Google Fires More Employees Over Protest of Cloud Contract With Israel - Slashdo...
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Google Fires More Employees Over Protest of Cloud Contract With Israel
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No Tech For Apartheid, the group representing the workers, claimed in a statement that Google is attempting to "quash dissent, silence its workers, and reassert its power over them." "That's because Google values its profit, and its $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government and military, more than people. And it certainly values it over its own workers," it said. The group said it will continue organizing until Google cancels Project Nimbus. Further reading: Google To Employees: 'We Are a Workplace'.
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I get that people want to wear their politics on their sleeves and complain that their gigantic multinational employer does business with X, but ultimately you work somewhere and if you disturb the peace, you are going to be fired.-
I read an interview with one of the main protestors that got fired in the first wave. Their plan is to become a professional protestor. I suspect that pays better than being an average Googler.
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I object to their plan to become a professional protestor and still be staging a 1000-person sit-in at their house, in protest of their choice to waste time trying to persuade foxes that although chicken is tasty, they have rights.
Meet me there. Chickens only!
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Can't tell if trolling or really believe that.
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Just because they should realistically expect to put their job at risk doesn't mean they did the "wrong thing". The "disturb the peace" line as a reaction to the concept of protest is a bit disconcerting.
Now if they were being obnoxious in the workspace chanting about injustice against palestine in some totally unrelated venue (e.g. if Google did zero business with Israeli government), I could see scoffing at the effort as noisy and disruptive to no end.
However, they are directly protesting their own compan
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You likely have every right to operate your private business that way. Assuming you own it or the board approved the policy. It's a tough way to go if you're trying to hire though. Getting too specific really narrows the talent pool you can choose from.
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>Disruptively protesting in the workplace is pretty much exactly what their cause demands in this scenario.
And firing employees who are disruptive to the workplace is exactly what is demanded in this scenario. That's what they're being fired for, not for protesting. They can protest all they want off-hours, away from the workplace.
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Not everyone feels comfortable working at every employer. I've had to answer many times in my life if I'm comfortable working on military contracts. If somebody doesn't feel good working at Google based on Google's clientele they certainly can (and should) express those concerns in a way that doesn't disturb the office. And then they can discuss it and find a solution which is likely an amicable parting of ways. There's nothing wrong with any of that.
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They can also express those concerns in an overt way that communicates to their coworkers what this is about and how they feel about it, even if it disturbs the office. Because we live in a free country and not everyone has to be a nice door mat. But also there is no protection from retaliation, so they lost their job and they aren't going to get a court to undo that.
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Googlers are supporting a corporation that's violating privacy and enjoying monopoly or at least oligopoly power in many areas of business. Suddenly they get a conscience about something that's trendy and easy to virtue-signal.
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Couldn't agree more. Of all the things Google does, this is where they draw the line?
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Half of those fired employees are probably named 'Mohammed' and that's the best opportunity in years to let loose their hatred of Jews
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Different people's consciences bother them in different ways based on their own life experiences and beliefs. I would have no objection to working at Google. Anyone who objects to Google's "violating privacy and enjoying monopoly" (to quote you not agree with you) has already chosen not to even apply there. The people objecting here are those who find the rest of Google's business to be morally acceptable when it comes to working there but can't square project Nimbus with their conscience. I don't know
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They don't care. They don't' have to care. They have no responsibility to. People think a large corporation has responsibilities to people...but they don't. They've firmly held their responsibilities are to shareholders...something that's been upheld in court. In most states...employment is 100% at-will; you can be terminated by the employer at any time for any reason with no explanation. Companies can decide to not pay you; there's no law against it. You can take them to court to get your money...but at the end of the day, there is no law or puhishment for it and they are free to continue to do so until they fire you.
Thinking a large conglormate is responsible is foolish. If you want responsible companies...start them. Don't let yourself get bought out. The actions that needed to be taken to prevent this were eliminated years ago.
Workers can protest all they want...but in the modern capitalist world; the corporation just fires the problem and continues.
