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Given this legal complaint is USA-based, it would be interesting to understand how ‘friendly’ Google is to unionised employees or employees organising unions in

Given this legal complaint is USA-based, it would be interesting to understand how ‘friendly’ Google is to unionised employees or employees organising unions in other countries (eg UK, France, Germany, Australia, etc) where it has a significant number of employees. Laws and perceptions on unionisation of staff obviously differ heavily on a per-country basis. edit: added last sentence

shadowgovt 6y ago
In other countries, employees enjoy different protections in general, and in general Google complies with the regulations of other countries regarding employment. This doesn't preclude them from making decisions that favor the company over individual employees' best interests if the law allows it, but I can't think of an example of Google breaking employment law in, for example, Germany.
izacus 6y ago
In Zurich it seems that they managed to organize a Workers council: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/bloomberg/google-agrees-to-worker-council-in-europe-amid-recurring-discord/45627678 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/bloomberg/google-agrees-to-work... Can't seem to find anything else.
- throwaways885 6y ago
  There is a Workers Council being formed in the London office too.
  - pmoriarty 6y ago
    How does a Workers Council differ from a union?
    - Youden 6y ago
      They're entirely different things. A Workers' Council is a legally recognized body representing employees of a single employer. It has very limited rights and duties, like being informed in the case of mass layoffs. A union is a body that represents workers in an entire industry. It can have whatever duties the employees feel like giving it.
      - pseudalopex 6y ago
        Unions can represent workers in a single company. Most countries have laws about the rights and duties.
mytailorisrich 6y ago
They are as friendly as the law makes them, like any other company. Note also that although France is often cited it actually has a very low unionisation rate, lower than the US, and e.g. the UK is massively more unionised. Unions are mostly active in the public sector. A specificity is that the right to strike is a constitutional right with quite lax requirements and it is a recurring debate that it is abused by unions. Union activity is also extremely protected so if you get elected as union rep it is virtually impossible to fire you for any reason.
KaiserPro 6y ago
In the UK firing someone for being a member of a union is unfair dismissal.
dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
There is a huge difference between unions in the US and Europe. When you organise a union in the US, you often do it in order to have some rights that employees in Europe already have. So normally there is little incentive to form such a union in Europe among white-collar workers.

shadowgovt 6y ago

In other countries, employees enjoy different protections in general, and in general Google complies with the regulations of other countries regarding employment. This doesn't preclude them from making decisions that favor the company over individual employees' best interests if the law allows it, but I can't think of an example of Google breaking employment law in, for example, Germany.

izacus 6y ago

In Zurich it seems that they managed to organize a Workers council: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/bloomberg/google-agrees-to-worker-council-in-europe-amid-recurring-discord/45627678 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/bloomberg/google-agrees-to-work... Can't seem to find anything else.

throwaways885 6y ago
There is a Workers Council being formed in the London office too.
- pmoriarty 6y ago
  How does a Workers Council differ from a union?
  - Youden 6y ago
    They're entirely different things. A Workers' Council is a legally recognized body representing employees of a single employer. It has very limited rights and duties, like being informed in the case of mass layoffs. A union is a body that represents workers in an entire industry. It can have whatever duties the employees feel like giving it.
    - pseudalopex 6y ago
      Unions can represent workers in a single company. Most countries have laws about the rights and duties.

mytailorisrich 6y ago

They are as friendly as the law makes them, like any other company. Note also that although France is often cited it actually has a very low unionisation rate, lower than the US, and e.g. the UK is massively more unionised. Unions are mostly active in the public sector. A specificity is that the right to strike is a constitutional right with quite lax requirements and it is a recurring debate that it is abused by unions. Union activity is also extremely protected so if you get elected as union rep it is virtually impossible to fire you for any reason.

KaiserPro 6y ago

In the UK firing someone for being a member of a union is unfair dismissal.

dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago

There is a huge difference between unions in the US and Europe. When you organise a union in the US, you often do it in order to have some rights that employees in Europe already have. So normally there is little incentive to form such a union in Europe among white-collar workers.