Google contract workers demand better pay and benefits

Google contract workers, internally referred to as Temporary, Vendor and Contractors (TVCs, are seeking better, equal treatment. That entails better pay and access to benefits, as well as better access to company-wide information. In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, they allege Google “routinely denies TVCs access to information that is relevant to our jobs and our lives.”

For example, when there was a shooting at YouTube this past April, TVCs say Google only sent out updates to full-time employees. They say they were also left out of the town hall discussion the following the day.

“The exclusion of TVCs from important communications and fair treatment is part of a system of institutional racism, sexism, and discrimination,” they wrote in the letter. “TVCs are disproportionately people from marginalized groups who are treated as less deserving of compensation, opportunities, workplace protections, and respect. We wear different badges from full-time employees, which reinforces this arbitrary and discriminatory separation. Even when we’re doing the same work as full-time employees, these jobs routinely fail to provide living wages and often offer minimal benefits.”

As Bloomberg reported in July, Google’s TVCs make up more than half of the company’s total staff. They handle a variety of jobs, including serving meals, testing self-driving cars and managing teams.

This comes after Google conceded to some of the employee’s demands in the aftermath of sexual harassment and assault allegations. While Google did make some changes, the company did not address all of the organizers’ demands. For example, Google failed to elevate its chief diversity officer to report directly to Pichai and also ignored the organizers’ request to add an employee representative to the board of directors.

I’ve reached out to Google and will update this story if I hear back.