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Google employees are staging a sit-in to protest reported retaliation

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Re: Google employees are staging a sit-in to protest reported retaliation

#21

Post by InTheArena »

I've enough friends working at Google to know that they have a pretty strong mandated daily dose of kool-aid, where you are elite and only valuable if you work at google and adopt the one true Googler world view.

Certain factions at Google demanded and ensured that anyone not in conformance at Google no longer work there. Then they are shocked and surprised when the same executives use the same mechanisms to hurt them, for the exact same reason - business reasons.

Google abandoned "Don't be evil" a long time ago. It's time for people to realize that making corporations all-powerful is a really bad thing, even when they seem to be doing your bidding.... for now.

Re: Google employees are staging a sit-in to protest reported retaliation

#22

Post by nonbel »

wonnage wrote: post #20
nonbel wrote: post #17

Sorry, this doesn't even look real: https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/GettyImage... Not a single visible sign explains what they are protesting...

You carefully examined the picture and didn't notice the dates on the sign are from the walkout last November?

Not sure what relevance that has. All the vague signs make it look like something out of a parody skit or cartoon.

Re: Google employees are staging a sit-in to protest reported retaliation

#23

Post by hunter23 »

cwperkins wrote: post #4

Google employees protesting the makeup of the AI Ethics council appeared like the closest thing to fascism in the USA that I have ever witnessed. I hope some people see the need for diversity of viewpoint and start to be more accepting of their fellow countrymen, while agreeing on what to condemn.

Fascism tends to have these attributes:

  * dictatorial power 
  * totalitarian one party state
  * embrace of political violence as a means to silence opposition
  * strong opposition to Marxism, liberalism, conservatism
  * radical nationalism
  * nationalist economic policy through protectionist schemes
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism#Definitions

What about a group of employees collectively organizing and protesting non-violently against an internal board at a privatized company is exactly fascist?

Re: Google employees are staging a sit-in to protest reported retaliation

#24

Post by hunter23 »

cwperkins wrote: post #14
jimmaswell wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate on this?

Here's a WaPo article from the controversial woman Google appointed to the board, Kay Cole James. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-wanted-to-help-goo... I may not agree with her politically, but its important to have different viewpoints in discourse as long as they're rooted in principles. I think its shameful that the AI Ethics Council was disbanded, if employees took issue with her it would have been nice…

Nothing about this has anything to do with the word fascist.

Re: Google employees are staging a sit-in to protest reported retaliation

#25

Post by UncleMeat »

cwperkins wrote: post #14
jimmaswell wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate on this?

Here's a WaPo article from the controversial woman Google appointed to the board, Kay Cole James. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-wanted-to-help-goo... I may not agree with her politically, but its important to have different viewpoints in discourse as long as they're rooted in principles. I think its shameful that the AI Ethics Council was disbanded, if employees took issue with her it would have been nice…

What principles form the basis of her transphobia?

Re: Google employees are staging a sit-in to protest reported retaliation

#26

Post by tom_ »

hunter23 wrote: post #23
cwperkins wrote: post #4

Google employees protesting the makeup of the AI Ethics council appeared like the closest thing to fascism in the USA that I have ever witnessed. I hope some people see the need for diversity of viewpoint and start to be more accepting of their fellow countrymen, while agreeing on what to condemn.

Fascism tends to have these attributes: * dictatorial power * totalitarian one party state * embrace of political violence as a means to silence opposition * strong opposition to Marxism, liberalism, conservatism * radical nationalism * nationalist economic policy through protectionist schemes See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism#Definitions What about a group of employees collectively organizing and protesting…

It is possibly some groundwork being laid for the argument that the term 'fascism' has been overused so much by 'the left' that it no longer means anything. Should other lines of argument fail, this one can be mobilized as a distraction, giving time to regroup.

Re: Google employees are staging a sit-in to protest reported retaliation

#27

Post by zelon88 »

unionslol wrote: post #11

It's almost as if... bear with me here... Some sort of collective action by employees of a monopolistic company can't be ignored... because - uh - they'll stop working en masse? Voluntarily in lieu of pay? Madness, it'll never catch on.

2014 Demoulas Market Basket Protests [1].

15,000 un-unionized employees in New England walked off their family-owned supermarket jobs after a board-flip and resulting capitulation of existing (family owned) leadership. Customers joined forces with the employees en-masse. The company is an icon and in many ways a prime mover in the area due to their intense real-estate investment strategy.

This multi-billion dollar business was brought to its knees in mere months. Shelves were empty, customers were taping competitor receipts onto the doors, it was doomsday. MA and NH attorneys general got involved after the new corporate CEO's threatened to fire 15,000 people. It was chaos.

And it worked. The board sold the company to the CEO they fired for $1.5b and everything was back to normal within a day or two.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Basket_(New_England)

Re: Google employees are staging a sit-in to protest reported retaliation

#28

Post by ak39 »

spyspy wrote: post #12
bradleyjg wrote: post #9

I don’t understand how a company where 5% of the workforce is responsible for the product that drives 95% of the revenue is so seemingly vulnerable to employee pressure. I can’t imagine Bell Lab employees had all that much leverage against Ma Bell.

I’ve often wondered this myself. Google has literally thousands of engineers working on search alone. I can’t even fathom what they’re all doing. And then what is everyone filling their time with?

Developing Thanos snap gimmicks and other region specific Easter eggs?

Re: Google employees are staging a sit-in to protest reported retaliation

#29

Post by wonnage »

nonbel wrote: post #22
wonnage wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You carefully examined the picture and didn't notice the dates on the sign are from the walkout last November?

Not sure what relevance that has. All the vague signs make it look like something out of a parody skit or cartoon.

Not sure if you're being willfully ignorant, but it's from this event: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/01/technology/google-walkout...

Seems like they did a reasonably effective job of conveying their protest message across to the NYT, vague signs or not.

Re: Google employees are staging a sit-in to protest reported retaliation

#30

Post by leftyted »

hunter23 wrote: post #23
cwperkins wrote: post #4

Google employees protesting the makeup of the AI Ethics council appeared like the closest thing to fascism in the USA that I have ever witnessed. I hope some people see the need for diversity of viewpoint and start to be more accepting of their fellow countrymen, while agreeing on what to condemn.

Fascism tends to have these attributes: * dictatorial power * totalitarian one party state * embrace of political violence as a means to silence opposition * strong opposition to Marxism, liberalism, conservatism * radical nationalism * nationalist economic policy through protectionist schemes See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism#Definitions What about a group of employees collectively organizing and protesting…

"Fascism" is used today to refer to "bad thing I don't like".

It's a mistake to interpret diction literally. Yes, it would be lovely if people used the word "fascism" to refer to right-wing, ultra-nationalist, authoritarian political movements. But that's not how people use words and the ship has long since sailed on that particular word. According to George Orwell "fascism" has a been a synonym for "bully" since 1944 - http://orwell.ru/library/articles/As_I_Please/english/efasc

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