Staffers at Google DeepMind’s headquarters are forming a union in an effort to prevent the AI firm’s technology from being used by Israel and the US military. In a letter to Google management on Tuesday, employees requested that the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite the Union be recognized as joint representatives, with 98 percent of CWU members at DeepMind backing the move.
“We don’t want our AI models complicit in violations of international law, but they already are aiding Israel’s genocide of Palestinians,” an unnamed DeepMind employee said in a statement shared by the CWU. “Even if our work is only used for administrative purposes, as leadership has repeatedly told us, it is still helping make genocide cheaper, faster, and more efficient. That must end immediately, as must harm to Iranians and human lives anywhere.”
If successful, the unionization bid would secure representation for at least 1,000 staff based out of Google DeepMind’s London headquarters. Management now has 10 working days to voluntarily recognize the unionization efforts before legal processes are formally launched to force recognition.
The union bid includes specific demands that staffers want Google to address, which include making a clear commitment to not pursue the development of weapons, technologies, or contracts that harm or surveil people; negotiations around the use of AI that “materially affect our roles, workloads, or job security”; and the right for workers to abstain from projects that violate their “personal moral or ethical standards.” DeepMind staff globally are also reportedly considering in-person protests and “research strikes,” where they abstain from working on improvements to Google AI services like Gemini AI assistant, as part of a wider campaign against Google’s military-industrial AI contracts.
“Google UK recently received a letter from Unite and the Communications Workers Union requesting recognition for Google DeepMind UK employees,” Google spokesperson Kristen Morea said in a statement to The Verge. “At this stage in the process, there has been no vote to unionise. We have always valued constructive dialogue with employees and we’ll remain focused on creating a positive and successful workplace.”
This comes a week after hundreds of Google employees signed an open letter to CEO Sundar Pichai demanding the company refuse signing classified AI contracts with the Pentagon. Shortly after, Google — alongside OpenAI and Nvidia — signed deals that reportedly allow the US Department of Defense to use their AI models for “any lawful government purpose.” In 2024, the company fired more than 50 staffers in response to a protest over Google’s military ties to the Israeli government.
“This is a really important moment where tech workers at Google’s frontier AI lab are connecting with some of the most oppressed people in communities around the world in meaningful ways, based on foundational values of solidarity and trade unionism,” said John Chadfield, CWU national officer for tech workers. “By exercising their rights to collectivize they are in a strong position to demand their employer stop circling the ethical drain of military-industrial contracts, echoing the sentiment of many working people in the UK and elsewhere.”
Correction, May 6th: This article previously said that workers had “voted” to form a union. We have updated this to say that staffers are “forming a union,” as a vote is part of the official union recognition process that hasn’t happened yet, and added a statement from Google.
