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Ned McNally, a temporary worker at Google’s data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, received a notification in August that he would receive a $200 weekly bonus until the end of the year for working a full week. It was a nod to the labor shortages that devastated businesses during the pandemic.
But by October, Mr. McNally and about 250 other data center employees stopped receiving payments despite meeting the weekly attendance threshold.
According to an email sent to employees of Modis, a unit of Google’s largest recruiting agency Adecco, the payment raised a red flag to Google executives and the bonus program has been halted. Then on October 27, Modis said that the extra pay was discontinued and workers would not be reimbursed for weeks worked a full 40 hours.
What happened next was unusual for many workers and contractors in the tech industry: Google and the staffing agency backed out.
Mr. McNally is one of Google’s temporary employees. Alphabet Workers Unionwas established this year to protect employees and force the company to act ethically. The union now has more than 800 members — still less than 1 percent of the company’s workforce — made up of full-time workers as well as temporary workers and contractors.
After the bonus program was shelved, Alphabet syndicate members working temporarily in Google data centers began organizing a coordinated response last week to protest Modis’ decision. But last Friday, the company said it was continuing the program.
McNally, 27, who earns $15 an hour as a data center technician and joined the union when he started working at the Google facility in March, said: “The union definitely strengthened people’s determination to stand up for the fight.”
Workers bombarded management with more than 100 messages and emails demanding explanations for why they were not getting paid. They also held a video conference to discuss what more could be done, including writing a letter to 130 workers outlining their grievances. Some workers even discussed stopping a job that would be quite unusual in the tech industry.
Minutes before the scheduled video conference with the syndicate, the Modis manager sent another message announcing the end of the bonus program. He said payments will resume next week, temporary workers will receive reimbursement, and the program will continue until December 19.
It is unclear whether the threat of labor action played a role in Modis’ announcement to reverse his decision. Modis did not respond to a request for comment.
Modis provides many temporary employees working in Google’s 14 data centers in the USA. Most of the facilities in the states Where Google doesn’t have large offices and is in remote locations with access to cheap, renewable energy. When lobbying politicians, Google often cites these centers as examples of company-created business.
Google said in a written statement that the $200 weekly bonus program was set up by Modis and was “temporarily suspended” due to a “billing error and miscommunication”. In the statement, it was stated that the problem was resolved and the workers began to receive the bonuses.
The organized response provided a template for how labor unions of well-paid and well-treated workers at tech companies could use their power to support their workplace rights, as armies of temporary workers and contractors work for them. The union told temporary members it would support any action they chose to take, and helped draft a potential letter as well as support to help organize Modis workers.
Parul Koul, chairman of the board of the Alphabet Workers Union, said the events “showed how Google’s two-tier employment system was designed to exploit workers” and was “to get workforces from contractors like Modis workers who provide essential services.” To Google and other Alphabet subsidiaries.”
For years, Google has relied on a large workforce of temporary and contract staff to meet its workforce needs. Although Google’s parent company Alphabet has more than 150,000 full-time employees, the number of temporary and contractors exceeds that figure. It is largely up to companies like Adecco to procure and manage these workers to free the company from an employer’s legal obligations.
This wasn’t the first time Google and its staffing organizations had low-paid temporary workers. Earlier this year, Google acknowledged that this is happening. using legacy pay rates for temps possible violation of equal pay laws in many countries of the world.
Jade Coleman, 19, said in July that they began working temporarily for Modis at Google’s Iowa data center. They say their work in diagnosing the facility’s computer hardware is exactly the same as what Google’s full-time employees do at the facility. They have a three month contract and were told three days before they expired whether their contract would be renewed.
“I go out and do the same job as full-time Googlers,” they said. “But I am seen as a little more disposable.”
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