Unionized YouTube Music employees axed during ongoing city council meeting
In a surprising turn of events, Google laid off unionized YouTube Music workers in Austin, Texas, during a city council meeting last week. The council was set to discuss a resolution urging Google to negotiate with the workers' union. However, as union member Jack Benedict spoke, his colleague Katie Marner interrupted, revealing, "Not to interrupt, but they just laid us all off. Our jobs are ended today. Effective immediately." Consequently, the resolution was postponed.
Reactions from Austin City Council members
Austin City Council members reacted to the sudden layoffs. Mayor Kirk Preston Watson said, "I'm sorry, your time has expired, but we'll follow up on this." Councilwoman Vanessa Fuentes also expressed solidarity with the laid-off workers and criticized Google's actions. She said, "While I'm disappointed to learn about the postponement, I just wanna express my solidarity with the YouTube workers. You have my support and shame on Google for what they did this morning laying off the team."
Resolution aimed at supporting workers' rights
The resolution aimed to encourage Google "to engage in negotiations with the union representing the YouTube Music Content Operations Team" and show a "commitment to supporting workers' rights." The unexpected layoffs have drawn attention to the ongoing fight for fair treatment and representation in the tech industry. Despite the resolution's postponement, support from city council members emphasizes the need to address workers' rights in today's fast-paced technology landscape.
The union was protesting low pay
In February 2023, the YouTube Music team went on strike to protest Google's decision to crackdown on working remotely. "Even as workers contribute to the success of the billion dollar platform, they are paid as little as $19 an hour and receive minimal benefits," the Alphabet Workers Union claimed. The union said the pay was so low, that certain members had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
The team voted to unionize last year
In April 2023, 41 out of 49 workers employed with YouTube Music in Austin, voted to unionize. Technically, they were Cognizant employees, a Google subtractor. This made it possible for the team to unionize. However, in spite of their successful election, Google refused bargaining with them and argued that they should negotiate instead with Cognizant. To note, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that Google has to negotiate with all unionized contract workers.
'Cognizant responsible for workers' employment terms'
Speaking to 404 Media about the layoffs, Google said, "As we've shared before, these are not Google employees. Cognizant is responsible for these workers' employment terms, including staffing." "As is the case here, contracts with our suppliers across the company routinely end on their natural expiry date, which was agreed to with Cognizant," they added. The company claimed the laid-off employees will get seven weeks of paid time to "explore other roles within the organization."
