5 ms·

I had recently joined the Alphabet Workers Union, the union of now almost 1,000 workers across all Alphabet companies, including Google. I told them my story an

I had recently joined the Alphabet Workers Union, the union of now almost 1,000 workers across all Alphabet companies, including Google. I told them my story and they advised that I get a lawyer. Wait, Unions in the USA don't have a legal office to help workers with this kind of legal problems? Or is this specific to AWU?

whimsicalism 4y ago
Specific to AWU, I'd imagine - as it's not a "real union"
- zaphar 4y ago
  They are a real union. They just don't have a union contract with Google so it's a real union without teeth.
  - whimsicalism 4y ago
    It is not recognized or registered with the NLRB, they don't merely not have a contract - they do not have the legal right to negotiate a contract either.
    - zaphar 4y ago
      The technical term is a "minority union" all unions start as minority unions. It's the first part of a union's lifecycle. To register with the NRLB they need to reach a certain percentage of employees. 30% I believe is the correct number at which elections can be held. After a successful election then the NLRB can certify your Union as a collective bargaining representative. Collective bargaining is an NRLB process so you are right that until they reach the correct benchmark of members, hold an election, and get registered they can't participate in collective bargaining. Minority Unions are still unions though. They are just new ones that have just started their lifecycle. They are a union but one without teeth.
      - whimsicalism 4y ago
        Eh, I'm not sure that is an accurate description of what has happened. "Minority unions" as AWU has structured itself are not a typical part of the "union's lifecycle" - usually a central union organization will organize a vote drive but at no point is it a "member's only"/minority union at the company. There are notable exceptions like UAW Local 42.
  - nemo44x 4y ago
    No one considers them a real union. It’s more of a social club of upper middle class people that want to pretend they are revolutionaries or something. People used to form bowling teams with coworkers. I guess this is the new version of that.
    - astrange 4y ago
      Most revolutionaries are upper middle class. That's the disaffected elite theory of political change.
zaphar 4y ago
The power of a Union is entirely in it's ability to negotiate with the company. Your typical union you hear on the news has the power it has because of the contract their members entered into with the Company. In the case of AWU they have not negotiated a contract with Google and as a result have no legal recourse. They only power they have is PR activity.
- thomasahle 4y ago
  > The power of a Union is entirely in it's ability to negotiate with the company. I often hear this misunderstanding in the US. Of course it's a within the power of a union to hire lawyers who can help defend its members against the cooperation within the rules of the law. In fact, to highly paid employees like tech workers, this kind of legal support is much more valuable than wage negotiation. Having somebody you can reach out to, who know the company well, and don't charge you a lot of money, is super valuable and why I wish more tech companies had unions.
  - smsm42 4y ago
    That'd be essentially a group legal insurance plan - something many employers offer anyway - and you don't really need a union to join one (or offer one, if you wanted to).
    - throwaway2048 4y ago
      I very much doubt companies are going to pay for your lawyers to sue them with.
      - smsm42 4y ago
        Legal plan is usually provided by the third party and paid by the employee. The company essentially just rents out the placement in their HR system - but the same plan may be also available independently, there's nothing forcing it to go through the HR specifically.
    - whimsicalism 4y ago

whimsicalism 4y ago

Specific to AWU, I'd imagine - as it's not a "real union"

zaphar 4y ago
They are a real union. They just don't have a union contract with Google so it's a real union without teeth.
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  It is not recognized or registered with the NLRB, they don't merely not have a contract - they do not have the legal right to negotiate a contract either.
  - zaphar 4y ago
    The technical term is a "minority union" all unions start as minority unions. It's the first part of a union's lifecycle. To register with the NRLB they need to reach a certain percentage of employees. 30% I believe is the correct number at which elections can be held. After a successful election then the NLRB can certify your Union as a collective bargaining representative. Collective bargaining is an NRLB process so you are right that until they reach the correct benchmark of members, hold an election, and get registered they can't participate in collective bargaining. Minority Unions are still unions though. They are just new ones that have just started their lifecycle. They are a union but one without teeth.
    - whimsicalism 4y ago
      Eh, I'm not sure that is an accurate description of what has happened. "Minority unions" as AWU has structured itself are not a typical part of the "union's lifecycle" - usually a central union organization will organize a vote drive but at no point is it a "member's only"/minority union at the company. There are notable exceptions like UAW Local 42.
- nemo44x 4y ago
  No one considers them a real union. It’s more of a social club of upper middle class people that want to pretend they are revolutionaries or something. People used to form bowling teams with coworkers. I guess this is the new version of that.
  - astrange 4y ago
    Most revolutionaries are upper middle class. That's the disaffected elite theory of political change.

zaphar 4y ago

The power of a Union is entirely in it's ability to negotiate with the company. Your typical union you hear on the news has the power it has because of the contract their members entered into with the Company. In the case of AWU they have not negotiated a contract with Google and as a result have no legal recourse. They only power they have is PR activity.

thomasahle 4y ago
> The power of a Union is entirely in it's ability to negotiate with the company. I often hear this misunderstanding in the US. Of course it's a within the power of a union to hire lawyers who can help defend its members against the cooperation within the rules of the law. In fact, to highly paid employees like tech workers, this kind of legal support is much more valuable than wage negotiation. Having somebody you can reach out to, who know the company well, and don't charge you a lot of money, is super valuable and why I wish more tech companies had unions.
- smsm42 4y ago
  That'd be essentially a group legal insurance plan - something many employers offer anyway - and you don't really need a union to join one (or offer one, if you wanted to).
  - throwaway2048 4y ago
    I very much doubt companies are going to pay for your lawyers to sue them with.
    - smsm42 4y ago
      Legal plan is usually provided by the third party and paid by the employee. The company essentially just rents out the placement in their HR system - but the same plan may be also available independently, there's nothing forcing it to go through the HR specifically.
  - whimsicalism 4y ago