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Google has made themselves vulnerable to this kind of action by being woke. It's their own fault. Left wing activists are never satisfied.
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Far be it from me to defend Google, but their industry is full of people with sensibilities running in this direction. I'm sure if their business was...agriculture or coal mining, they'd not have these issues, regardless of what their corporate culture was like.
The only change here for Google is that in the past, they've been willing to accommodate and tolerate this kind of behavior, while MIcrosoft was firing people and otherwise telling them to STFU, such as when the DoD cloud controversy (Jedi, etc) wa
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You admit google has gone woke. Why are they not broke?
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Google is a sociopathic corporation, not "woke." They have no liberal bias. They adapt to whatever position works for them. Sorry, more talented engineers lean left than right. If Alabama produced more talented programmers than California, Google would open an office there with an indoor shooting range and have regular rodeo outings and offer company shuttles to the megachurch of your choice.
It's just people that use the term "woke" or bitch about "left wing activists" tend to suck at the jobs Google
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oh like france then?
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Absolutely. Everyone should act against any corporation that offers the slightest bit of support to Hamas.
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Why is the IDF not on strike since they created Hamas?
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Greetings Comrade, I hope Putin is paying you to sockpuppet. To anyone actually engaging in the discussion with sincerity, we need unions, but the job of a union is to protect the workers, not opine on the geopolitics of the work. So Google does need a union, but to ensure equity for it's workers....which it does pretty well on its own for software engineers....today...but honestly a Google Programmer Union would mostly retain the key benefits they offer today.
The contractors?...well...I've read they'r
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and a democratized workplace if you're going to do something like this. I'm sure many here on/. (which leans a bit conservative) don't agree with these protestors, but think a little ahead to a time if/when there *is* something you agree with.
Having a say in how the company you work for is run is something we should all desire, at least if you don't believe in Divine Command Theory. -
From the No Tech For Apartheid [notechforapartheid.com] website:
"We’re heeding the call from over 1000 Google and Amazon workers to rise up against the contract, known as Project Nimbus.Technology should be used to bring people together, not enable apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and settler-colonialism. Following in the footsteps of those who fought to divest from apartheid South Africa and won, it’s our responsibility to rise up in support of Palestinian freedom. The Amazon and Google execs who signed this contract can s
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Of course, Hamas is simply a fun-loving group that plans parties and birthday celebrations all the time.
You are definitely not the one influenced by any form of propaganda.
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apartheid:
a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.Seems like walling off Palestinians would be consistent. Also, you have the West Bank situation, which the ICC/UN, France, UK, EU, and US have all described as a war crime (US temporarily said it wasn't, but switched back in February). In Gaza the objection is the disproportionate response, even though the settlements did stop, but the West Bank still suffers from the settlements and associated forced transfer of prope
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You are a censorship apologist, as you are calling for people to get fired over opinions. It does not matter if you think that what they believe is BS, in a free country you should not be fired for political beliefs.
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Last thing google needs is terrorist sympathizers in position where they can sabotage the company. At least they lost access to offices before any of them decided to make the next step and show up to work wrapped in explosives.
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You mean google search and youtube can get worse?
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The honorable thing to do when you don't agree with the ethics of your employer is to resign in protest, rather than be fired for being a nuisance.
The former says that you have uncompromising integrity in how you act in all areas of life, and are willing to make personal sacrifices to do the right thing, while the latter suggests you're a bit unhinged and a potential nightmare employee.
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For a very long time Google attitude sent implicit messages to employees that on-the-job political activism is a job perk. These Google employees mistakenly believed that this applies to all political opinions, but they found out that criticism of Israel is not part of "safe to support" political cause. Had they picked a different sit-in subject, like demanding Google block Russia, they would still be happily employed.
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Write rants, sing songs, carry signs, contact elected representatives, vote for like minded candidates, express your opinion on social media, show up at government meetings where public comment is allowed, contact news organizations, or do any other peaceful thing you can think of
Do NOT block roads or disrupt activity at work
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