News

Hundreds walk out of Google's Mountain View HQ

Protesting employees call for sexual harassers to be held accountable, saying

More than 500 Google employees in Mountain View walked out of the company's headquarters this morning, joined by thousands across the globe in a protest to hold sexual harassers accountable in the workplace.

Organizer Celie O'Neil-Hart yelled, "Time's Up in Tech!" as she read a list of demands for Google executives, including a better reporting process for sexual abuse, equal opportunities for all demographics, a public sexual assault transparency report and an end to forced arbitration, which forces employees to waive their right to sue.

The walkout was designed to support victims of abuse at the company, including those who did not speak today due to fear of retaliation or fresh emotional wounds.

Oralia Alvarado, 27, began working at Google about five years ago as a barista. During that time, Alvarado said she saw cafeteria workers commonly subjected to harassment due to their perceived lower rank.

A man once told Alvarado to lick her lips for him because her lipstick was beautiful, but she said she didn't feel validated until a male employee expressed his shock at the interaction.

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Another speaker, Nancy Zhang, described a company gathering at Google-owned YouTube where she lost her memory after a male coworker asked to switch drinks. She said another colleague saw her being "dragged away by the hand" and helped her. Her manager later told her the coworker could be fired immediately, as long as he held a less important role on the team than her.

Both women hoped telling their story would galvanize victims of abuse, as well as their allies.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees earlier this week the company was aware of the protest and participants would receive support.

"Employees have raised constructive ideas for how we can improve our policies and our processes going forward," Pichai said in a statement. "We are taking in all their feedback so we can turn these ideas into action."

Google came under fire after a New York Times report on Oct. 25 revealed a $90 million payout for an employee who had been accused of sexual harassment. Speakers said today the company was in the habit of protecting itself from legal action by in turn protecting accusers. One man held a sign that said, "Happy to Quit for $90 million, no sexual harassment required."

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After the report surfaced, women at the company organized the protest in about five days. Offices in Singapore began the protest at 11:10 a.m., with other protests happening at offices around the world.

"We chose 11, one, or 11:10, because we believe that one story is too many and we've heard thousands as part of this movement," O'Neil-Hart said, explaining that the movement began on internal channels, but quickly grew to more than 60 percent of Google offices across the world.

The protest in Mountain View today ended with a roaring chant of "Time is Up!" following on the heels of similar movements against perpetrators of abuse in Hollywood and other industries.

— Bay City News Service

Follow Mountain View Voice Online on Twitter @mvvoice, Facebook and on Instagram @mvvoice for breaking news, local events, photos, videos and more.

Hundreds walk out of Google's Mountain View HQ

Protesting employees call for sexual harassers to be held accountable, saying

Uploaded: Thu, Nov 1, 2018, 1:56 pm

More than 500 Google employees in Mountain View walked out of the company's headquarters this morning, joined by thousands across the globe in a protest to hold sexual harassers accountable in the workplace.

Organizer Celie O'Neil-Hart yelled, "Time's Up in Tech!" as she read a list of demands for Google executives, including a better reporting process for sexual abuse, equal opportunities for all demographics, a public sexual assault transparency report and an end to forced arbitration, which forces employees to waive their right to sue.

The walkout was designed to support victims of abuse at the company, including those who did not speak today due to fear of retaliation or fresh emotional wounds.

Oralia Alvarado, 27, began working at Google about five years ago as a barista. During that time, Alvarado said she saw cafeteria workers commonly subjected to harassment due to their perceived lower rank.

A man once told Alvarado to lick her lips for him because her lipstick was beautiful, but she said she didn't feel validated until a male employee expressed his shock at the interaction.

Another speaker, Nancy Zhang, described a company gathering at Google-owned YouTube where she lost her memory after a male coworker asked to switch drinks. She said another colleague saw her being "dragged away by the hand" and helped her. Her manager later told her the coworker could be fired immediately, as long as he held a less important role on the team than her.

Both women hoped telling their story would galvanize victims of abuse, as well as their allies.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees earlier this week the company was aware of the protest and participants would receive support.

"Employees have raised constructive ideas for how we can improve our policies and our processes going forward," Pichai said in a statement. "We are taking in all their feedback so we can turn these ideas into action."

Google came under fire after a New York Times report on Oct. 25 revealed a $90 million payout for an employee who had been accused of sexual harassment. Speakers said today the company was in the habit of protecting itself from legal action by in turn protecting accusers. One man held a sign that said, "Happy to Quit for $90 million, no sexual harassment required."

After the report surfaced, women at the company organized the protest in about five days. Offices in Singapore began the protest at 11:10 a.m., with other protests happening at offices around the world.

"We chose 11, one, or 11:10, because we believe that one story is too many and we've heard thousands as part of this movement," O'Neil-Hart said, explaining that the movement began on internal channels, but quickly grew to more than 60 percent of Google offices across the world.

