Thousands of Google cafeteria staff have unionized, and it's the latest group of Google's 'shadow workforce' to join a union

• Over 2,000 contractors working at Google's headquarters and other Google campuses across the Bay Area have unionized, Recode reported Tuesday.
• The employees are the latest bloc of workers in Google's "shadow workforce" of contractors to form a union.
• The union organizing comes as Google is facing a wave of internal activism from its own employees protesting the company's treatment of workers, sexual harassment policies, and government contracts.
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Cafeteria workers who staff Google's headquarters and dozens of other Google campuses in the Bay Area have voted to unionize, according to a Recode report.

The vote represents the latest group of Google contractors to join a union — in September, a group of contractors working in Google's Pittsburgh offices unionized. Google employs tens of thousands of contractors that work in its offices but don't receive the same benefits as full-time Google employees.

The contractors' vote to unionize comes amid high-profile activism from Google's own employees over the company's treatment of workers. Four employees who were fired in November claimed they were being punished for labor organizing, an allegation that the National Labor Relations Board is currently investigating.

The cafeteria workers are organizing through Unite Here, which represents food service and hospitality workers, according to Recode. The workers are employed by Compass Group, which Google contracts to staff its cafeterias.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement to Recode, the company said it would continue to work with Compass Group.

Labor organizing efforts have been relatively sparse in Silicon Valley, primarily driven by contractors who don't receive the lux benefits tech companies offer to full-time employees. Contractors staffing cafeterias at Facebook's headquarters unionized in 2017, and thousands of security officers working in Silicon Valley formed a union the same year.

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