Courthouse News Service: Fired Twitter employees ordered to arbitrate wrongful termination claims. “Billionaire and new Twitter owner Elon Musk won a first round in federal court Friday when a judge granted Twitter’s motions to dismiss wrongful termination claims from employees fired last fall, ordering them to arbitration instead.”
Bloomberg: Google Employees Petition Pichai for Better Handling of Job Cuts. “Almost 1,400 employees at Google parent Alphabet Inc. have signed a petition calling for better treatment of staff during the layoff process, after the company announced it was cutting 12,000 jobs.”
The Verge: Labor board decision could force Google to negotiate with YouTube contractors. “The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that Alphabet, Google’s parent company, should be considered a joint employer for a group of YouTube Music contractors. The workers are currently attempting to organize with the Alphabet Worker’s Union, and the NLRB’s decision could mean that the tech giant has to negotiate with them if they vote to unionize in an upcoming election.”
Bloomberg: Hundreds of Google Staff in Zurich Stage Walkout Over Job Cuts. “About 250 employees from Alphabet Inc. subsidiary Google in Zurich walked out Wednesday to protest the company’s decision last month to cut about 6% of its global workforce.”
Engadget: YouTube Music workers strike at Google’s Austin offices. “YouTube Music workers in the Austin, TX area who voted to unionize are striking. The Alphabet Works Union-CWA (AWU-CWA), which represents the contractors, says this is the first time a group of Google-affiliated workers has gone on strike.”
Bloomberg: Google Workers Stage Rallies Against Job Cuts, Low Wages. “Google employees staged protests on both US coasts this week to call attention to labor conditions for subcontracted workers and support thousands of co-workers who were recently laid off.”
Reuters: Twitter asks judge to toss out proposed sex bias class action. “Twitter Inc has asked a federal judge to toss out a proposed class action claiming the company targeted female employees during its recent mass layoffs, saying the plaintiffs failed to identify any actual discrimination.”
WIRED: Tech Workers Fight for Iran Protesters as Big Tech Plays It Safe. “Google’s Iran response has frustrated some employees, rights groups, and US lawmakers. They want the company to deepen its support, including by opening up cloud computing and software development tools to people inside Iran to help protesters communicate securely and circumvent government internet firewalls.”
CNBC: Google is delaying a portion of employee bonus checks. “Google executives are deferring a portion of employees’ year-end bonus checks, according to documents viewed by CNBC, as the company moves toward permanently pushing back payouts. In past years, employees received their full bonuses in January. However, Google will pay qualifying full-time employees 80% of their bonus checks this month and the remaining 20% in March or April, the documents say.”
The Verge: Extremely Hardcore. “Twitter’s staff spent years trying to protect the social media site against impulsive billionaires who wanted to use the reach of its platform for their own ends, and then one made himself the CEO.”
The Wrap: Twitter Offers Former Staffers One-Third Promised Severance, Demands Silence Agreement. “Hundreds of former Twitter employees waiting for the severance pay Elon Musk promised when he canned them in November will be required to sign away all rights to bring claims against the company or even speak out about the platform for the rest of their lives before they get any cash, a lawyer representing the workers says.”
CNN: Former top Twitter official forced to leave home due to threats amid ‘Twitter Files’ release. “Twitter’s former head of trust and safety has fled his home due to an escalation in threats resulting from Elon Musk’s campaign of criticism against him, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Monday.”
Business Insider: About 1,400 Twitter workers have joined Blind since Elon Musk took over. “Twitter employees have been flocking to Blind, the anonymous professional network, since Elon Musk took control of the social media platform. In the past month more than 1,400 Twitter employees signed up to Blind, its co-founder Kyum Kim told Insider. About 95% of Twitter’s remaining workers are now on Blind, he said.”
Ars Technica: Twitter is now having trouble paying some employees on time. “Twitter staff in the UK received an email just before 1 pm London time on November 25 telling them their pay date would be November 28. Alongside the email, sent from the EMEA Payroll Team, staff received their usual monthly payslips. However, staff in the UK and Germany appear not to have been paid on time.”
Washington Post: Musk issues ultimatum to staff: Commit to ‘hardcore’ Twitter or take severance. “Elon Musk issued an ultimatum to Twitter employees Wednesday morning: Commit to a new ‘hardcore’ Twitter or leave the company with severance pay. Employees were told they had to a sign a pledge to stay on with the company…. Anyone who did not sign the pledge by 5 p.m. Eastern time Thursday was told they would receive three months of severance pay, the message said.”
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