Google contract workers: We can’t afford office commutes
Google Maps contract employees who are required to return to their office in Washington state recently circulated a petition to keep working from home since some cannot afford their commutes, presenting another challenge to Google’s plan to refill offices and restore campus life.
The issue affects over 200 workers employed by outsourcing firm Cognizant Technology Solutions, which mandated that they work in an office in Bothell five days a week starting June 6. The workers play an essential role updating routes and destinations on Google Maps, a service used by more than 1 billion people a month.
About 60% of the 200 workers signed the petition. They demanded that managers suspend the return-to-office timeline and address employees’ financial, health and child care concerns.
“Gas is around $5 per gallon currently, and many of us in the office are not able to afford to live close to the office due to our low salaries and the high cost of housing in Bothell,” the Cognizant employees wrote. The petition was supported by the Alphabet Workers Union, which has more than 900 members employed by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and its suppliers.
Full-time Google employees with office jobs have been told to come in three days a week. In interviews, the Cognizant employees called for the same flexibility. Starting June 6, they will no longer have access to work systems from home.
The policies highlight disparities between Google’s direct employees and contractors. Google is estimated to have well more than 100,000 temporary, vendor and contract workers who spend their time on Google projects but officially work for other companies. Google does not disclose the number.
Cognizant said in a statement that its return-to-office policy depended on the kind of work employees did and the needs of its clients. “The health and safety of our employees remains our top priority, and we require our employees to be vaccinated to return to our offices in the United States,” Jeff DeMarrais, Cognizant’s chief communications officer, wrote in an email.
Courtenay Mencini, a spokesperson for Google, said in a statement that the health of its community, including contract workers, was a company priority. Google gave its suppliers in Washington state 90 days’ notice for workers to return to the office, and those suppliers decided how to execute that policy, she said.
The contractors in Washington said most of them made between $16 and $28 an hour, far less than typical full-time Google employees. Cognizant managers denied their requests for gas cards or other financial offsets. They said they hadn’t been offered Google’s private bus services — a popular perk in Silicon Valley — to ease their commutes.
The Cognizant employees also said managers had given them 40 days’ notice to work in person, not a promised 60-day minimum. That means less time to find child care or move. And they are afraid of contracting COVID-19 in the office.