Two Google employees say management punishes them for organizing a walkout

Two Google employees who participated in a large number of workers complained of retaliation on the part of the company's management.

In an internal message first reported by wiredMeredith Whittaker, manager of Google Open Research, and Claire Stapleton, marketing executive at YouTube, said their roles in the company had changed as a result of employee protests. Whittaker said that she had been told that her role "would be radically altered" after the dissolution of her AI ethics board by Google, and that she could no longer work at the center. of the AI ​​Now Institute. The decision to abandon the council was made while employees criticized the inclusion of the president of the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Stapleton, who has been working in the company for 12 years, said in her post that after the walkout, she had been told that she would be demoted. After hiring a lawyer, she wrote, the decision was overturned, "at least on paper." aggressors "are often not embarrassed or even rewarded".

Whittaker, Stapleton and others organized a massive rally of 20,000 Google employees in November to protest the company's treatment of sexual harassment charges.

"I am very grateful for your support," said Whittaker. in a tweet after the post has been made public. "I remain firmly attached to my work @AINowInstitute. Google's retaliation does not concern me or @clairewaves. It's about silencing dissent and scare us honestly about technology and power. NOT AGREE. Now more than ever, it's time to speak. "

"We prohibit retaliation at the workplace and investigate all allegations," a Google spokesman said in a statement. "Employees and teams are routinely assigned new tasks, or reorganized, to keep pace with ever-changing business needs. There was no reprisal here.

The full internal position, obtained by wired, is inferior to:

Hello everyone, This email was hard to write.

Google retaliates against several organizers.

We are among them and this is what happens to us:

Meredith

Right after Google announced the dissolution of its AI Ethics Board, I was informed of my dramatic change of role. I am told that to stay in society, I should abandon my work on AI ethics and the AI ​​Now Institute, which I co-founded, and who have conducted rigorous and recognized work on these subjects. I have been working for years on issues related to AI ethics and partiality and I am one of the people who have helped shape the ground by examining these issues. I've also taken risks to lobby for a more ethical Google, even when it's less profitable or less convenient.

Clear

After five years in YouTube Marketing (and almost twelve years at Google), two months after the Walkout, I was told that I would be downgraded, that I would lose half of my reports and that a project approved was: more on the table. I moved to Human Resources and my Vice President, which made the situation worse. My manager started ignoring me, my job was done by other people and they told me to take sick leave, even though I'm not sick. It was only when I hired a lawyer and contacted her that Google asked management to investigate and go back, at least on paper. Although my work has been restored, the environment remains hostile and I am thinking of quitting almost every day.

Our stories are not the only ones. Google has a culture of retaliation, which works too often to silence women, people of color and gender minorities. Retaliation is not always obvious. This is often a confusing and time-consuming task that consists of icy conversations, gas lighting, project cancellations, refusal of transition or demotion. A behavior that tells someone that the problem is not that they did not object to society is that they are not good enough and do not belong.

During the Walkout, we collected 350 stories. Reading them, a sad trend emerges: people who denounce discrimination, abuse and unethical conduct are punished, set aside and expelled. Abusers often go unhindered or even rewarded (Andy, Amit, "I reported that he had been promoted").

By punishing those who resist discrimination, harassment and unethical decisions. Google allows these behaviors. It hurts company employees and outside communities who bear the brunt of Google's bad choices. If we want to put an end to discrimination, harassment and unethical decisions, we must put an end to retaliation against those who speak honestly about these problems.

We must push back. Here are some next steps:

1. We will hold a public meeting on retaliation to share our stories and develop strategies. When: Friday, April 26th, 11am Pacific Time / 2pm Eastern Time. Add the event to your calendar here. [The message included an internal link to a livestream of the meeting.]

2. If you have been retaliated, share your story. (If you share your story with the Walkout form, feel free to share it again and help keep everything in one place.) The more we share, the easier it will be to back up. Add yours.

Regards,

Meredith, Claire