Googlers Rally in San Francisco Over Company’s ‘Attempt to Silence Workers’
‘How can we expect Google to be transparent with its users,’ said one employee, ‘when it’s not even transparent with its own workers?’
During a public rally held outside of Google’s San Francisco office on Friday, a large crowd of Google workers gathered to protest two employees being placed on leave this month, allegedly for violating company policies. The protest underscored a growing trend at technology companies, where rank-and-file staff are challenging what they consider to be unethical corporate decisions through organized protests and collective action.
The two employees who say they were placed on leave, Laurence Berland and Rebecca Rivers, spoke at the protest, alleging that they had been suspended without warning in retaliation for opposing Google’s stance on the use of its technology by government agencies and other private industries. Google did not confirm the names of the employees it told Bloomberg it suspended earlier this month.
Berland, who is based in San Francisco, engaged in LGBTQ+ organizing efforts at the company and participated in several worker campaigns, including petitioning the San Francisco Pride Parade to exclude Google from its event this year…
