Google Union in Turmoil Following Global Alliance Announcement
31st January 2021
The Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) is in turmoil following the announcement of an international alliance on Monday. The alliance, Alpha Global, was billed as a worker-led initiative, but union members in the US say they didn’t know about it until The Verge published an exclusive. That piece included a press release quote from AWU executive council member Parul Koul, which she says she didn’t write.
The news was an unwelcome surprise to union members who expect the Alphabet Workers Union to run democratically. Now, multiple sources tell The Verge that some AWU organizers are considering pushing the group to disaffiliate from the Communications Workers of America (CWA), a national union representing workers in telecommunications and media. AWU has also set up a committee to investigate CWA’s role in the announcement.
They’re learning the basic lesson of a trade union: Eventually it evolves into a scam where the leadership uses it as a vehicle for power and wealth and the actual interests of the workers wind up in the trash. (You never hear of the Mafia trying to take over a local Chamber of Commerce, do you?)