Hellllooooo, 2021! Welcome back to Human Capital, a weekly newsletter describing the latest in the field of work, diversity and inclusion.
Not much has happened this week, so I figured I'd use the time to rethink some of the most important work stories of 2020 .
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Gig workers v. Uber, Lyft, Instacart et al.
California's Proposition 22, backed by concert companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash, has been passed to ensure concert workers are classified as independent contractors. It was a major proposition that resulted in the yes side contributing north of $ 200 million to his efforts. But the fight is not over about which you can read here .
The Amazon stumbles
Amazon faced a number of job disputes throughout the year, many of them involved warehouse workers is surveillance .
An example: Christian Smalls, a former Amazon warehouse worker, was fired by Amazon in March after staging a strike at one of the company's logistics centers on Staten Island. As a result, the New York Attorney General is investigating whether Amazon violated federal worker safety laws and whistleblower protection laws in the state of New York by firing Smalls.
Smalls' resolution helped galvanize other warehouse workers who later formed an international organization to demand changes within Amazon's warehouses. Organizers pointed to worker retaliation as one of the drivers of Amazon Workers International training. Meanwhile, Amazon executives reportedly discussed discrediting Smalls and making him the face of the organizational movement.
An Amazon spokesperson previously told ProWellTech that the company did not fire Smalls for organizing a protest. Instead, Amazon said it fired him for "endangering the health and safety of others and violating his working conditions."
In November, Smalls filed a lawsuit against Amazon claiming that the company had not provided IPR to its workers.
Tech workers unionize
Kickstarter and Glitch became two of the first tech companies to unionize. Kickstarter workers voted to unionize in February. A month later, Glitch workers voted to unionize .
In September, at least ten tech companies were actively trying to form unions, Grace Reckers, OPEIU's main northeastern union organizer, told ProWellTech.
"Employees are seeing that they don't really have control over how the products they produce are used," he said. "While most of the messages in Silicon Valley are about creating a better world for us by making our lives easier and more innovative, it also moves by the philosophy of moving fast and breaking things."
Disclosure: My partner works at Glitch and is on the union contract committee.
Pinterest is under heavy scrutiny
Two former Pinterest employees, Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks, spoke about racial and gender discrimination in the company . Soon after, former Pinterest COO Francoise Brougher sued the company alleged gender discrimination. Pinterest settled the lawsuit for $ 22.5 million .
But Ozoma and Banks have described to me a double standard in their experiences than Brougher's. While Brougher received a $ 20 million payment, Ozoma and Banks received less than a year's layoff.
"This follows the ancient American tradition where black women step forward, opening a trail, revealing injustice and white women coming in and reaping all the benefits of that," Banks told me.
The departure of Dr. Timnit Gebru from Google makes waves
Timnit Gebru, one of the best researchers in artificial intelligence, said she was fired by Google for emailing her direct reports discussing how disappointed she was with her organization's approach to DEI and the approval process around her research paper. Gebru sent that email after Google didn't give her permission to attach the names of her and her colleagues to an AI ethics paper on language models. Gebru had previously sent an email to her superiors, specifying that if they did not meet her specific conditions, she would prepare to leave. Google went on to tell her that it accepted her resignation and cut her from accessing her work email.
In December, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he will look into the events leading up to Gebru's departure . In Pichai's memo, he said the company must "accept responsibility that a prominent black leader, woman with immense talent left Google unhappy." He also noted how it had a "ripple effect" through Google's underrepresented communities.
Alexis Ohanian makes room for blacks at the table
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian he resigned from the company's board of directors , insisting that Reddit replace him with a person of color. Reddit followed Ohanian's advice and appointed CEO of Y Combinator Michael Seibel .
Problems in The Wing coworking space
The Wing exploded following allegations of racism and other forms of discrimination. Its CEO, Audrey Gelman, resigned accordingly and he later apologized for not taking any action .
In a note sent to former employees , Gelman apologized for not taking action to combat the mistreatment of women of color at The Wing. He also acknowledged that his drive for success and rapid downsizing "came at the expense of a healthy and sustainable culture that matched the expected values and workplace practices that made our team feel valued and respected."
This meant, Gelman said, The Wing "had not subverted the historical oppression and racist roots of the hospitality industry; we dressed him like a kindler [sic], more delicate version. "
ProWellTech Sessions: Justice is on the horizon
TC Sessions: Justice will hit your virtual screens this March. You'll be able to hear from people like Backstage Capital's Arlan Hamilton, Gig Workers Collective's Vanessa Bain, Christian Smalls, and others.
Tickets are available here for $ 5.