FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2022 at 3pm ET
Press contact: press@alphabetworkersunion.org
(Kansas City, MO)— On Tuesday, July 12, 2022, Alphabet Workers Union-Communication Workers of America Local 1400 (AWU-CWA) filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge against BDS Connected Solutions LLC with a Google Fiber union worker. The involved worker, Matt Beck, was eligible for a 4% raise effective May 18, 2022. When the raise was not given, management told Matt that union members are no longer eligible for raises. A ULP charge was filed and today, on August 23, 2022, BDS Connected Solutions LLC settled, and the worker received their earned 4% raise and missed backpay.
“I thought that it was hopeless, that I had no real chance of fighting and winning for myself, because I was just one person. That was until my fellow union members/coworkers and the members from AWU-CWA stepped in. I was no longer alone; I could feel the solidarity of all that had my back as a union member. Thanks to all that support, I am now able to say ‘I won,'” said Matt Beck, Retail Associate at Google Fiber and BDS Connected Solutions and member of the Alphabet Workers Union-CWA.
BDS Connected Solutions LLC is a Google Fiber contractor that staffs Google Fiber retail stores. Workers at the Google Fiber location in Kansas City, MO voted to unionize with AWU-CWA on March 25, 2022 becoming AWU-CWA’s first recognized bargaining unit. Since then, workers have been meeting with management to secure their first union contract. Even as workers voted overwhelmingly for their union, this has not stopped management’s anti-union behavior.
“Google Fiber retail workers in Kansas City, MO voted overwhelmingly for their union, becoming AWU-CWA’s first official bargaining unit. However, that has not stopped union-busting attempts and retaliation by BDS Connected Solutions, a Google Fiber subcontractor. No worker should be denied their hard earned wages or raises because they choose to exercise their legal right to a voice on the job. This type of sinister union-busting is rampant across industries and Google must set a zero-tolerance standard for union busting by any of their subcontractors, contractors, and vendor companies. Google has the authority and responsibility to end this type of behavior by union-busting management. Every worker has the right to organize free of retaliation, and BDS Connected Solutions must end all union-busting attempts against workers,” said Emrys Adair, Retail Associate at Google Fiber and BDS Connected Solutions and member of the Alphabet Workers Union-CWA.