YouTube Contractors To Strike Over Forced Return To Office (axios.com) 61
A group of YouTube contractors in Texas are currently on strike today "in protest of rules requiring such workers -- even those who have always worked remotely -- to report to the office," reports Axios. From the report: All of the 43-person team of contractors for YouTube Music voted to strike, following an edict that they report to an office in Austin starting on Monday. The workers, who are technically employed by Cognizant, were notified of the Feb. 6 return to office date in November. That came after workers had filed the prior month for union recognition, leading some to conclude the move was being made in retaliation. The workers are also seeking to have Google and Cognizant recognized as joint employers. The vast majority of the contractors were hired during the pandemic -- and have always worked remotely. Nearly a quarter of them live somewhere other than Austin. Workers say their pay, which starts at around $19 per hour, isn't enough to cover the costs of relocating to -- and living in -- Austin. Some also care for a child, spouse or parent, which complicates a shift to the office.
Cognizant says that the workers' contracts have always stated that the jobs were in-office jobs and that it communicated to workers since Dec. 2021 that it would provide 90 days notice when employees were expected back in the office. "Cognizant respects the right of our associates to disagree with our policies, and to protest them lawfully," the company said in a statement to Axios. "However, it is disappointing that some of our associates have chosen to strike over a return to office policy that has been communicated to them repeatedly since December 2021."
"My goal is to keep my friends employed," said Katie Marschher, who has worked at Cognizant on YouTube Music for nearly two years. Like many on her team, Marschher said she works more than one job to make ends meet. Although she lives in Austin, one of her other jobs is helping bands on tour, which requires her to travel. That works well remotely but she would have to scale back if required to be in office. "Our hope is we can actually have a dialogue where we are listened to," said Neil Gossell, who joined the YouTube/Cognizant team last year. He took the job specifically because it allowed him to work from home close to his spouse, who has post-traumatic stress disorder. The YouTube Music STRIKE press conference has been shared on Facebook and Twitter.
Cognizant says that the workers' contracts have always stated that the jobs were in-office jobs and that it communicated to workers since Dec. 2021 that it would provide 90 days notice when employees were expected back in the office. "Cognizant respects the right of our associates to disagree with our policies, and to protest them lawfully," the company said in a statement to Axios. "However, it is disappointing that some of our associates have chosen to strike over a return to office policy that has been communicated to them repeatedly since December 2021."
"My goal is to keep my friends employed," said Katie Marschher, who has worked at Cognizant on YouTube Music for nearly two years. Like many on her team, Marschher said she works more than one job to make ends meet. Although she lives in Austin, one of her other jobs is helping bands on tour, which requires her to travel. That works well remotely but she would have to scale back if required to be in office. "Our hope is we can actually have a dialogue where we are listened to," said Neil Gossell, who joined the YouTube/Cognizant team last year. He took the job specifically because it allowed him to work from home close to his spouse, who has post-traumatic stress disorder. The YouTube Music STRIKE press conference has been shared on Facebook and Twitter.
Let me guess (Score:5, Funny)
YouTube Contractors To Strike Over Forced Return To Office
... The YouTube Music STRIKE press conference has been shared on Facebook and Twitter.
They were going to put the video on YouTube, but there's no one in the office to post it. :-)
Re:Let me guess (Score:4, Insightful)
They were going to put the video on YouTube, but there's no one in the office to post it. :-)
And why the heck does YT need anyone present in the office to post videos? Why the heck do an INTERNET company need anyone physically in an office to function?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Anybody who has to deal with maintenance for one. Also, it's entirely within reason that software developers and IT personnel that support the underlying infrastructure be in the office to resolve incidents that can degrade services. In most cases, especially when it comes to incidents involving networking equipment and servers, that cannot be done remotely.
And when the shit really hits the fan and there's a major outage, it would be really problematic if suddenly you needed much of your staff to head to th
Re: (Score:1)
In most cases, especially when it comes to incidents involving networking equipment and servers, that cannot be done remotely.
What a weak premise. Stop procuring shitty hardware and deploying shitty software on top of it. I've got machines still going great for over a decade.
And why must all critical machinery stay in some central corporate office anyway? If I'm working from home in some other state and I'm in charge of maintaining some server, that server should be right here at home attached to the Internet through my fiber optic line.
Yeah, that's right, I've got fiber, cable, DSL, and wireless for that matter too. Solar PV's wi
Re: (Score:3)
We're talking about an office, not a datacenter.
