Four of our colleagues took a stand and organized for a better workplace. This is explicitly condoned in Google’s Code of Conduct, which ends: “And remember… don’t be evil, and if you see something that you think isn’t right — speak up.”
When they did, Google retaliated against them. Today, after putting two of them on sudden and unexplained leave, the company fired all four in an attempt to crush worker organizing.
Google hired a union-busting firm, so the olden days of The Pinkerton Detective Agency which never sleeps, the Homestead Strike, the Colorado Labor Wars, and other late 19th century and early 20th century battles between workers on one side, and factory owners, the government, and independent “security” agencies on the other, seem back in swing.
Not that it matters. Extremists will praise Google, centrists will excuse it away, and the rest will condemn Google, but keep using Google Search and Android anyway – and Google knows it.
In a corporatocracy, companies and their leaders are untouchable.
It’s funny when progressive companies and subjects crush working class’ rights.
In this and age of intentionally biased and fake political reporting, I just don’t assume anything until we know exactly what these fired people were doing (WRT both unionizing and anything outside that) to avoid rushing to conclusions.
Voice of sanity
“In a corporatocracy, companies and their leaders are untouchable.”
….. except if they date an employee. Strange days indeed!
Yeah, because if they do they get a $90 million payout as punishment.
“Yeah, because if they do they get a $90 million payout as punishment.”
Too true. It’s completely messed up.
What I love is how quickly FOSSies (and please note that there IS a difference between someone who simply uses FOSS and a FOSSie, a FOSS user uses what they consider best for their own needs while a FOSSie treats Linux and FOSS like a Scientologist treats LRH) will rush to defend Google because “OMG they use a Linux kernel and said don’t be evil!” like that stupid slogan actually was anything other than marketing BS.
But of course if Google WASN’T evil then Android would be as modular and easy to upgrade as the Linux its based on because Linux has been able to upgrade the OS and still use older drivers (including binary blobs) for…what something like 20 damn years now? This would cut down on HUGE amounts of eWaste choking the dumps and not leave millions upon millions at risk for having their devices hacked because the OEMs refuse to give a shit and support the devices they manufacture but of course if they did that then you could go in and turn off all the data slurping Google loves and you would have full control over your devices like with Linux…nope can’t have that.
Unions are not that great. I have friends who do consulting for companies and those with unionized workers have almost unequally worse workers. They are slow, lazy and don’t like to work in general. Not their fault really, when a worker knows they can’t be fired they simply don’t work as well.
Slavery was great. I have friends who do work with free worker and they tend to take week-ends off work, they keep asking for rises and they don’t like forced labor in general. They are slow and lazy. Not their fault really, when they know they won’t be beaten to death they simply don’t work as well.
Bootlicker, you don’t get unions, do you?