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The Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) has filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Alphabet vendor Hitachi, accusing its subsidiary GlobalLogic of illegally prohibiting contractors working on Google’s AI products from discussing wages.
As reported by Bloomberg, the union accused GlobalLogic of firing one contractor for attempting to start a conversation about pay.
The case, filed Tuesday, refers to some 1,800 employees who are contracted by Hitachi’s subsidiary to complete work including labeling, rating, and training for Google’s AI products.
How were Google contractors allegedly silenced on pay?
According to the complaint, GlobalLogic created a policy earlier in February after staffer Ricardo Levario – a task lead responsible for a team of AI “super-raters” - raised the topic of pay, circulating a survey from AWU about pay, benefits, and work conditions.
The union claims the policy banned any discussion about pay on GlobalLogic’s internal “online social spaces,” while other non-work conversations were permitted.
The complaint accuses GlobalLogic of subsequently firing Levario in line with the policy.
“It just makes me wonder what their stance is,” the AI contractor said. “We’re working on a product that is so valuable to Google… When we advocate for better conditions and challenge the status quo, we’re intimidated or fired.”
Management at the Hitachi subsidiary also reportedly deleted any posts on its internal forums that referenced working conditions and allegedly met with contractors to pressure them into silence on those topics, Levario added.
His sudden firing has “resulted in a chill” on the willingness of the 1,800 contractors to exercise their right to discuss pay and work conditions, the complaint argued.
AWU shared an audio recording with Bloomberg, in which a GlobalLogic manager appears to warn staffers against using internal channels to discuss content that “feels negative.”
“Talk around what’s fair, money and days off, and you know benefits and stuff like that, that’s not really something that is really work-appropriate to share with everyone – that’s more of a one-on-one thing,” the individual said.
The manager asked those present to instead use the channels to “share memes.”
“I want people to have a good time, share jokes,” the recording continued. “You know, that stuff is good for the soul, it helps you get through the workday, it’s fun… When it comes to ‘one-on-one issues,’ not everybody needs to be invited to that type of party.”
A legal right to discuss pay?
GlobalLogic is yet to publicly comment on the NLRB complaint, while a Google spokesperson told Bloomberg: “These individuals are employees of Hitachi, not Alphabet. As the employer, Hitachi is responsible for the employment conditions of their workers.”
Alphabet’s long-standing stance on contractors has been under scrutiny in recent months, including multiple legal complaints from the NLRB, which argue the tech giant is a "joint employer" of contract workers, a designation that would compel the company to engage in collective bargaining with worker’s unions and make it accountable for any violations of federal labor laws.
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The Google spokesperson said it chooses suppliers with care and audits each contractor’s compliance with its code of conduct.
Most of GlobalLogic’s Google contractors are not represented by AWU, but the union has historically lobbied Alphabet to ensure its vendors protect the legal rights of their staff.
Under US employment law, all employees – unionized or not – are permitted to discuss topics like pay and working conditions and to take collective action.
While unions like AWU did gain some ground with the NLRB under the Biden Administration, including rulings that found that Alphabet should be considered a joint employer, President Trump has already indicated his administration will take a more business-friendly stance.
Last month, he fired two Biden appointees to the NLRB, citing their stance on the contractor joint employer issue in a message that said he could not trust their judgment over employees’ interests.
Google has repeatedly denied that it exercises sufficient control over contract workers to qualify as their joint employer and has appealed the NLRB rulings.
The company has taken steps to tackle its perceived obligations, scrapping a $15-per-hour minimum wage for contractors and implementing other changes to limit union engagement.
