More than 200 Google Alphabet employees have taken steps to create a union, the first of its kind for an American tech giant and a rarity for Internet companies in general.
Google employees said the union will give them more room to voice concerns about discriminatory practices at the company and how it addresses issues such as online hate speech.
The move follows strikes and other staff actions in recent years and just weeks after Google fired a senior black AI and ethics researcher, sparking outrage.
The Labor Union Initiative was organized by Google Software Engineers and is open to all employees in the United States and Canada, including temporary workers and contractors.
All members of the new union will contribute about 1% of their wages.
“We want Alphabet to be a company where employees have a say in decisions that affect us and the society in which we live,” the organizers wrote on Twitter.
