[AndrewKemendo]

The problem here is characterizing people as "second class citizens" as a blanket statement based on their work arrangement.

For all you know the subcontractor gives way better work arrangements and benefits than they would get as a Google FTE. It may not be likely in the specific case of Google but it's unknown.

For example, maybe I don't want to move to CA full time and I'd rather have some other benefit that Google doesn't have, like a flexible living or work arrangement. So the contract company has those perks, and I only do the Google contract for 4 months. Why should I prefer Google benefits over that? That's not a second class citizen.

Because Google is required to abide by the same contract law as every other company they have to abide in the same way.

So it's just wrong to characterize it that way and you can't have a different set of laws for Google than you have for every other company.

[HillaryBriss]

You're right -- if the discussion were about a "typical" large corporation.

But this is Google, the company that was not supposed to be typical, wasn't supposed to engage in penny-pinching corporate bean counting, wasn't supposed to reward a perpetrator of sexual harassment -- wasn't supposed to be "evil."

Google is a standard-bearer for the leading edge, prosperous, tech economy. It's the heart of the sector that is supposed to be saving us, creating abundant high-paying jobs for the people. It's the company of glorious benefits, 10% projects and enlightened employees. And California, that bright and shining star of democracy, that leading-edge progressive state, has pinned its hopes for the future (and its tax revenue and employment growth) on the likes of Google. Google is the one corporate monopoly we can all love.

But cracks are appearing. More and more we see that Google is a hell of a lot like a typical corporation. Our hopes for a prosperous enlightened, well-employed, tax-revenue rich future are dashed against the rocks of common corporate reality. And it's ugly.

That's the story here.

[CydeWeys]

> For all you know the subcontractor gives way better work arrangements and benefits than they would get as a Google FTE. It may not be likely in the specific case of Google but it's unknown.

This is pretty much never the case, and certainly isn't the case here. This hypothesis strains credulity.

[pesmhey]

Yeah, I agree with your sentiment. Also, this is absolutely correct in the context of this conversation:

you can't have a different set of laws for Google than you have for every other company.

While I agree with the sentiment, the reality is a bit different. This issue seems to be prompted mostly by contractors who are doing the same work for less pay, basically. Like, sure, in a walkout, you’re going to get a lot of support staff, cleaning staff, etc., but in the day-to-day, it seems like this issue has been made into a big deal because you might have a team of 15 people, where 8 are contractors, doing the same work, and being payed less. This helps the company’s bottom line immensely, where you don’t have to give equity to half of the people doing real work.

Again, I get your sentiment, but I don’t think that it captures the reality of what goes on.

[Latteland]

You don't have to move to cali to work for google, and no one is getting better pay as a contractor at google or probably anywhere else, no one has better benefits. It would be shocking if this was the case.