(Austin, Texas)—Today, Alphabet Workers Union-CWA members on the Google Help team secured a first collective contract with Google vendor Accenture, becoming the first group of AWU-CWA represented workers to bargain a collective contract and only the second group of Google office workers ever to do so.

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“We're proud to be one of the few tech contractors in the US to secure a collectively-bargained contract. Many large tech companies have moved away from directly employing workers to avoid providing the benefits and security that they deserve. We hope this contract demonstrates to all tech workers that it's possible to demand respect, fair treatment, and improve your working conditions,” said Mike Batilla, Lead Writer and member of Alphabet Workers Union-CWA.

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Reaching this contract sets a precedent for temporary, vendor, and contract workers in the tech industry, who too often receive the lowest wages and fewest protections of any tech workers, and whose numbers have been growing as the industry increasingly “vendorizes” its workforce. Now some of Alphabet’s most precarious workers have united to win meaningful protection against the further depression of their working conditions and security in an industry in flux. 

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Notable provisions of the contract include:

• Guaranteed fully remote work
• Six weeks of severance in the event of layoffs
• 30 day notice of layoffs
• A prohibition on keystroke and mouse monitoring software

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This group of subcontracted workers first organized to improve their working conditions in 2021 and afterward unionized with Alphabet Workers Union-CWA. On June 7, 2023, 118 Google Help workers voted overwhelmingly to form a union, but shortly thereafter Google laid off all but 40 of them. The 26 workers in the unit today persevered in the face of adversity and have won meaningful security for themselves and future coworkers. Accenture engaged with them at the bargaining table in good faith, and today AWU-CWA can announce a ratified contract that includes significant protections and improvements including guaranteed remote work, severance, just cause termination, and more. 

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“Today’s victory underscores the importance of solidarity across the artificial barriers which corporations increasingly rely on to lower labor standards and reduce worker power. This contract is proof that full time and contract workers can unite to secure meaningful protections and improvements at work and that the wall-to-wall, premajority union model can be a force for change in our industry,” said Parul Koul, Software Engineer and President of Alphabet Workers Union-CWA.

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These workers write, edit and publish updates to the Google Support site for new and existing Google products and features and create and publish materials for Google Support agents. 

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About Alphabet Workers Union-CWA

Alphabet Workers Union - CWA unites full-time employees, temporary employees, vendors, and contractors at Google and other Alphabet companies in the United States and Canada in collective action to ensure that our workplace is equitable and that Alphabet acts ethically. We are members of Communications Workers of America Local 9009 and currently represent over a thousand workers across Alphabet. Learn more at alphabetworkersunion.org or follow us at @AlphabetWorkers.