In an email obtained by Motherboard, Google tells YouTube Music workers it will “not be participating in collective bargaining.”
It’s immensely satisfying that we’re entering another era of strikes. As they get more common it’ll trigger a domino effect that will pervade our entire work culture.
Oppressed workers see another industry get some relief and positive gains and they think to themselves, “why not us too?”
All thanks to end game capitalism where the wage gaps between the top and bottom are incredibly vast.
One can hope.
“Don’t be evil”
Unless people want to be paid.
“Don’t be evil*
*some restrictions may apply”
Offer void where prohibited*
*Prohibition including but not limited to all Google physical locations, management, and software/services.
I was like Uploads take on it
Don’t be evil, obviously.
Google is not being evil. They hired a contracting firm to be evil on their behalf.
Yes, hear no evil, see no evil.
They know why they wanted this at arms length.
“Your honor, I had nothing to do with the killing! I merely hired someone to kill them for me! This is a completely out of my control, how should I know that they would have done what I paid them for?”
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Ya but what’s the alternative? You only have a few large players in any space Google operates in and guaranteed they’re no better in terms of wages and worker rights.
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Amen to degoogling! I think the broad enshittification driven by big tech and their monopolistic behavior actively invites their own demise, just as they disrupted those that came before. I’m definitely an optimist, hopefully not naive. Also we should take things into our own hands. Don’t like it? Build it better!
To add to your list: Peertube: federated platform that could compete with YouTube if it wasn’t for network effects. Keepass & SyncThing: password manager + file synchronization to keep passwords across all your devices
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So you’re preaching to the choir here. I daily drive Linux, Firefox, libreoffice, and keepass already.
With the line of work I’m in I don’t think I could steer from iPhone or android. It would be too much of a pain in the ass. Are duo and LastPass even available without either? They’re sure not on f-droid. And that’s just one example.
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Check out /e/OS and if you have a pixel Grapheme OS and Calyx OS
It is against the law in the US for a company to refuse collective bargaining with a union. NLRB will be involved.
It is but Google doesn’t directly employ these workers. They’re subcontracted through another firm. Don’t get me wrong I hope they get everything they’re demanding, but I’m not sure Google has any legal obligation, or even the ability to make changes to their contract.
Almost certainly misclassified employees which is also illegal. But sadly something that is largely just… permitted and ignored.
The employees are not contractors, but it looks like they work for a firm which has been hired by Google. Reading a little further it does look like NLRB has found that Google is considered a joint employer and would be obligated to bargain. Which they’re not doing, I guess hoping for an appeal to go their way.
If Google wanted to, they could update their contract, don’t give them that easy out
Can someone explain this one to me? They’re Cognizant employees, and Cognizant is a Google contractor. That’s the contention, at least. Google writes Cognizant a check, Cognizant writes them their checks, and so on. I know there’s additional requirements like directing their work or setting their hours that Google denies doing, but leaving that aside and granting their contention is right and Google is a partial employer…
Everyone agrees that the Google appeal process is what’s delaying this. They agree that cognizant would negotiate if Google wasn’t appealing. Why not drop Google from the suit?
My company does this too. In fact the vast majority of people on my team are outsourced employees, but I very much set their hours and direct their work. And I make certain that I do so via email. I also email those above me to let them know when I change someone’s hours.
I also brought up on our employee only DE&I call that the fact we have 1st & 2nd class employees makes it hard to claim we strive for Equity. “We are always evaluating the composition of our workforce and this is just one factor that we consider.”
It’s not just Google. But it Google falls, then everyone else will really start reconsidering things, if they remove Google then the real fight being fought here will be lost.
It’s an extremely common strategy now across many industries. Reduces responsibilities (costs and liabilities) and increases profit margins.
Good to see these workers putting up a fight. There are standards to determine employee vs contractor status, but they’re rarely enforced. And one major reason why is the lack of bargaining power. Many “contractors” have to work together and make a strong case that they are under employee-like control.
Glad I stopped supporting them once they killed Google play music.
Hopefully the YouTube music folks stick it to them!!!
Yeah, same here. I am deeply pissed that they decided I could pay for a monthly subscription in exchange for their dropping my previous purchase history.
I guess, this is another boycott I got an early start on.
I feel like the party just started and I’m already out of snacks… /s
Same, now I just get occasional ads on Spotify “premium”…
These workers are contracted by Cognizant, one of the many subcontractors which works with Google and its parent company Alphabet. … However, Google has refused to bargain with them, because it says it is not legally considered to be their employer. The workers, the union, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) contest this point.
Unfortunately the workers don’t really have a case against Google here. Don’t get me wrong - “vendor” companies are parasites and often serve only to avoid paying full benefits to those whom companies would otherwise need to hire as full-time employees. But there’s decades of established law that says they are not, in fact, employed by the contractor. Without changing the law, vendor employees won’t be considered transitively employed by the contractor by any court.
Nice, an unfair labor practice strike. Google basically handed them a W with their refusal to bargain, since it would be a criminal violation to hire scabs
I used to like these guys, really. It’s deeply depressing to see what’s happened to them.
