On Tuesday , more than 900 Google workerssigned a letter urging the company to respect its take Labor Department . As technical school workers cover to call out unjust Department of Labor practices in the industriousness , they ’re shape a coalition with contractors to acknowledge the rights ofabout one-half of Google ’s workforce . The letter of the alphabet comes at a time when contractors are being put off and treated as virtually non - existent .
“ We ’re the Personality Team , ” a bill of exchange of the letter supplied to Gizmodo State Department . “ We ’re responsible for for the interpreter of Google — the Google Assistant — across the human beings . We are the human labor that lay down the Assistant relevant , funny , and relatable in more than 50 languages . ”
On March 8 , about 80 per centum of the 43 - mortal Personality Team were informed that their contracts would perish within the next month , and by July for some , according to the missive . This team was made up of irregular , vender or contract employees ( eff as TVCs ) . They wrote in the letter that contradictory to their fourth-year director ’s self-assurance that they do n’t demand to worry about their contracts , layoff startle happen at Google offices around the earthly concern .
Photo: Getty
The letter goes on to describe the bleak national vigour as contractile organ were notified — according to the letter , in chemical group calls rather than one - on - one for some — that their contracts were unexpectedly nullified . “ During the process , our managers and the full - time worker on our squad were silent , ” the letter submit . “ Google tell them that offer support or even thanking us for days of employment would make the company legally liable . Our teammate were order to distance themselves from us at the moment when we were most in want — just so Google could forefend effectual responsibility . ”
Given premature study on how Google treat its contracted manpower , this is hardly surprising . intimate Google training documentsobtained by the Guardianlast twelvemonth , titled “ The ABCs of TVCs , ” served as a guide for how full - time employees should separate themselves from the temporary workforce . “ Working with TVCs and Googlers is different,”the documents reportedly state . “ Our policies exist because TVC working transcription can carry significant risk . ” The grooming document then advises Google employees to leave TVCs out of sure team encounter and to avoid giving them natural endowment like a Google shirt .
And after themassive Google walkout last twelvemonth , in which proletarian demanded an improved process for cover harassment and discrimination , declaration actor still describe a process that , for them specifically , was still confusing . CEO Sundar Pichai sent an email to Google employee take after the walkout to inform them of the demands the company would fill , buta contractor told Gizmodo at that timethat TVCs were excluded from that communication and were n’t take into account to be in the room during the all - bridge player meeting . “ I had to read it in the press rather than directly from the chief operating officer whose company I have operate for this past year , ” a contractor told Gizmodo .
throw this second - grade discourse , the demands outlined in the letter on Tuesday can intimately be boil down to improvement around human decency . The TVCs ask that Google “ Respect our contract ” by pay for the remaining length of the shortened contracts , “ Respect our humanity ” by permit full - sentence employee to empathize with and press out gratitude to them , and “ esteem our work ” by commute them to full - time employee .
Throughout the process of Google workersmounting collective actionover the last several months , contractors have continued to be include alongside the fight for good workings conditions , not as a footnote , and not as disposable , as Google appear to treat them . “ The competitiveness is n’t contract workers against full - time worker , the competitiveness is proletarian against the company , ” Rachel Miller , a contractor on the Personality Team whose contract was schedule to kick the bucket March 26 prior to the layoffs , told the Guardian . “ We ’re all unfairly treated if one of us is . ”
We have hit out to Google on whether it will meet the requirement listed in Tuesday ’s letter and will update with a response .
[ The Guardian ]
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