Google DeepMind employees have filed to unionize, a move that could give roughly 1,000 product-focused staff a path to collective bargaining.
The Communication Workers Union and Unite the Union, chosen by Google DeepMind staff as joint representatives, applied Thursday to the Central Arbitration Committee. The filing asks the government body to verify that enough workers support a unionization ballot, and Google would be required by law to respect the outcome if successful.
The application follows months of employee organizing and voluntary unionization talks that ended with staff saying their concerns were ignored or minimized. Management had resisted direct negotiation, and the unions now seek a ballot that could lead to union membership and demands over how AI is developed and deployed.