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A group of Google workers have announced plans to unionize

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Re: A group of Google workers have announced plans to unionize

#62

What leverage do unions have over salaries? Google is a very profitable company, redirecting half of the profit from shareholders to employees would result in a very significant salary increase. (Just curious, I'm not stating any opinion on this.)

What do you mean by profit going to shareholders? Alphabet doesn't have a dividend.

Re: A group of Google workers have announced plans to unionize

#63
Googler here, these articles are literally the first I've heard of it. No internal emails, rabblerousing, or any kind of comms about it, and it seems as though the union discussed doesn't actually exist yet. Seems a bit odd (and bad reporting), but we'll see where it goes.

After watching how a mechanics union did absolutely nothing while CEOs ripped apart my Dad's pension and put him through hell, I have a bit of a dim view on this sort of thing to begin with.

Re: A group of Google workers have announced plans to unionize

#64
Well if the rest of the tech industry can copy faang Leetcode interviews, at the very least also start copying this union initiative. For once I’d like to see copy-cat culture not completely suck.

No more of the silly fridge full of beers and ping pong tables, copy the real stuff please - salary, 20% time, union, and we’ll study for your Leetcode, no problemo.

Re: A group of Google workers have announced plans to unionize

#65
post #38

When I talk to colleagues in tech about unions I hear a lot of misconceptions, seemingly based in stereotypes about what unions are for and who they serve. People often seem to think of unions as being purely blue-collar operations, and this just isn't true. For example, I've had people tell me that they don't support unions in tech because they'll be "paid less", or less competent engineers will be promoted faster.…

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Re: A group of Google workers have announced plans to unionize

#67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

230 ex google employees tried to form a union

Where do you see in the article that they aren't current Google employees?

The assumption is that the employees will be terminated, fired, let go, or quit because creating unions is really hard in the USA, especially in industry which has no precedent.

Re: A group of Google workers have announced plans to unionize

#68
post #15

This could be the beginning of tech stock market crash. If that effort succeeds that is

Less profits would go to shareholders, which could lower its stock price, but that doesn't mean the company would produce less. More share of profits going to employees could increase productivity and social good to the world. I'm not calling that result inevitable, but possible and up to the company leadership.

Re: A group of Google workers have announced plans to unionize

#69
post #56

I don't understand unions. If they don't like certain behaviors that are legal like selling to government or paying high salaries, why are they working there in the first place? Just quit. Different people like different things, so go work somewhere that suits you.

The way I see it, if unions did nothing, Google and Amazon wouldn't be working so hard to prevent them from forming.

Oh they do something, they help destroy a company’s ability to compete. Take a look at unionization of the auto industry in Detroit back in the 70s and 80s which basically killed our lead in the industry and gave it to Japan and Korean companies on a platter.

Re: A group of Google workers have announced plans to unionize

#70

Googler here, these articles are literally the first I've heard of it. No internal emails, rabblerousing, or any kind of comms about it, and it seems as though the union discussed doesn't actually exist yet. Seems a bit odd (and bad reporting), but we'll see where it goes. After watching how a mechanics union did absolutely nothing while CEOs ripped apart my Dad's pension and put him through hell, I have a bit of a d…

Not to put too fine a point on it, but usually the people who know about the union before it's announced are those who are understood to support the idea & are unlikely to go to management about it :)
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