The organizers of Google Walkout say they have been threatened with demotion.

On the first day of November last year, 20,000 Google employees of more than 40 offices around the world hosted an expulsion protesting over how the company had handled serious allegations of sexual abuse and harassment, and how many employees described as a culture of impunity for leaders. The event was planned by a core group of seven organizers working at Google. On Monday, two of the women, Meredith Whittaker and Claire Stapleton, sent examples of retaliation they met from the company page on an international mailing list from Google. Wired first reported the two were against blowback from Google to help organize the protest.

Stapleton is a 12 year old veteran at Google. Two months after the expiration she received words that she would be demoted and lose half of those who reported to her. "I escalated to HR and to my VP, who made things worse," wrote Stapleton in her letter. "My leader started to ignore me, my work was given to other people, and I was told to go on sick leave, even though I'm not sick." Finally, she hired a lawyer. After an investigation, Google decided to return to its decision to demote her, although Stapleton says her work environment remains hostile and she regularly considers quitting.

Whitaker, who leads Google's open research group and is co-founder of the AI ​​Now Institute at New York University, was told that she had to "leave [her] work at AI Ethics and AI Now Institute," according to e -the mail. She received words from this decline after Google announced it would cancel an A.I. ethics board.

So far, organizing work at Google has not been in the form of forming an official union, probably partly because the company has been relatively permissive in allowing employees to criticize and question Google's external and internal practices. But even though Google employees are not unions, according to the National Labor Code, they are still protected against retaliation when multiple workers address the employment relationship. Protesting an environment that supports sexual harassment can be a protected activity, meaning that the two can have a legal claim, according to Steve Smith, Communications Director of the California Labor Federation.

The employee's efforts to date have not gone unnoticed. The day after the deportation in November, Google agreed to cease compulsory arbitration in cases involving sexual harassment or assault charges. This change did not apply to contractors, but made up about half of Google's workforce. In December, exhibitors sent a letter to Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, claiming that the company's massive entrepreneurial workforce deserves better pay and benefits. Earlier this month, Google announced that it would begin to require companies providing the contractor's workforce to provide certain benefits that paid sick days, paid parental leave, study allowance, and healthcare. In addition, contracting companies, which also include cleaning and food workers, must also pay those who work at Google at least $ 15 per hour.