Re: Let me guess (Score:2)
So am I. Not everything runs in a data center. Some companies, like the one I work for, keep everything in-house at on-site MDFs. While I'm sure you and/or the company you work for loves to put everything on AWS and/or Azure and/or whoever else and trust them blindly, not everybody is willing to do so. We have very little faith in public cloud services, and for very good reason that carries national security implications. We do trust them for some things, but they're basically things that they can't fuck up
Re: (Score:2)
We're talking about Google here, do you really think Youtube runs off some office MDF?
Re: Let me guess (Score:3)
Nope, read what I replied to:
Why the heck do an INTERNET company need anyone physically in an office to function?
And yeah, you might say that the company I work for is an internet company. Among other things.
Re:Let me guess (Score:4, Interesting)
Anybody who has to deal with maintenance for one. Also, it's entirely within reason that software developers and IT personnel that support the underlying infrastructure be in the office to resolve incidents that can degrade services.
Do you think the guys supporting the machines sit next to them, like in "server room" right next to their offices, and they rush into the server room to "fix" the servers like 30 years ago?
Modern datacenters have security so tight that some operators could work for years and never ever set foot in the room hosting the machines. And isn't Google famous for just letting machines fail without impacting services because their architecture just let workload seemlessly flow to other machines? Why would anyone need to be present on-site near the machines to resolve incidents?
Apart from the few dozen operators that really need to physically install/remote servers on regular pre-planned time windows, there is no reason for the thousands of devs and support staff to be anywhere near. Even if they all went to office, none of them would need to go near the datacenter at all.
Re: (Score:2)
My day job is looking after an HPC system at a UK university. It at times requires me and/or a college to be onsite. At the start of the pandemic 99% of the stuff was already fully remotely manageable. All that was left were the network switches and that was already a project to fix with a serial console which we already had but was a low priority. By the end of 2020 it was sorted though it was something of a trauma. What is it with manufacturers using random connectors and random pinouts for serial console
Re: (Score:1)
It's a good theory except for the fact they *have* been providing such service for 2 years and *are* providing such service right now.
As a result, the order to "return" the office is probably a disguised layoff since under texas "right to work" laws, it gives a justification to fire them despite being members of protected classes.
Or it's a completely arbitrary decision by some asshat executive.
Re: (Score:2)
There isn't much daily maintenance required - basically it amounts to cleaning the A/C air filters, replacing hard drives, upgrading equipment and replacing equipment. Most of these only require 1 or 2 people to handle racks of equipment.
A modern server has ILO or other management thing that lets you do everything you used to do physically in front of the machine, remotely. Need to power it on or off? A button in your web browser. Need to install an OS? You
They want everybody to get COVID... (Score:1)
I got COVID last month. Recovered after a week or two, but now my sense of balance is impaired.
It's like being on a ship at sea, even though I'm actually completely still on solid ground. Sometimes it feels like I'm sinking, sometimes it's like I'm sliding forward or backward, even though I'm really not. It's a weird feeling.
Once you've had COVID and end up with this weird sense of balance afterwards, it'll make you want to avoid walking around out of fear of overcompensating and face planting. It's the per
Re: (Score:1)
I recommend you wear a bicycle helmut around the house. A fall could kill you. I know more people killed by falls than by covid.
I hope it clears up for you.
There are some physical treatments for people with inner ear problems. I think they even showed one on the House TV show once. Basically, it's a series of particular motions that reset the inner ear fluids.
Good Luck
Re: (Score:1)
$19 an hour? (Score:2, Troll)
That wouldn't even cover my coffee expenses :(
Re: (Score:3)
Why that obsession with "office"? (Score:4, Insightful)
C'mon, spill it, C-Levels of the world, why do you want to waste money on office space when your workers are not only willing but happy to provide that to you for free? It just doesn't make any sense from an economic point of view, or what am I missing here?
Re:Why that obsession with "office"? (Score:4, Interesting)
or what am I missing here?
The fact that C-Levels are the type of old morons who think presence = performance. The reality is many companies don't have proper performance management systems in place. They are incapable of monitoring employees based on output and delivery, and thus monitor employees based on web browsing habits and looking over their shoulders while they are working.
Does your employer have "dead peasant insurance?" (Score:1)
Corporations take out a life insurance policy on "key employees" ahead of time, and the corporation is the beneficiary in the event of death. Sometimes they do this completely unbeknownst to the employee or their family.
It's called dead peasant life insurance. Dozens of blue chip companies [go.com] have these policies, but only banks are forced to reveal them, and several have billions of dollars worth of policies. KA-CHING!! COVID -- the corporate grift that keeps on giving!
