The new union at Google aims to strengthen the growing labor movement at the company and serve as a vehicle for workers to voice their concerns. On Monday, more than 400 Google employees and contractors announced that they had formed the Alphabet Workers Union , a significant milestone in the tech worker movement at the company and in Silicon Valley. Read Full Story

Biden tweets in support of workers forming workplace unions amid Amazon workers' vote to unionize.

A new survey finds that a large cross-section of people agree that workers shouldn’t be fired for protesting unsafe conditions—and support for unions is growing, as well. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it painfully clear how small of a voice many American workers have in how their workplaces are run. Essential employees from grocery store workers to garbage collectors have been forced to do their jobs without necessary safety measures that they’ve demanded. Gig and domestic workers, without any labor safety nets at all, have had to choose between going to work, at the risk of their own and others’ health, or going without any income at all. But the spotlight on these issues could also be the inspiration for new fights for worker power. Read Full Story

Former employees said they were aggressively placed under surveillance and forced to pee in bottles to meet quotas.

A unionization vote at an Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, could have far-reaching consequences for the commerce giant—and America’s labor movement. This article was produced by Capital & Main, an award-winning journalism nonprofit. It is co-published here with permission. Read Full Story

But instead of individual contract disputes, the union hopes to give structure to the increasing activism among employees against Google’s more questionable actions. The first new thing out from Google in 2021 is something you wouldn’t expect–a union. However, Google the company isn’t responsible for it. Rather, Google’s new union was launched by hundreds of its workers who planned its birth for over a year, reports The New York Times . Read Full Story

Posted by MiriamEllis   Image credit: Robert Couse-Baker Before all else, gratitude to every delivery person, whether in-house or third party, doing the essential work of keeping households safer and supplied in these times. I’m dedicating today’s column to the manager of a nearby Sprouts grocery store who personally drove my order to my door when an Instacart driver just couldn’t get the job done. If your business or clients are weighing whether to fulfill delivery in-house or partner with a third party, my small experience is an apt footnote to the huge, emergent debate over last-mile fulfillment options. I’d searched all over town for scarce potatoes, finally arranging by phone with the local Sprouts market to hold their last two bags for me one morning, and texting the Instacart driver about where the spuds were being held. Next: For whatever reason, the driver chose not to retrieve them, …

Posted by MiriamEllis   Image credit: Robert Couse-Baker Before all else, gratitude to every delivery person, whether in-house or third party, doing the essential work of keeping households safer and supplied in these times. I’m dedicating today’s column to the manager of a nearby Sprouts grocery store who personally drove my order to my door when an Instacart driver just couldn’t get the job done. If your business or clients are weighing whether to fulfill delivery in-house or partner with a third party, my small experience is an apt footnote to the huge, emergent debate over last-mile fulfillment options. I’d searched all over town for scarce potatoes, finally arranging by phone with the local Sprouts market to hold their last two bags for me one morning, and texting the Instacart driver about where the spuds were being held. Next: For whatever reason, the driver chose not to retrieve them, …

Vote counting is ongoing—but there are a large number of contested ballots, which could delay the final results by weeks. It’s been 11 days since Amazon workers in the Bessemer, Alabama fulfillment facility cast their votes on whether to unionize. With the caveat that votes are still being counted, it is now becoming clearer whether the vote to unionize will succeed, and potentially send shockwaves through the retail and e-commerce industries. Unfortunately for those supporting unionization, it looks like the effort may fail. Here’s what you need to know: Read Full Story

A new poll about the COVID-19 vaccine indicates new comfort and enthusiasm.