Dozens of workers have been sacked by the tech giant for speaking up for Palestinians against Project Nimbus - but others say they won’t be silenced

It’s early morning, and Zelda Montes walks briskly through the crisp New York air as they head to Google’s headquarters on Manhattan’s 9th Avenue. Montes, who self-identifies as they, fumbles with their ID card at the entrance, blending in with the steady stream of Googlers swiping through the security barriers as if it were just another day at the office.

Armed with an oversized tote bag, Montes pulls back their purple hair and heads to the 13th-floor canteen to order their usual: a dirty chai and an egg, avocado, and cheese sandwich with a bowl of raspberries.

Their hands tremble slightly as they grip the coffee cup.

Locking eyes with two others, they get the signal that the coast is clear, head down to the entrance, and sit. The three Googlers unfurl their banners and begin chanting to demand that Google do one thing: Drop Project Nimbus.

But this will be the last time they sit inside Google’s New York office as Googlers, as Google itself refers to its own employees. “Getting fired felt like a possibility but never a reality,” remarked Montes, one of 50 employees fired by Google for staging a 10-hour sit-in at one of its American offices in April.

For the last three years, Montes has been one of several activists calling for Google to drop Project Nimbus, a partnership Google and Amazon have with the Israeli government reportedly worth $1.2bn.

  • Snot FlickermanEnglish
    133·
    3 months ago

    Getting fired felt like a possibility but never a reality

    …tech people never fail to amaze me in their misty-eyed views of the companies they work for.

    It’s still disgusting and obviously an attempt to stifle dissent in the ranks, but like, firing someone for stuff like this is so common in the world that you have to be pretty naive to think it wasn’t a reality and to prepare for it accordingly when you planned your sit-in.

    Tech workers need unions so badly for reasons exactly like this.

    • FenrirIII@lemmy.worldEnglish
      23·
      2 months ago

      The biggest problem is tech workers tend to not be social and feel elitest. I know, I’ve been in the business 25+ years. You also have a lot of older folks poisoned against unions by politicians and the media. Building a tech union at this big companies is an uphill battle.

    • prole@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      10·
      2 months ago

      Another symptom of extremely silo’d educations. As someone in a STEM field who took a couple years extra to graduate because they didn’t declare a major for two years, I see this shit constantly. Clearly, very intelligent people who have been once again let down by our education system, but this time at the University level.

      To the point where I will probably get downvotes and angry replies about how learning that other stuff is useless. But I can tell you that it’s absolutely not. I’m an engineer, and “Logic and Language” is still, by far, the most important course I’ve ever taken…

    • SoylentBlake@lemm.eeEnglish
      2·
      2 months ago

      Shit, try this shit working for Boeing or any country south of the border and you’ll end up suicided before the days out.

  • woelkchen@lemmy.worldEnglish
    37·
    3 months ago

    Every few months a news story: “Google workers in revolt over XYZ”. Then nothing changes. Not really a worker’s revolt then.

    • slacktoid@lemmy.mlEnglish
      30·
      3 months ago

      look into how a majority of their workers are H1B workers and why they cant speak up politically.

    • kamenLady.@lemmy.worldEnglish
      16·
      3 months ago

      Yeah it’s sad. I mean it’s good, in a way that more people are aware of Nimbus now, but at the same time: nothing changes and some good people get fired over it, discouraging others to act in good faith for what they stand for.

      I didn’t know about Nimbus. I remember having read something about Google+Israel in the past, but didn’t realize they were on board now.

      All in all, fuck Google, again.

    • Bobby Turkalino@lemmy.yachtsEnglish
      12·
      2 months ago

      Actual headlines should be “Google workers in revolt over XYZ but too afraid of losing their 6 figure salaries to do anything meaningful about it”

  • njordomir@lemmy.worldEnglish
    35·
    2 months ago

    At one point in the pandemic I worked for a sizeable tech company that was similar. They sent out an Zionism apologist email about how much the company supports Israel. STFU! We are the company, you wouldn’t have shit if we didn’t come to work. I know my colleagues well enough to know they are mostly NOT Neocons and Zionists. I was pretty pissed that they would say something political because it throws me into the position of having to address it because the “we” they used in the email makes it sound like I’m involved. I just work here. I don’t want any part of your corporate politics and I want you to know that when we seize the means of production (and your ill-begotton fruits of others labor) we’re gonna donate your yachts and bank accounts to help victims of Zionism and Imperialism.

  • j4k3@lemmy.worldEnglish
    17·
    3 months ago

    Would it be more effective to sabotage your own work in such a place?

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      17·
      3 months ago

      Depends on how many people are willing to take a stand simultaneously and how replaceable they are.

      Similar to a union strike if enough people stop working the employer has no option but to cave in to the demands.

      But the initial wave is usually the one meeting the most resistance when most people in a group aren’t even open to an idea. It takes brave people who are willing to take the initial stand when it’s still uncomfortable to do so.

  • thesmokingman@programming.devEnglish
    12·
    3 months ago

    Anyone in tech who knowingly works for Google supports these things in the same way that anyone that works in tech who knowingly works for Meta support genocide and the erosion of the democratic process. I give the caveat “in tech” because there are some roles like content moderation or executive assistant where you really don’t have the luxury of a huge market working almost anywhere else that doesn’t support genocide and I don’t fault those faults for taking a job that has better benefits. My engineering peers? I judge them for it.

    • Snot FlickermanEnglish
      8·
      3 months ago

      Fuck yes. It is not enough to boycott companies with your money. You must also do so with your labor. Thank you for making a carve out exception for the little people in the picture. It would be better if they could withhold their labor as well, but many of the lowest in companies simply cannot afford to work somewhere else for less pay. As you pointed out, the engineers truly can take a pay cut and survive. Thank you for sharing your likely-to-be unpopular opinion.

  • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
    10·
    3 months ago

    Daddy gonna make a list for the next round of lay-offs lol

    I hope this people understand what they are doing but with google comp if they saved, they will be fine. Maybe a good time get that severance and look for another job.

  • SplashJackson@lemmy.caEnglish
    6·
    2 months ago

    Didn’t this happen months ago? They did a sit-in to whistleblow against Google supporting genocide, and got fired and arrested as soon as HR could process the afortmentioned firing

    • JackbyDev@programming.devEnglish
      6·
      2 months ago

      They said it felt like a possibility. I don’t believe that implies they thought they wouldn’t be fired. We can think something is a possibility and prepare for it and still be shocked when it actually happens.