要拿高工资只有去血汗公司卖命了 如果福利和work life balance是首选的话为什么一定要去那种公司？
美国医生 union： UAPD Union of American Physicians and Dentists
美国律师 union: National Organization of Legal Services Workers (NOLSW)， 各省区还有自己的争劝组织比如NYC的 The Legal Services Staff Association
美国职业篮球联赛 union： NBPA National Basketball Players Association
还真是张口就来
反智川粉读不懂英文不奇怪
Exactly
所以你和歪歌都支持继续涨医保费给医生医院创收是吧 是不是也支持加地产税给老师涨工资呢 马公以后建工会维权也是消费者买单的 代价做好准备了么
涨保费是保险公司，医院创收是医院老板，这跟保护医生护士权力的医护人员工会有啥关系？
律师自己都没工会 天天加班 难道律师是傻子？ 底层lowlife成天帮别人赚吆喝
Should Lawyers Form Their Own Unions？
BY MOLLY MCDONOUGH
ge
Amid all the gloomy news of the sour economy and law firm layoffs, there have been a few comments at ABAJournal.com urging lawyers to band together and form unions.
Crazy talk, you think?
Not according to these posts at PrawfsBlawg “Law-Firm Associates Should Unionize” and Law Memo “Attorney Labor Unions.”
The article reposted on Law Memo makes the point that lawyers could form unions. PrawfsBlawg chimes in with reasons they would be powerful: “Associates at big law firms are perfectly suited to unionize. They are overworked and underpaid. And partners utterly depend on them. If associates actually used their latent collective bargaining power, it seems to me they could extract huge concessions from partners.”
This made us wonder what a union for lawyers would look like.
没意思要贬GOP。现在的Gop已非lincoln 时的gop！现代的Gop只为少数富人谋利。
美国几大汽车厂的工会还很强大，只是厂子自己不行了要倒闭，要离开美国制造了。toyota, honda在美国的厂子没工会，我看人家的工人也挺好的。欧洲工会厉害，失业率也高。
没人阻止任何人通过法律途径为自己争取利益。麦当劳的员工不也要告麦当劳嘛。马工想要告google，只要case过硬，总会找到律师的。
组成工会和你说的一点关系都没有。就是想要权力的人，哄骗别人为自己加成。以前怂恿别人入党也嘛差不多说辞，可以为工人阶级争取利益。现在看看，工人阶级的利益在哪里？还不是说下岗就下岗。
存在不代表正确。首先，不是各行各业都有工会。同样的职业，也不是所有地区都有工会。有工会的和没有工会的真的差别那么大？没有工会的护士真的都水深火热？我保持怀疑。尤其教师工会让我看到工会的腐败，贪婪，以及对社会的危害。要不是教师工会，说不定能上马school choice。
逻辑没问题。但不等于建工会就有用。一看就没在有工会的公司干过，年纪一把了还这么naive。