The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that Google’s refusal to bargain with a group of unionized YouTube Music contractors was illegal. The three-member panel decided that despite denials by Google, which owns YouTube Music, and its subcontractor Cognizant, the two are, in fact, joint employers of the Austin-based workers who perform data-related tasks, like finding errors in its charts algorithm.
“At all material times, respondents Cognizant and Google have jointly determined the basic terms and conditions of employment for employees at the E. Parmer Lane facility and have been joint employers,” the board wrote in its decision (PDF).
Google’s troubles with its YouTube Music contractor began last year, when 40 employees employed by Cognizant voted to join the Alphabet workers union. Their main concern is that YouTube Music requires hourly workers to return to its Austin, Texas, office rather than work remotely. These contractors, who earn wages as low as $19 an hour, include many hired remotely, arguing that the additional costs of childcare and transportation mean returning to the office is simply not feasible.
It’s a familiar turn of events for Alphabet’s Google. Back in November, the National Labor Relations Board issued a similar ruling against a group of Bard and search contractors that voted to unionize, naming Google and Accenture as joint employers. Google subsequently chose to appeal the NLRB’s decision and appears to be doing the same today: Bloomberg The company plans to appeal the federal court ruling, the report said.
New NLRB rules that take effect in December will make it harder for companies like Google to claim they are not responsible for handling union work by third-party contractors. This replaces Trump-era rules on joint employers, effectively making it easier for unions to organize contract and franchise workers — much to the chagrin of big tech companies that have increasingly relied on unions. Under the new ruling, companies such as Google or Amazon will be considered joint employers of contract workers if they control working conditions such as wages, scheduling, discipline and other factors.
