Google childcare workers circulate petition for commute pay

An Android statue wearing a mask on the Google campus in Mountain View, California, US. Employees said they’ve been trying for weeks to raise the transportation issue with managers, and been told to handle it themselves through solutions like carpooling. — Bloomberg

Google’s workers who provide childcare and education for staffers’ kids say the Internet giant is summoning them back to the office without restoring the shuttle service they rely on, and they’re circulating a petition urging the Alphabet Inc unit to provide a transportation stipend to cover commuting costs.

“Shifting this cost to essential workers, who earn far less than the Googlers whose children they care for, is unacceptable,” according to the petition, which members of the Alphabet Workers Union drafted and began circulating Friday. “Google can be an extraordinary problem solver, but is choosing not to solve this problem for its childcare workers.”