FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9AM PST Thursday, November 3, 2022
Press contact: press@alphabetworkersunion.org
(New York, New York)- On Thursday, November 3, 2022, Alphabet Workers Union-CWA formally filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against Alphabet, the Google parent company, along with Alphabet affiliates Accenture Flex and Crowd Staffing.
The charge details how workers have been prohibited by Alphabet from accessing an internal, worker-created spreadsheet that detailed Alphabet- and contractor-wide wages. The spreadsheet was created and shared amongst workers in an effort to ensure pay transparency across various subcontracted roles within the company. The blocked access by Alphabet is a clear violation of workers’ rights and part of a broader pattern of Alphabet curtailing workers' ability to access information and to participate in protected concerted activity.
“Every worker has the right to share their salaries and wages in order to ensure that we are all getting our fair share. When we had access to a shared spreadsheet we could see how across companies, workers were being paid vastly different amounts for their work. This is powerful information that we have a right to know and hope Alphabet does the right thing and returns access to all workers immediately. Alphabet and its many subcontractors must also commit to ending this practice of silencing workers attempting to discuss our wages and benefits on the job,” said Laura Greene, worker with Accenture Flex and member of the Alphabet Workers Union - Communications Workers of America (AWU-CWA).
In 2021, Temporary, Vendor, and Contract (TVC) workers at Alphabet created a “Share My Salary” spreadsheet where contract workers across the globe could submit their job titles and hourly wages or salaries. Hundreds of workers submitted information in an effort to arm their fellow workers with necessary information regarding pay ranges for various positions.
On July 11, 2022 and July 14, 2022 Alphabet withdrew access to a spreadsheet. AWU-CWA estimates that as many as 50,000 workers are now locked out of the file. Workers employed directly by Alphabet continue to have access to an employee-run “Share My Salary” spreadsheet.
“Once again, Alphabet is violating its own commitments to end the practice of preventing workers from discussing their wages and other working conditions. It’s clear that Alphabet and its various affiliates do not want workers to be armed with knowledge regarding pay rates across the company. Every Alphabet worker, including Temporary, Vendor and Contract workers, have a right to pay transparency and fair wages. We will continue to support workers fighting to exercise their basic rights on the job,” said Shelby Hunter, AWU-CWA Organizing Chair and Google Maps worker with Cognizant.
Alphabet Workers Union-CWA will continue to organize workers and support them as they fight to win real pay transparency and quality wages across employment classifications at Alphabet.