Google employees circulate petition demanding abortion benefits for contractors - The Verge
The Alphabet Workers Union petition demands Google extend travel-for-healthcare benefits to contractors and calls on the company to increase its data privacy measures. The news comes in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade in June.
More than 650 Google employees have signed a petition calling on the company to extend abortion-related health benefits to contractors and better protect user privacy in the wake of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade in June.
“We, the undersigned, recognize that all Alphabet workers, of all genders, are impacted by the overturning of Roe v. Wade and are disappointed in Alphabet’s response and influence on this ruling,” employees wrote.
After the Supreme Court decision, Google’s chief people officer Fiona Cicconi told employees their health insurance would cover out-of-state medical procedures and said they could apply for relocation without justification.
But the benefits do not extend to Google’s temporary, vendor, or contract workers (TVCs), who make up roughly half of the company’s workforce, according to employees.
“I think for a long time, TVCs have been doing a lot of really important work for Google and getting 0 percent of the recognition, pay, or benefits that Google claims to give employees,” says Emrys Adair, a Google contractor and AWU member. “There’s a lot of disrespect there and a lot of negligence.”
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