Is Google Punishing Their Employees For Activism Against The Top Guns?

After One Year Of The Google Walkout, the Core Organizers Reflect On The Risk To Their Careers  

     Remember the walkout which was held on 1 November at 11:10 A.M in 2018 against the Top Guns and it was  named as "Google Walkout". In which tens of thousand of Google 's employees across the world walked out to protest over how the company is dealing with sexual harassment allegations against women. In New York City, hundreds of employees gathered and started protest outside The Google HQ, holding signs like "Women's rights are human rights" and chanting "time is up." It was certain that it was not the first worker's uprising at any company nor would it be the last, but the great numbers of Google's employees who took participation in protest, were unbelievable and shocking movement of worker activism.

     In October 2018, the New York Times published a report of an investigation revealing that Android creator Andy Rubin was given a $90 million payout when he left the company following a sexual assault allegation. Rubin was accused of threatening a female employee, with whom he'd been having affair, into performing oral sex in a hotel room in 2013. The  Times reported that a Google investigation found her claim to be believable and then Rubin was asked to resign. A lawyer for Rubin disputed the allegations, calling them "demonstrably false." Google had remained silent about the allegations against Rubin as well as two other executives over the past decade.

     Now, In next year, the  two  core  member  of Google Walkout organizer, Claire Stapleton and Meredith Whittaker, revealed that four member of the core group had to leave the tech company. both have been very public about what they had spoken out, had cost them  their  job and the alleged retaliation they experienced. In the interview with CNN Business, they told about not calculating the risk of being retaliated and did not think much about how the effort might impact their jobs. they further added that the tech company demoted and restructured their jobs and put them into that situation where they had to leave. they said "company indicates that either you leave the company or continue the work in company's condition. they don't actually fire you but they build the condition where you need to leave." Meredith Whittaker, an artificial intelligence researcher, also spoke out "an ethical imperative," while acknowledging that "when you do labor organizing, you are in an adversarial relationship with the people who control your livelihood." The two women talked about what inspired them to advocate for change and why they ultimately had no choice but to walk away after working at the company for so long. both organizers demanded that there should be the third party investigation on Human Resource Department. 

    Google spokesperson stated that they prohibited retaliation in the workplace and publicly shared their very clear policy and they made 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. Google recently highlighted that there is change in workplace , including changes to how employees can make complaints, but it said it wouldn’t make changes for every employee demand. they further added that they won’t implement every idea that our employees raise, but we always listen, and we consider constructive feedback. There was also a statement coming from google spokesperson that our employee relations team did a thorough investigation of their claims and found no evidence of retaliation.

Google Seems To Have Lost Its Ethics

     It seems that Google management is falling with Human Resource. Trust between workers and company is deeply broken. As the company faces crisis over crisis, it is clear that the Human Resource Management has a bad "Ethical Practices". The organizers of last year’s walkout of Google employees are calling the third party investigation on human resources department, after some employees said that they’ve faced retaliation from management. 
     
     Giving the reply on raise of demand of third party investigation about retaliation, the Google spokesperson states that they prohibited retaliation in their workplace and public accepted  with and shared there clear policy they insured that no complaint goes unheard at Google. 

     If their policy is good and there is no retaliation as company is claiming, then why the core organizers of walkout had to leave and why there is raise a demand of third party investigation.

     As the google kept silence and hiding the previous misconduct of Top Guns for so long, there is elevated a doubt about not hiding the retaliation over employees of the company. It seems like Google is hiding the fact about Human Resource Department taking unethical action against the walkout employees and trying to build their good image in public though big talk by google spokesperson.