Google Contractors Officially Vote to Unionize (USW Pittsburgh)

[Omaha Steve]

STEFAN SIDELNICK AND BEN GWIN LEAVE THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY MOMENTS AFTER HCL AMERICA CONTRACTORS VOTED TO ORGANIZE WITH UNITED STEELWORKERS. IMAGE: BRIAN CONWAY

The contractors work at a company called HCL, which strongly encouraged its employees to vote against the union.

By Brian Conway
Sep 24 2019, 2:13pm

Eighty Google contract workers in Pittsburgh employed by HCL America voted Tuesday to unionize with the United Steel Workers (USW). They will organize under the name Pittsburgh Association of Tech Professionals (PATP).

The vote to unionize passed, with 49 voting in favor of unionization and 24 voting against unionization.

Damon Di Cicco, organizer with the United Steelworkers, said that PATP was formed with support from the Department for Professional Employees (DPE), a semi-autonomous branch of the AFL-CIO, representing more than four million professional, technical, and other highly skilled workers. The vote to unionize is historic for white collar tech workers, and could spur others in the industry to take similar action.

The idea, said Di Cicco, was to create an umbrella organization to facilitate organizing in the tech sector, and eventually to help tech locals coordinate and cooperate amongst themselves.

FULL story: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8xwmnv/google-contractors-officially-vote-to-unionize