Live data from Hacker News

Workers Leaving the Googleplex

andrewnormanwilson.com

221–230 of 421 posts

Re: Workers Leaving the Googleplex

#221
post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've presented some arithmetic and no information at all. If the story is that these employees are being employed at minimum wage then that's something that contradicts the "Don't be evil" ethos.

Employing someone at the minimum wage rate is "evil"?

"I'd pay you even less, but it'd be illegal!"

Re: Workers Leaving the Googleplex

#223

A lot of the discussion here is around what I would like the call the US/EU (not restricted to the EU but that is what I am more familiar with) divide in work ethics and what is expected from you. In the US (apparently from comments) they can terminate your contract for (almost) any reason. In the EU (and apparently Australia) they have to build a stronger case for firing you. Differences are also clear regarding ove…

Anyone doing anything like manual labor or factory work in the U.S. must be paid time and a half for all hours after the first 40 hours per week. (Organization with only a handful of employees might be exempt from this law.) In contrast, professionals receiving a salary usually do not have to be paid overtime. (I live in the U.S.)

Re: Workers Leaving the Googleplex

#224
post #199
post #191

Interesting. My Dad once sued microsoft because they had many "temporary" workers who did not get the full benefit of full time workers. These workers were labelled as contract workers however, he was able to win his case because at the end of the day, they were working full time for Microsoft. Not only that, they were often employed by microsoft for many years, even though the claim was generally that these employee…

> Let's face it, if they were doing something legal they wouldn't care if they were getting videotaped. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt once said, "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." It was a preposterous statement assuming that the only value of privacy is to protect one's self when they do something morally, ethically or legally wrong. It wa…

I agree that people ought to be entitled to keep secrets. But Google is not a person, it is a publicly traded corporation which wields economic power on the same scale as state governments. I don't argue that they aren't entitled to secrets, but if they are, it is for different reasons and the comparison of those rights is misleading.

Re: Workers Leaving the Googleplex

#225
post #205
post #178

I don't think he understands how contractors work (Google didn't hire you you git, Google contracted your company and your company placed you there to fill the contract) or hourly labor works (you don't get privileges or benefits), so he turns it into a ridiculous conspiracy. Breaking news! Google has hourly employees! - You don't say?! Google has contractors! - Really?! Let's explore the narcissistic exploration of…

Wow. Is this what HN is getting reduced to, that the top-ranking comment is filled with ad hominem attacks? Whether you agree or disagree with the author's motivations, at least be civil. "Nitwit", "liar", "What are you 8?" ... ugh.

But the author is clearly delusional.

He doesn't seem to understand the difference between being an employee for a company that was hired by Google and being a Google employee and instead concocts this story about class warfare and injustice.

Re: Workers Leaving the Googleplex

#226
post #178

I don't think he understands how contractors work (Google didn't hire you you git, Google contracted your company and your company placed you there to fill the contract) or hourly labor works (you don't get privileges or benefits), so he turns it into a ridiculous conspiracy. Breaking news! Google has hourly employees! - You don't say?! Google has contractors! - Really?! Let's explore the narcissistic exploration of…

Chill dude. We call ourselves hackers or entrepreneurs because we question the status quo. All this guy seems to have done is do just that. I dont think he deserves any of what you just called him. Who made you the jury and executioner here on HN? Whatever you call it, social experiment or whatnot, it seems to have gotten out of hand and the guy got fired. And he blogs about his experience. Lets not read much more in…

I personally find this article's brand of narcissism-masquerading-as-activism really upsetting. This is not a blog entry about uncovering the seedy side of Google and how they abuse their employees. The only information of this kind to be found in the article is that a). Google has contract workers and b). they're mostly minorities. That's it.

The rest of the blog entry is a passive-aggressive lament wherein the author attempts to convert the reader's sympathy for said workers into sympathy for himself and his treatment at the hands of Google. If this were really an article about class conflict in tech companies, that might be interesting, but it's not. The way the author flings around adjectives that border on insults ("chubby white man"; "sedate black guard" -- what?) indicates that he doesn't really have any substantial background in race, class, or gender studies. Nor does he have anything interesting to say on those subjects.

As it is, this is (passive-aggressive) mud-flinging with no real evidence or substance behind it.

Re: Workers Leaving the Googleplex

#227
post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chill dude. We call ourselves hackers or entrepreneurs because we question the status quo. All this guy seems to have done is do just that. I dont think he deserves any of what you just called him. Who made you the jury and executioner here on HN? Whatever you call it, social experiment or whatnot, it seems to have gotten out of hand and the guy got fired. And he blogs about his experience. Lets not read much more in…

I personally find this article's brand of narcissism-masquerading-as-activism really upsetting. This is not a blog entry about uncovering the seedy side of Google and how they abuse their employees. The only information of this kind to be found in the article is that a). Google has contract workers and b). they're mostly minorities. That's it. The rest of the blog entry is a passive-aggressive lament wherein the auth…

I would have preferred to see your response up there instead of his. More substance. Less abuse.

Re: Workers Leaving the Googleplex

#228
post #199
post #191

Interesting. My Dad once sued microsoft because they had many "temporary" workers who did not get the full benefit of full time workers. These workers were labelled as contract workers however, he was able to win his case because at the end of the day, they were working full time for Microsoft. Not only that, they were often employed by microsoft for many years, even though the claim was generally that these employee…

> Let's face it, if they were doing something legal they wouldn't care if they were getting videotaped. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt once said, "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." It was a preposterous statement assuming that the only value of privacy is to protect one's self when they do something morally, ethically or legally wrong. It wa…

On the contrary, since Schmidt was actually running Google when this incident happened, it would seem to be perfectly applicable. Or are you saying that Schmidt only meant it for others and not for Google itself?

Re: Workers Leaving the Googleplex

#229
post #225
post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. Is this what HN is getting reduced to, that the top-ranking comment is filled with ad hominem attacks? Whether you agree or disagree with the author's motivations, at least be civil. "Nitwit", "liar", "What are you 8?" ... ugh.

But the author is clearly delusional. He doesn't seem to understand the difference between being an employee for a company that was hired by Google and being a Google employee and instead concocts this story about class warfare and injustice.

it would certainly have been possible for the comment author (bane) to have made that point without all the nasty name-calling.

Re: Workers Leaving the Googleplex

#230
post #191

Interesting. My Dad once sued microsoft because they had many "temporary" workers who did not get the full benefit of full time workers. These workers were labelled as contract workers however, he was able to win his case because at the end of the day, they were working full time for Microsoft. Not only that, they were often employed by microsoft for many years, even though the claim was generally that these employee…

[deleted]
Post reply on HN