Alphabet union alleges contract workers were silenced about pay

The treatment of subcontracted workers and independent contractors, who in 2018 became the majority of Alphabet’s global workforce, has been another long-running topic of controversy. — Bloomberg

Google contract workers were banned from discussing their pay, and one was suspended for her labour activism, according to a complaint from the Alphabet Workers Union.

In a Thursday filing with the National Labor Relations Board, the union accused the Google vendor Adecco of violating US labour law by trying to silence employees. Management forbid employees at a datacentre in South Carolina from discussing their pay, according to the complaint. The managers also suspended a data technician because of a pro-union Facebook post, according to the union.