In a new rocket-up between Google and its employees who talk out against the tech giants business working practices and conditions, more more than 500 workers of the company has mobilized behind a colleague who pretend she’s pushed out of son work because of son activism within the company.
Workers gathered around colleagues employee Ariel Koren who is under fire for supporting rights of the Palestinians, while protesting against a contract with the israeli military for son brutal oppression of Palestinians.
The workers signed a petition accusing the direction from google of “unjust retaliation” against Koren, a product marketing manager at Google for Education, for express criticism of Project Nimbus, the $1.2 billion contract between Google and Amazon Web Services with the israeli military and government.
“Unfortunately, Ariel’s case is consistent with Google’s Dangerous Trail record of retaliation from workers who made securities grand public in the past a few years — and more particularly against those who speak out against contracts that allow state violence against marginalized people“, says the petition.
On a Twitter account called “Workers Against Nimbus”, they also said that “We are employees of Amazon and Google demanding that our bosses end Project Nimbus, a billion dollar contract with the israeli military and government. We want our work for help people – do not power human rights violations against Palestinians.”
“The direction of Google retaliates unfairly against our colleague and DropNimbus member, Ariel Koren, for Speaking up on how Google Project Nimbus contract with the israeli military will allow violations of human rights of the Palestinians”, he added.
“Please help amplify our worker-led action call for Google/Amazon met end to unethical contracts like this one. Our companies choose profit over humanitydignity, accountabilityand transparency, and workers are fighting back”, Koren also wrote on social media.
In October, she led efforts to craft a letter among Google and Amazon employees who were critical of Project Nimbus, a multi-year plan to open data centers in Israel and provide infrastructure for a full continued of cloud services to government and military. The letter said the program would facilitate monitoring of Palestinians and expansion of Israeli settlements, considered illegal international law. The letter, which raised hundreds of employee signatures, urged Google to cut ties with the israeli military.
At the beginning of November, Koren said that she had connected to a videoconference call for what she expected to be a routine weekly check-in with son manager. Instead, she says, son boss introduced him with an ultimatum : move in Brazil or lose son job.
Google said it investigated the incident and found no proof of reprisals.
