March 2, 2024

Contract ended for Austin-based YouTube team amid union efforts, city labor support

Source: Austin Impact

As Austin leaders were considering formal support for labor efforts between a local YouTube Music support team and their employers, Google and Cognizant Technology Solutions, the workers learned their contract had been ended during a Feb. 29 City Council meeting.

The move followed more than a year of unionization efforts by the Austin-based YouTube Music Content Operations Team, which is subcontracted by Cognizant under Google.

Council member Zo Qadri, who authored a resolution in support of the workers, criticized the update Feb. 29. “Shame on Google for firing workers that work really hard, that were underpaid, that were treated badly, that acted in good faith and then were let go this morning," he said.

The National Labor Relations Board in January found Cognizant and Google had already engaged in unfair and illegal labor practices by refusing to bargain with the content team and ordered the employers to meet their workers at the negotiating table. Google contests the finding.


Read more: https://communityimpact.com/austin/south-central-austin/government/2024/03/01/contract-ended-for-austin-based-youtube-team-amid-union-efforts-city-labor-support/

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Union Busting!

They organized, the NLRB election was won, and then Google refuses to negotiate, and ends their employment. Google sucks.

March 1, 2024

How each senator voted on delaying a government shutdown

Source: Washington Post

By Hannah Dormido,
Kati Perry and
Adrin Blanco
Feb. 29, 2024 at 8:42 p.m.


The Senate passed a bill on Thursday to extend the expiration date for federal funding later into March, delaying a partial government shutdown that was set to begin March 2. The continuing resolution will fund roughly 20 percent of government departments until March 8 and the rest through March 22.

The House passed the legislation on Thursday afternoon by a vote of 320-99. The measure required the support of two-thirds of the chamber.

The legislation pushes the funding deadline to March 8 for several agencies, including the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Energy, Agriculture, Interior, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency. Financing for most of those agencies was set to expire Saturday just after midnight.

Here's how your senator voted on keeping the government open

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2024/senate-vote-government-shutdown-march/?itid=hp_mv-top-stories_latest-headlines_p001_f011

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Kicks the can for a week.

Vote was 77 for, 13 against.

Ten (10) Senators not voting/absent