May 1, 2023
A group of YouTube music contractors, some of whom had been on strike, voted 41-0 to create a union. Workers want decent working conditions and a safe voice on the workplace. On Monday, employees at Sega of America revealed their desire to create a union.
The majority of unionization initiatives within large software corporations have concentrated on non-office workers. However, in the video game industry, union efforts have gone even further. The Alphabet Workers Union at Google has been founded to represent not only full-time employees but also vendors, contractors, and temporary workers.
Microsoft said last year that it will not oppose any unionization efforts by its employees. These union moves come at a time when employees in technology, like those in many other professions, are concerned about their future in the face of quickly evolving and increasingly powerful AI-powered bots.
YouTube stated that it had no objections to Cognizant employees unionizing. Cognizant has stated that it believes in open conversation and collaboration, while YouTube maintains that it is not a joint employer and has no authority over Cognizant employees’ employment terms or working conditions.
The sources for this piece include an article in Axios.
