A union representing Google employees is demanding that the tech giant lift what it called an “illegal gag order” barring them from discussing landmark antitrust cases that could upend the company’s business.
On August 5, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google is a “monopolist” with an illegal stranglehold on the Internet search market.
That same day, Google’s president of global affairs, Kent Walker, instructed employees not to comment on the case inside or outside the workplace.
The Alphabet Workers Union alleges Walker violated a federal labor law with “overly board directive” in an effort to “increase workers’ say” in antitrust battles, according to a copy of the Aug. 15 filing obtained by The Post.
“Our employer continues to demonstrate a blatant disregard for federal labor law and our right to discuss working conditions with co-workers – up to and including proposed settlements of federal antitrust actions that could affect many of our jobs in Google,” said Parul Koul, one. Google software engineer and president of the Alphabet Workers Union.
Mehta is expected to decide on legal remedies to address Google’s search monopoly by next summer.
The Justice Department recently indicated it could seek a breakup of Google through a forced divestment of parts of its business, such as its Chrome web browser.
Google disputed the union’s complaint.
“We respect the rights of Google employees to speak out about their terms and conditions of employment,” Google spokesman Peter Schottenfels said in a statement. “As is standard practice, we are simply asking that employees not speak about ongoing litigation on behalf of Google without prior approval.”
The Verge was the first to report on the complaint.
The labor complaint is the latest sign of discord between Google and its workforce. In April, the tech giant fired dozens of employees who were involved in anti-Israel protests at its offices.
A separate DOJ antitrust case targeting Google’s alleged monopoly over digital ad technology is also underway. Closing arguments in that case are scheduled to begin next month.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has acknowledged that the company will likely be tied up in court for many years as it fights the cases.
In a lengthy statement, the Alphabet Workers Union said it is “important that workers are engaged and that our views and interests are taken into account during the decision-making process around antitrust remedies.”
“That hasn’t happened yet,” the union added.
Google has vowed to appeal the judge’s decision and has waived the legal remedies proposed by the DOJ – calling it a “radical” framework that would go “far beyond the specific legal issues in this case”.
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