omg I’m SO EXCITED to finally announce this. We organized a union at Google — @AlphabetWorkers Union is here!(1/n)

In fall 2018, 20k Alphabet workers around the world walked out to protest sexual harassment in our workplace. Standing out there opened my eyes: I never imagined tech workers would ever be agitated enough to take a stand like that. (2/n)

TBH I didn’t come to Google to make a difference, I had that illusion shattered as an intern. I wanted to put my head down, make a living, and do my politics elsewhere. (3/n)

Then I heard organizers of the walkout had experienced retaliation, one of my coworkers hearing “Google Cloud doesn’t have time for ethics, we have to be everywhere Lockheed-Martin is”. (4/n)

I can't be “comfy” with my job if it’s at the cost of murdered brown people around the world. Technology is powerful, and capitalism makes it existentially dangerous. I will not stay here and collect my pay unless I’m actively fighting the oppression my work contributes to. (5/n)

And so I started getting involved in activism and petitions at the company. But a few times through the scandal—outrage cycle, it was clear to me that worker activism and press coverage was no longer enough to move the needle. (6/n)

It felt hopeless trying to reach a 200k person workforce, and Google seemed unmoveable. I had no idea what to do… until I took a union organizer training 101 (s/o to Nic @EmmaKinema and Robin). (7/n)

After I learned how union campaigns actually worked, I saw a credible path to building power! I started having 1:1 conversations with coworkers in my office, identifying the leaders, and understanding the issues. (8/n)

It was clear to me that we would need to organize a union, but how could we possibly get there? Legal recognition meant getting 70% of 80k distributed workers on board without the boss finding out, and this wouldn’t even include contractors… (9/n)

@CWAUnion showed us there was another way. We didn’t need our boss or the government to tell us we could have a union, we have a union because WE say we do — and because we’re hundreds of workers ready to fight in solidarity to make a change. (10/n)

More and more workers understand the fundamental problems of Google every year, but we can’t wait for the perfect thesis everyone can unite behind. We have power because we are necessary for production, and we’re gonna show this by live demonstration! (11/n)

We’ve built a democratic structure funded with dues, and we’ll join the @CWAUnion as a local with full voting rights. It’s time to change Alphabet for the better, and unite the struggle at Google with the broader working-class movement in America and around the world. (12/n)

We did this and you can do it too! Sign up for organizer training, learn from those who have done this, and start having 1:1s with your coworkers. Take the people you’ve got and GET ORGANIZED — @CODE_CWA can help you do it!!(13/13)