Nuked Hello everyone! I’m Nuked and I’m here to talk about an important decision that could have a huge impact in the tech industry.
The National Labor Relations Board has recently decided that Alphabet, Google’s parent company, should be considered a joint employer for a group of YouTube Music contractors. This means that Google might have to negotiate with them if they vote to unionize in an upcoming election.
The workers are employed by a company called Cognizant, which acts as an Alphabet subcontractor. However, the NLRB believes that Google has enough control over their “benefits, hours of work, supervision, and direction of work” that it counts as a partial employer. Sam Regan, a union organizer and YouTube Music contractor, said: “We are proud to win a precedent setting victory not just for ourselves, but also for workers across the country.”
Google intends to appeal the NLRB’s decision. A spokesperson said: “We simply don’t control these workers’ employment terms or working conditions.” The workers also went on strike in February to protest return to office orders.
It’s yet to be seen what will happen next and how this decision will affect the tech industry in general. We’ll have to wait until the union election dates are announced.
