Google must post notices about worker rights following labor board settlement

Google and its contractor Modis must post notices about worker rights at a data center in South Carolina as part of a settlement reached with the Alphabet Workers Union on Wednesday. 

The settlement follows an unfair labor practice charge the union filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in February alleging the company prohibited employees from discussing pay with coworkers and suspended a data center technician, Shannon Wait, for supporting the union. 

The official notices Google and Modis, part of the Adecco Group, must put up strongly state worker’s rights including that they have the right to join a union and discuss their wage rates.

The notice also states that the company will not discipline workers for discussing wages or for exercising their right to join a union and that all references to Wait’s suspension will be removed from Google’s files.

“I’m ecstatic at this settlement, it’s a huge win for me and all contract employees at Google and other Alphabet companies,” Wait said in a statement. “It’s far too easy for contractors like Modis to make us believe that we aren’t allowed to publicly discuss our working conditions or join unions, and Alphabet and Google turn a blind eye to this gaslighting. Now, because I had the support of my union to call them out on it, they’ll be forced to inform us all of our rights.”

Wait was reportedly reinstated the week after the union’s complaint was filed, and left the company several days later because her contract with Adecco was limited to two years, according to Bloomberg, which first reported on the settlement. 

Google and Adecco did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, Bloomberg reported. 

A spokesperson for Google did not immediately respond for comment. 

This is the first NLRB settlement involving the Alphabet Workers Union. 

The Alphabet Workers Union, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America, publicly launched in January. The union has said it isn’t seeking formal recognition or collective bargaining with Alphabet, Bloomberg noted.