Google Unlawfully Refused to Recognize Union, NLRB Finds

Google illegally failed to bargain with a union of YouTube employees, according to a recent decision from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). On Jan. 3, the agency ordered Google to recognize and bargain with the union as a joint employer.

Google owns YouTube, a San Bruno, Calif.-based video sharing service with about 2,800 employees.

We’ve gathered a group of articles on the news from SHRM Online and other trusted sources.

Google Says It Wasn’t Joint Employer

A group of YouTube Music content operation workers voted 41-0 last April to join the Alphabet Workers Union, which was formed three years ago. Google claimed that it did not have enough control over the YouTube workers to be considered a joint employer that must bargain with their union. The NLRB rejected that argument.

Google said in a statement that it would ask a federal appeals court to review the NLRB's ruling.

(Reuters)

Separate NLRB Complaint

The YouTube workers, based in Texas, were hired via the staffing agency Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.

The Alphabet Workers Union filed a complaint with the NLRB early last year, accusing Alphabet and Cognizant of responding to the union campaign by making threats, transferring work abroad and using new return-to-office rules to try to derail organizing. Cognizant has said the allegations have no merit. That complaint is still pending.

“We have no objection to these Cognizant employees electing to form a union. We simply believe it’s only appropriate for Cognizant, as their employer, to engage in collective bargaining. We’re appealing the NLRB’s joint employer decision to federal court as Google does not control the employment terms or conditions of these Cognizant workers,” said Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini.

The treatment of contract workers has been a constant point of contention for Alphabet, Google’s parent company, which relies heavily on staffing firms. Contract staff became the majority of the company’s global workforce in 2018, and the Alphabet Workers Union, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America, has been pushing to organize both those workers and Alphabet’s direct employees since it launched in 2021.

(Bloomberg)

Similar Case in 2023

Google’s position that it is not the employer of its contract workers is a stance it has taken before without success.

A group of contractors for Search and Bard, the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot, voted to unionize in November 2023 after the NLRB ruled to classify Google as a joint employer with contractor company Accenture. Google is appealing that decision.

(CNN)

NLRB Alters Joint Employer Standard

On Oct. 26, 2023, ​the NLRB released a final rule to provide a broadened standard for when two employers that conduct business together are considered to be joint employers. The new rule states that two entities are considered joint employers if they share or co-determine the employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment.

If two entities are joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act, both must bargain with the union that represents the workers, both are potentially liable for unfair labor practices committed by the other, and both are subject to union picketing or other economic pressure if there is a labor dispute.

The rule will take effect on Feb. 26.

(SHRM Online and SHRM Online)

Congress Reacts

​Republican lawmakers in Congress introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the NLRB’s new joint employer rule. In a joint statement, the legislators said the rule jeopardizes the franchise business model by giving franchisers extra liability. They said the rule creates legal uncertainty for small and local businesses, leading to higher operational costs and less opportunity to create jobs.

(SHRM Online)