The protest in Mountain View today ended with a roaring chant of "Time is Up!" following on the heels of similar movements against perpetrators of abuse in Hollywood and other industries.

— Bay City News Service

Comments

Bing
Rex Manor
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:17 pm
Bing, Rex Manor
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:17 pm

Google and Youtube sound like horrible places to work. I feel sorry for those subjected to unwanted interaction in the work place. And to see that its been going on for so long is frightening. Boycott Google. Its time to use Bing and other search engines. Sorry but I can boycott Youtube yet


Robyn
another community
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:22 pm
Robyn, another community
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:22 pm

The $90 million pay out to Andy Rubin amid sexual harassment allegations is a reward, not a punishment!
Disgusting.


MAGA
Shoreline West
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:29 pm
MAGA, Shoreline West
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:29 pm

To all you Donald Trump haters: Trump is the father of the MeToo movement. MeToo probably would not even exist if not for Donald Trump. You should thank him for his contribution.


mvdad
Registered user
Whisman Station
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:39 pm
mvdad, Whisman Station
Registered user
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:39 pm

@MAGA Trump is the father of the MeToo movement the same way Hitler was the father of the Allied Powers.


mtn view neighbor
Shoreline West
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:49 pm
mtn view neighbor, Shoreline West
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:49 pm

@MAGA, Your post is the perfect example of the problem with most Trump supporters.


Xav
Shoreline West
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:51 pm
Xav, Shoreline West
on Nov 1, 2018 at 2:51 pm

@Bing: Microsoft is an even worse place to work at, based on personal experience; the difference is that folks there know there's no point in complaining, it won't get fixed.

I am glad that people are starting to speak up about harassment in the work place, and I certainly do hope it spreads to other companies!


ShorelineWestDude
Registered user
Shoreline West
on Nov 1, 2018 at 3:11 pm
ShorelineWestDude, Shoreline West
Registered user
on Nov 1, 2018 at 3:11 pm

Let me know when you figure out how to fix the human race.
This has been going on for millennia.


PeaceLove
Shoreline West
on Nov 1, 2018 at 3:26 pm
PeaceLove, Shoreline West
on Nov 1, 2018 at 3:26 pm

I am proud of each and every one of these Googlers who are flexing their not-inconsiderable muscle to help move their employer -- and by extension every other tech company in the Valley -- to be more proactive in protecting employees and punishing harassers. As they become activated, I hope these influential(mostly young) tech workers also continue to engage in political activism against the totalitarian surveillance state they're helping to build for the military industrial complex.

Googlers united worldwide can be an extremely powerful force for positive change.


Cordelia
Registered user
Old Mountain View
on Nov 1, 2018 at 3:37 pm
Cordelia, Old Mountain View
Registered user
on Nov 1, 2018 at 3:37 pm

It's heartening to see this protest.

When I was working at Intuit, there was a manager from another division who would sneak up behind me while I was sitting at my desk. Then he'd put his hand on my shoulder or my arm. I told him to stop touching me. I even sent him a very short email telling him to stop. Finally I told him I was going to talk to HR, at which point he complained to my manager that I was making a big deal about nothing. My manager actually took his side and told me that I had to "put up with it" because it wasn't serious and his division was an internal customer of our division. It was degrading and I was thoroughly disgusted, so I resigned and moved on to a different tech company.

Abuse of power used to be seen as normal and something to "put up with". I'm glad to see that the younger generations are kinder to each other.


Rebecca
Blossom Valley
on Nov 1, 2018 at 4:16 pm
Rebecca, Blossom Valley
on Nov 1, 2018 at 4:16 pm

You all should try living next to some of these male Googlers who can't help but talk about all the great things they do while staring at your chest whenever their power wives are out of range. They make awful neighbors. And it really gets boring to hear them talk about themselves so much.


vkmo
Cuesta Park
on Nov 1, 2018 at 7:38 pm
vkmo, Cuesta Park
on Nov 1, 2018 at 7:38 pm

These protests will severely lower Google stock, bringing poverty to Google employees and Google investors. Discussing these issues and resolving them with Management is a good way to handle this.


Hypocrites
Slater
on Nov 2, 2018 at 3:07 pm
Hypocrites, Slater
on Nov 2, 2018 at 3:07 pm

of course none of them quit their jobs. They still work for the same company that they consider evil. How principled. NOT


karenerobinson
Registered user
Another Mountain View Neighborhood
on Nov 3, 2018 at 10:23 am
karenerobinson, Another Mountain View Neighborhood
Registered user
on Nov 3, 2018 at 10:23 am

I was there, and saw at least 500 people walk past me to get to the protest. That doesn't count people who worked in the main building or came from another direction, or even the people who walked in behind me.

"Hundreds" is an awkward word to use in your headline when it had to be at least 1500 people who participated.

To quote a Director I used to work with: "sure this project will cost 'tens of dollars'. I guess I'm paid in 'tens of dollars', just a lot of them."


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