A global union alliance is the ambitious project that some Google employees have just formalized at the parent company of the search engine, Alphabet.
Named Alpha Global, this coalition is made up of thirteen unions representing employees in ten countries, including the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
This group was formed in coordination with UNI Global Union, a federation of unions that brings together 20 million people around the world, including Amazon employees.
The announcement comes after the formation of another union, the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), in early January.
Very quickly, this alliance grew from 230 members to over 700 today.
Parul Koul, executive chairman of AWU and software engineer at Google, said, “
We know that organizing for justice in a global company like Alphabet doesn't stop at national borders, and that's why it is so. important to unite with workers from other countries.
"Ultimately, the goal of these federations is to"
recover (the) power through our unions
", facing"
companies and companies that accumulate more influence than ever.
"
Read also: The Google union worried about the suspension of a second ethics researcher
The demands of these two unions: to transform employment conditions but also to resolve ethical questions within the company.
Last December, more than 1,400 Google employees and nearly 2,000 others signed a letter denouncing the dismissal of Timnit Gebru, a black researcher on ethical issues related to artificial intelligence.
For Christy Hoffman, Secretary General of UNI Global Union, “The
problems of Alphabet - and created by Alphabet - are not limited to a single country and must be dealt with globally.
The organizers of Alpha Global have already defined their field of action: to tackle national problems, such as the social treatment of content moderators in certain countries.
International concerns will also be addressed, such as workers forced to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Currently, Alpha Global does not have a binding legal agreement with Google's parent company.
If the union succeeds in bringing workers together from all over the world, it may try to pressure the company to sign a neutrality agreement to support attempts to organize.