Re: Why that obsession with "office"? (Score:2)
Spot! On! This is exactly the situation that I'm dealing with at my current employer.
Re: (Score:3)
Then present that data. I have no problem supporting decisions if I know what the reason behind them is, actually, knowing that reason enables me to work towards the goal that should be achieved. If I don't know that goal and just get a vague idea what should be done without reason, chances are good that I will, either deliberately or unwittingly, work against this goal.
I try to be efficient here. I thought that's the general goal in capitalism. Provide goods and services at best achievable quality for the
Re: (Score:2)
I'm not a victim, I don't have altruistic intentions. I try to do good work. If you treat me like a cog, don't expect me to work any smarter than one.
I doubt you want that from your security, though. But hey, let's try that for a change and see how great it works out for you.
And yes, I understand that dynamic quite well. I am a security professional with 20 years of experience, a background in finance and auditing and one in law. And I work for less than 150 grand a year. You think you'd be the first PHB I
Re: (Score:2)
Fortunately, your opinion matters little to me. I know what I'm worth and I know what I can get, that's good enough for me.
Go on and pretend to be important. I don't care. Have fun with the rest of your life.
Re:Why that obsession with "office"? (Score:4, Insightful)
There are a lot of benefits to people physically interacting during the work day. Thinking back to when I started my career, I learned so much from that contact. Building relationships that led to mentoring. Contact with people in other functions that exposed me to different facets of the company -- learned a lot about the business side, marketing side, sales side, etc. Perspectives that help with decision making and finding compromise when different company objectives collide. I feel for those just starting out who are in remote positions. There's so much they won't be exposed to that would greatly benefit their career growth.
Re:Why that obsession with "office"? (Score:4)
Thinking back to when I started my career, I learned so much from that contact.
All of that is not only possible, but dead simple and efficient to do remotely for those who are technologically literate. I've been writing software for nearly 38 years, and everything I've learned about company organization was more efficiently done over electronic communications.
In-person communication is extremely overvalued. I'm hard pressed to conceive of a less efficient way to convey information. It's like verbal history vs written history. The latter is far more efficient than the former. The same is true for electronic vs. in-person communication.
Re: Why that obsession with "office"? (Score:3)
Simple. Most people are not responsible enough to sit at their desks 8 hours a day.
I have one guy who is idle on teams and rumor it he is working 2 jobs. To end this management wants us all back in the office to keep on eye on us so we have to work when eyes are on us.
Another guy I can tell us driving during meetings. You can tell.
I hate to break it to you but studies show hours worked go up and productivity per hour goes down when work at home is available.
Re: (Score:3)
Just because C-Levels generally have two or three jobs to increase their salary doesn't mean this is normal for the rest of us. I know, the knave thinks other are the way he is, but guess what, people in general are not that way.
And I'd like to see those studies, because I have noticed the exact opposite trend. Mostly because in a WFH environment I can sit in a meeting where some narcissist middle manager drones on about something nobody gives half a fuck about while doing some work.
Re: (Score:3)
Nah, my disdain is more from them getting money for something that could be done by the average magic-8-ball, that's all. I don't really care about money, I have more than I need and I could earn more if I wanted, but if I asked for more money, I would probably lose my favorite job perk, having the PHBs "above" me by the balls.
Money doesn't matter. At some point, you can't really earn less than you need anymore, so you start looking around for other things that keep you entertained.
Re: (Score:2)
Nah, what eats away at me is that I'm one of the few privileged like that. Too many people have to suffer under completely incompetent and worthless managers and can't just get them replaced. That really bothers me.
We'd be way more efficient if people could just tell these useless spongers to go play with something poisonous (or just take care of the problem themselves). That's kinda sad.
Re: (Score:2)
What is funny is if you switch out C-Levels with employees in your arguement you make the exact opposite case on why workers need to come in.
A lack of trust seems to be the culprit. I tried work at home and I was good for awhile and liked it but I found myself goofing off after several days in a row. I do hybrid and come in more often as my ADHD is bad sometimes and I find myself listening to youtube instead of working.
The coworker working 2 jobs is angering me as he is taking some of my role. He was just h
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Pretty much this.
