Google workers form an international union alliance to hold the company accountable

Google workers have announced a new global union alliance to help create a more ethical and accountable company. The new union, Alpha Global, brings together more than 20 million workers from 10 countries: the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Finland, Sweden, the UK, and Belgium. Alpha Global is committed to: a) creating a common labour rights’ strategy amid workers; b) building local organisations that mirror the values and interests of the employees; c) fighting for the rights of employees and contractors; and d) calling on different trade unions to support Alphabet tech workers.

Global union alliances strengthen workers’ collective demands for rights and fair treatment. They push to raise labour standards throughout companies’ entire operations. Labour issues at Google are not restricted to one particular country and, therefore, they must be addressed on a global level, according to Christy Hoffman (UNI’s General Secretary). Hoffman added that ‘they [Alpha Global] are using their collective muscle to not only transform their conditions of employment, but also to address social issues caused by increasing concentration of corporate power.’