A small step for Google

A workers union at Alphabet, Google’s parent, is a sign of incremental progress. However, it’s not clear whether it can address systemic issues in Big Tech

If you were to ask a group of a hundred people about their choice of a dream employer, chances are a significant number of them would mention Google. Picture modern offices with Google's theme, which the journalist, Steven Levy, once described as, "decorated in a style that mixed high-tech Dumpster with nursery school". And while Google remains the aspirational employer for most people, all is not well at Google’s campus.

Over 200 workers at Alphabet (Google's parent company), including employees and contractors, have decided to unionise to stand up against issues of pay disparity, harassment, and controversial government contracts. The first one is relatively self-explanatory. Let me provide some context for the latter two.

In 2018, the New York Times reported that Andy Rubin, the creator of Android, was accused of sexual misconduct by a Google employee. Although Google had asked him to leave in 2014, it had paid him a $90 million exit package and given him a hero’s farewell, it said. It argued that he was one of three senior executives Google had “protected” after they were accused of sexual misconduct at the organisation in 10 years.

Google has also reportedly considered taking up contracts to provide AI for analysing drone footage for the US military (Project Maven) and starting a censored search engine in China named 'Project Dragonfly'.

The statement announcing the Alphabet union, referred to these and other issues that employees had raised objections to. "From fighting the 'real names' policy, to opposing Project Maven, to protesting the egregious, multi-million dollar payouts that have been given to executives who've committed sexual harassment, we've seen first-hand that Alphabet responds when we act collectively,” it said, explaining why the union had to be formed.

This brings up two questions. First, why is this a big deal? Second, what does this mean for other tech companies in Silicon Valley? Let us look at the former first.

Cases of toxic work culture and harassment in Big Tech companies are more common than believed. For instance, Uber has been accused of a culture of sexism by Susan Fowler who wrote a detailed blog post, where she detailed how the company's HR department failed her. Besides, tech companies help governments with contracts all the time. It is a legitimate source of revenue, and some would argue that big companies should help governments protect their citizens and be better at governance.

Bringing 'their whole selves' to work

Because these alleged acts of sexual harassment and government contracts took place at Google, things are a little more complicated. Google is not your typical workplace. As Steven Levy explains in his excellent book, In the Plex, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin had never worked for a company when they founded Google. So they had no context on how companies were supposed to operate and build a culture from the ground up. Which meant Google offered meals at the office and stuff like laundry services. This also meant that employees were to bring ‘their whole selves’ to work, including their political beliefs and opinions on what the company was doing right and wrong.

'Don't be evil' (now removed and replaced with 'Do the right thing) was a product of that culture. The motto instilled Google with a holier-than-thou attitude. This reached a crescendo when Google was operating in China with plans to build now dropped ‘Project Dragonfly’.

For the company that used to embody the principle of ‘Don't be evil’ and encouraged employees to bring their whole selves to work, these concerns and the union formation is an alarming development and a big deal. In recent history, Google, like most of Big Tech, has made it hard for employees to organise. Former Kickstarter union organiser Clarissa Redwine, who maintains the Collective Action in Tech project, summarised those actions as follows:

“In November 2020, Google illegally fired four workers for organizing. In an attempt to further chill worker organizing, the company has shut down key channels for challenging leadership, tracked expressions of dissent, and hired an anti-union firm.”

Some would say that is evil, but what it means for the company remains to be seen. There are two major factors to watch out for. First, the company has historically responded to pressure from employees and the public. There is every chance that the pattern remains the same but whether it will lead to structural changes is hard to say. Secondly, ‘Don't be evil’ might have changed to 'Do the right thing' in the new Alphabet motto, but I would expect the phrase to make a comeback as a stick to bash Google in the press.

Model may not work in other tech companies

Journalist Casey Newton's newsletter claims that if successful, the union could upend labour relations across the tech industry, which may well be right. However, it is by no means a foregone conclusion. There are many factors at play here. There’s is no guarantee that this model of forming a union will work as effectively at a company like Amazon. And even if everything goes perfectly for the union and it gets its demands met, it is hard to guarantee systemic change at a Big Tech company, let alone the whole industry.

In sum, this is incremental progress that is a culmination of years of effort mixed with company culture. Its effectiveness is yet to be proven, and it's a long way from transforming a whole industry. However, it is a start.

(Rohan Seth is a technology policy analyst at The Takshashila Institution)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.