learnedutoday
A complaint filed with the US National Labor Relations Board by a group of Alphabet Inc’s Google workers alleges that approximately 50 employees were unlawfully terminated for protesting the company’s cloud contract with the Israeli government. The complaint, submitted late Monday, asserts that Google violated the workers’ rights under US labor law to advocate for better working conditions by firing them.
Google disclosed this month that it had terminated 28 employees for disrupting work at unspecified office locations during protests against Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract shared with Amazon.com to provide cloud services to the Israeli government. Additionally, approximately 20 more workers were fired for protesting the contract while in the office.
In response, Google stated on Tuesday that the workers’ behavior was “completely unacceptable” and caused other employees to feel threatened and unsafe. The company emphasized that each terminated employee was directly involved in disruption inside their buildings.
The workers argue that Project Nimbus supports Israel’s development of military tools, though Google contends that the contract does not involve highly sensitive or military-related workloads.
Former Google employee Zelda Montes, who was arrested during a protest against Project Nimbus, stated that Google terminated workers to quash organizing efforts and convey a message to the workforce that dissent would not be tolerated. The complaint’s filers, represented by the organizing group No Tech For Apartheid, seek reinstatement with back pay and a commitment from Google to respect workers’ rights to organize.
The NLRB’s general counsel reviews complaints and seeks to settle meritorious claims. If settlement efforts fail, the general counsel can pursue cases before administrative judges and a five-member board appointed by the US president.
Haseeb Abdullah
