WCA March 2020

From the Americas The final modification of the aircraft will feature narrower, lighter wings fitted with 14 electric engines – six smaller “lift” propellers along the leading edge of each wing, plus a larger “cruise” propeller at the tip of each wing. Mr Cobleigh explained that electric motor systems are more compact, and with fewer moving parts, than internal combustion engines, so are simpler to maintain and weigh less, requiring less energy to fly. “They are also quieter than conventional engines,” he added. Due to present battery limitations, the Maxwell’s design is envisioned for use in short-haul flights as an air-taxi or as a small commuter plane. Tension among workers hits Silicon Valley There has been a remarkable change in fortunes for a company once considered a standard for the modern workplace. Google introduced many of the employment perks that are now common for Silicon Valley, and its promotion of transparent relations between workers and management has influenced a generation of entrepreneurs. However, in late November Google fired four employees for what it described as violations of its policies around accessing and sharing internal documents, and some workers are claiming the move is part of a concerted effort by management to suppress the company’s previously “freewheeling” culture. Google recently cancelled a regular series of companywide meetings that allowed workers to pose questions to senior executives and began working with a consulting firm that has helped companies quell unionisation efforts. A memo sent by Google’s security and investigations team told employees that the company had dismissed the four employees “for clear and repeated violations of our data security policies.” The dismissals are expected to exacerbate problems between management and a contingent of workers who have protested the company’s handling of sexual harassment, its treatment of contract employees, and its work with the Defense Department, federal border agencies and the Chinese government. Two of the fired employees, Laurence Berland and Rebecca Rivers, were accused of repeatedly searching for, reading and distributing information “outside the scope of their jobs”. Mr Berland and Ms Rivers believe the real reason was their internal raising of objections over Google’s work with Customs and Border Protection, and insist that they had no access to documents they were not authorised to view. The advocacy group Tech Workers Coalition said that the four employees had been fired for “organising at work” and encouraged workers at Google to “speak out against this draconian act. This is meant to scare workers, don’t let it.” Veena Dubal, an associate professor at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law, said, “It does seem like this termination was in direct response to their organising.” In August 2019, nearly 1,500 Google workers signed a petition asking the company not to pursue a contract with Labour relations

Customs and Border Protection, which they said was complicit in “human rights abuses”. In September, Google hired Miles Taylor, a former member of the Department of Homeland Security staff, in a move that provoked a backlash from workers who objected to the Trump administration’s family separation policy. Speaking at a Google workers’ rally, Ms Rivers said Google security staff had interrogated her about her involvement in the petition. Mr Berland said he had also worked on the petition and raised questions about the company’s decision to hire Mr Taylor. “If we can’t speak up about these issues that concern us about our work,” Mr Berland said, “how can we ever hold ourselves and each other to the high standard that we need, and the world deserves? Silence and secrecy are not the way for us to come together to solve problems.” Google employees at the rally said they were protesting the suspensions of Mr Berland and Ms Rivers and demanded that they be returned to work. “Google has suspended them from their jobs and interrogated them for speaking out,” said Stephanie Parker, a Google worker who spoke at the demonstration. “We are here today to show them our support and to demand that Google bring them back to work immediately.” On 3 December the terminated employees announced in a press release that they plan to file unfair labour practice charges against Google with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). They allege that the real reason Google fired them was to quash a growing movement among company employees to question management’s decisions on issues ranging from disparities in pay between contractors and full-time employees, to the company’s controversial projects with government agencies. “Google wants to send a message to everyone: if you dare to engage in protected labour organising, you will be punished,” reads the statement. “No company – tech giant or otherwise – should be able to interfere with workers’ rights to organise for better working conditions, including ethical business practices.” In response to workers’ plans to file labour charges, a Google spokesperson sent the following statement: “We dismissed four individuals who were engaged in intentional and often repeated violations of our long-standing data security policies, including systematically accessing and disseminating other employees’ materials and work. No one has been dismissed for raising concerns or debating the company’s activities.” Back in November 2018, nearly 20,000 Google employees across the world walked out following the company’s mishandling of sexual harassment allegations. A Google spokesperson said in a statement, “We prohibit retaliation in the workplace and publicly share our very clear policy. To make sure that no complaint raised goes unheard at Google, we give employees multiple channels to report concerns, including anonymously, and investigate all allegations of retaliation.” However, two Google employees were apparently retaliated against for helping to organise the walkout.

106

Wire & Cable ASIA – March/April 2020

www.read-wca.com