Try to force me back to an office and watch me quit the same instance.
respect right of Cognizant to not commit fraud (Score:5, Interesting)
"Cognizant respects the right of our associates to disagree with our policies, and to protest them lawfully," the company said in a statement to Axios. "However, it is disappointing that some of our associates have chosen to strike over a return to office policy that has been communicated to them repeatedly since December 2021."
is profoundly shitty. It's disappointing you're putting those sentences together implying what they're doing is illegal or unethical. I guess 2 can play at that game:
I respect the right of Cognizant to not illegally embezzle funds from their customers. It's disappointing some of their associates have been caught doing so.
I respect the right of Cognizant to not illegally state information for immigration purposes. It's disappointing some of their associates have been caught doing so.
I respect the right of Cognizant to not commit blatant fraud on invoices. It's disappointing some of their associates have been caught doing so.
Cognizant is a shitshow on a good day...the lowest bidder low-end shop. Every line of code I've seen them deliver has been supremely expensive, low-end, and painful to acquire. I have been called in to clean up after their Indian offshoring operations many times throughout the years. I've never seen a customer save money by hiring them. They hire shitty 22yo Indians who could never get hired elsewhere, lie about their credentials (he's got a master's from the "MIT of India" and 5 years of experience...but somehow looks like he's 20 and tells stories about graduating from college 2 years ago) and then the client foots the bill for them to train up and become not useless, often flying them onsite...and by the time he/she is competent, they leave and get a real job from a company that treats Indians with respect.
No one saves money by hiring them. Had you just hired someone locally for more, the job would have been done for half the cost in half the time. Most have figured this out.
It's 100% legal to strike. It's 100% legal for these employer to tell you to fuck yourself. It's 100% illegal for Cognizant to lie about their candidates credentials, which I have caught them doing multiple times or submit false billing statements, which I have also caught them doing.
I literally caught them frauding the company when my boss asked me about something they said they were working on. I found evidence they never submitted the code they said they did. My boss asked me to never speak of it again....because she was getting kickbacks from Cognizant...and it would make her look bad. They billed about 10k for something they didn't actually do...which I ended up doing in 2h in 10 lines of code. My boss was eventually fired because she advocated for hiring Cognizant and everything was overbudget and overschedule and of TERRIBLE quality...in fact all the code they delivered was buggy and not within requirements and had to be thrown away....but my boss got a lot of free trips, sponsored conferences, and they helped place her at another company....so she can pitch outsourcing the entire development team to Cognizant.
Offshoring was a huge scam and Cognizant was one of the biggest names in one of the biggest grifts I've personally ever seen firsthand.
Re: respect right of Cognizant to not commit fraud (Score:2)
Well, thatâ(TM)s youâ(TM)re interpretation, but I respectfully suggest youâ(TM)re putting a biased spin on it.
When I read their statement, I read that theyâ(TM)re acknowledging that itâ(TM)s perfectly legal and that itâ(TM)s ok to do. Of course they wouldnâ(TM)t want them to do so, but theyâ(TM)re not going to bring in the lawyers or the cops because itâ(TM)s clearly within their legal rights.
Iâ(TM)ve written similar messages about people who resign - it
Re: (Score:1)
2-3 Months Notice (Score:3)
So, they were notified in NOVEMBER. They've had plenty of time to make their decisions. They are fighting way too hard for a $19/hr job.
There is no controversy.
Re: (Score:3)
They were notified in 2021 prior to their accepting the job. The notice in November was a reminder of what they already agreed to which included the date the transition would take place on.
Re: (Score:2)
Cognizant knew of the legal ability for workers to end their contracts at will and collectively bargain for a new one too.
As OP said, there is no controversy. Just a difference of opinion and bargaining, likely the workers don't have the leverage to get their way, but the union is doing most of the work so might as well let them try. Playing the media is just part of the game.
Genius!!! (Score:3)
Get people to quit! Especially union workers who strike.
I wouldn't hesitate to cross the line. That is assuming they actually travel there to make a line. YouTube probably could find a few thousand recently laid off employees willing to work.
how does office not include home-office? (Score:2)
How does that not include a home-office? I.e. working @office located at home?
Re: (Score:2)
They were notified months in advance this was coming, at some point the employer should just start terminations for not showing up for work. Anticipating this they 'unionized' so that they could strike so that they don't have to even work from home now.
Re: (Score:2)
Workers became entitle to say no to employer demands when the 13th amendment was signed into law. Employment is a mutual agreement for employee to perform some work -- not for employer to dictate terms.
Outsourcing to Contractor (Score:2)
Isn't the point of outsourcing to NOT have the employees and use another company who will do that part. Like when companies started by getting rid of their custodians and contracted out non-synergystic departments.
Anyway, they should be striking against their own company. The move against the client, in this case, is a lit