A technician disconnects the cable from the truck and installs Google Fiber.
George Frey | Reuters
A Google Fiber contractor in Kansas City, Missouri, resolved to form a union on Friday, becoming the first worker to negotiate under the Alphabet Workers Union.
A group of 10 full-time workers are employed by BDS Connected Solutions through Alphabet and work at Google Fiber retail stores, a project that provides high-speed Internet access to 19 US markets.
Last month, after Google and the BDS did not agree to voluntarily permit, workers at the Google Fiber site petitioned the National Labor Relations Commission for formal union approval. Workers told CNBC that they were facing union-crushing efforts leading up to voting.
The National Labors Relations Board has counted and approved Friday’s March votes. The 9-to-1 vote is the first to unite Google workers under the Alphabet Workers Union, which was founded alongside the Communications Workers of America (CWA) a year ago, amid heightened tensions between workers and Google’s leadership. The place.
The Alphabet Workers Union currently has more than 800 members in various parts of the company, but otherwise it operates on a “minority union” model and therefore has no right to negotiate with leadership.
Workers in Kansas City have the right to negotiate, but the union’s ability to gain bargaining power can motivate other groups of workers to pursue their elections.
“Our campaign faced a number of efforts to discourage us from exercising our collective voice at work. BDS Connected Solutions and Google Fiber retail associate Eris Derickson said on Friday. Stated in a statement. “”We all enjoy working with Google Fiber, taking a seat in negotiations with BDS Connected Solutions, setting new standards in the workplace and improving the experience for both employees, customers and businesses. looking forward to it. “
The driving force behind Google Fiber’s Unite the Union is part of a broader movement in the tech industry that is slowly gaining momentum. Amazon workers in several locations, including warehouses in Alabama, are trying to form a union. There, we are voting a second time on whether to form a union. Employee votes from another drive on Staten Island, New York, count on Monday.
A Google spokeswoman told CNBC, “We have many contracts with both union and non-union suppliers and we respect our employees’ right to choose whether to join the union.” .. “The decision to join the Communications Workers of America for these contractors is a matter between workers and their employer, the BDS Solutions Group.”
A spokesperson for BDS Connected Solutions couldn’t comment immediately.