Thousands of Google's Cafeteria Workers Unionized (washingtonpost.com) 33
This week as America celebrated Labor Day, the Washington Post told the story of how 4,000 cafeteria workers at Google quietly unionized during the pandemic:
Google is famous for its cafeterias, which serve its legions of programmers and product managers everything from vegan poke to gourmet tacos — free. But the cooks and servers behind those meals are generally contractors who work for other companies, and do not get the generous perks and benefits reserved for Google employees. So over the past few years, thousands of them have unionized, securing higher wages, retirement benefits and free platinum health care coverage.
Unite Here, a 300,000-member union of hotel and food service workers, has been steadily working to unionize Silicon Valley cafeteria workers since 2018, experiencing the most success at Google. Employed by the contract companies Compass and Guckenheimer, those unionized now make up about 90 percent of total food services workers at Google, according to the union. Workers have unionized at 23 Google offices nationwide, including in Seattle and San Jose.
Now, the union is tackling new territory: the South.... Google workers in Atlanta employed by a different cafeteria company — Sodexo — presented their manager with a list of demands and said they plan to unionize.... [Last week] Sodexo and the union reached an agreement: Should a majority of workers choose to unionize, Sodexo would not try to block it.
The article notes that more than 230 Starbucks locations have also voted to unionize since last year. But Google offers a case study in the difference it can make, according to the Post's summary of observations from D. Taylor, the president of Unite Here.
"The average unionized worker at a Google cafeteria makes $24 an hour, pays little to nothing for health insurance and has access to a pension plan. At Sodexo-run Google cafeterias, workers make $15 an hour and pay premiums in the hundreds of dollars, Taylor said."
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader SpzToid for sharing the story.
Unite Here, a 300,000-member union of hotel and food service workers, has been steadily working to unionize Silicon Valley cafeteria workers since 2018, experiencing the most success at Google. Employed by the contract companies Compass and Guckenheimer, those unionized now make up about 90 percent of total food services workers at Google, according to the union. Workers have unionized at 23 Google offices nationwide, including in Seattle and San Jose.
Now, the union is tackling new territory: the South.... Google workers in Atlanta employed by a different cafeteria company — Sodexo — presented their manager with a list of demands and said they plan to unionize.... [Last week] Sodexo and the union reached an agreement: Should a majority of workers choose to unionize, Sodexo would not try to block it.
The article notes that more than 230 Starbucks locations have also voted to unionize since last year. But Google offers a case study in the difference it can make, according to the Post's summary of observations from D. Taylor, the president of Unite Here.
"The average unionized worker at a Google cafeteria makes $24 an hour, pays little to nothing for health insurance and has access to a pension plan. At Sodexo-run Google cafeterias, workers make $15 an hour and pay premiums in the hundreds of dollars, Taylor said."
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader SpzToid for sharing the story.
america has sodexo too? (Score:3)
America has sodexo too? haha sux 2 b u.
Seriously though I don't get how these outsourcing companies are so popular. In order to get comparable quality to insourcing they have to be continuously managed and cajoled, thereby replacing managing a cafes with managing sodexo as a department's full time job.
This isn't some small thing where you outsource the once-per-week office cleaning. If you're big enough to use sodexo, you have the equivalent of many full time staff.
Re: america has sodexo too? (Score:3)
The thing with being a contractor though, is they could always lose the contract to someone else.
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The thing with being a contractor though, is they could always lose the contract to someone else.
Not if you sign a 10 year contract!
Plus also, changing contractors frequently is even more managerial work, increasing still further the downsides.
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It lets you advertise good benefits (Score:3)
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without providing them to all your employees. In America your entire quality of life is tied to your job.
So it's like the large webpage section of every company that talks about how it cares for your mental health?
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Libertarian edgelord being edgy.
Re: It lets you advertise good benefits (Score:1)
Why shouldn't it be?
Why should it be tied to the fruits of everyone ELSE'S labour?
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Looks like it. They were a bunch of contract-breaking, illegal contracts, employee busting bastards when I dealt with them in an oilfield trade union, No surprise to see they're operating in America too. They're such scumbags, they'd fit right in there.
We'd "see them in court" (actually, industrial tribunal) on a weekly basis. They still found it cheaper to take it to "court" than to comply with the law, and whenever the Tribunal chief told the head of Sodexo's legal
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At one point Sodexo were even providing food for the US Marines. I think they lost that contract in the great Freedom Fries kerfuffel.
Long term employment (Score:3)
Now more workers are looking long term. Unions not only provide wages and benefits now, but job security. Which befits the broad range of worker that staggering large corporations need. They are only so many trust fund kids in the world.
We called them Lifers (Score:1, Interesting)
Our labor law require every individual workplace to vote though. That's by
Dude you're back?! (Score:2)
Anyway welcome back to slash Dot.
grocery stores have been union for an long time (Score:2)
grocery stores have been union for an long time not all of them but the bigger ones are.
Don't be evil? (Score:4, Insightful)
They should have been unionized in 1998, if "Don't be evil" was anything but a joke the first time it conflicted with money.
Nothing to do with Google (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Nothing to do with Google (Score:5, Insightful)
These employees are not Google employees. They just happen to be on location at Google and probably many other companies. They are employed by the contracting companies. Hey its a blatant lie but it is good for clicks.
None of which stopped Google from knowingly doing business with those scummy contracting companies. There is no functional difference between Google paying slave wages and Google knowingly doing business with contract companies that pay slave wages.
In a similar scenario... (Score:2)
So changes need to be made and the baggage handlers might finally get some union representation soon.
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Nothing to do with Google
These employees are not Google employees. They just happen to be on location at Google and probably many other companies.
So, you're saying they just turned up of their own accord and started making food without google having any thing to do with it? Perhaps google should start charging them for space!
Livin' in the parking Google lot. (Score:2)
Drink more electrolytes! (Score:1)
Drinking more ions is good for those who are unionized.
How necessary are they? (Score:1)
With as many people as there are working remote now, I am kind of amazed to hear Google cafeterias are even still open!
I guess maybe some people rely on eating only Google food to afford rent...
Still I am surprised the cafeteria workers jobs are stable enough that the can be unionized without being booted.
Slanted Article (Score:2)
Automation! (Score:2)
Miso Robotics to the rescue.