Alphabet illegally refused to negotiate with YouTube contract staff, Labor board rules

The Alphabet union filed a complaint with the NLRB early last year accusing Alphabet and Cognizant of responding to the union campaign by making threats, transferring work abroad and using new return-to-office rules to try to derail organising. — Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash

Alphabet Inc. has illegally refused to negotiate with a group of YouTube Music contract workers who voted to unionise, the US labor board ruled.

The Wednesday decision, issued by a panel of three members of the National Labor Relations Board, tees up a federal court battle over whether the internet company is legally the boss of subcontracted staff it claims are not its employees.