
Two Google employees say management is punishing them for organizing walkout - amyjess
https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/23/18512413/google-employees-walkout-organizers-retaliation-punishment
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ColinWright
Discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19720753](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19720753)

Alternate source:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19725623](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19725623)

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amyjess
Thanks. I didn't see the other thread.

Hey mods, please go ahead and kill mine. Turns out it wasn't needed.

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duxup
The ethics council was ended so ... it would seem to follow that there would
be less work on AI ethics in some way wouldn't it?

It's hard to know what is going on in detail.

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vkou
Is there also less work for YouTube Marketing?

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humblebee
If the marketing being done was using AI to help focus it, maybe. It's hard to
say without more detail.

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vkou
What makes you think that job of the second person in TFA has anything to do
with AI?

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humblebee
I got my stories mixed up. This is about the harassment walkout at the end of
last year. For some reason I thought this was all about the ethics board and
it's dismantlement.

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RickJWagner
"The decision to abandon the council was made as employees criticized the
inclusion of the president of the conservative Heritage Foundation. "

Note that TheVerge does not name Kay Cole James. Ms. James served as Virginia
Secretary of Health and Human Resources under then-Governor George Allen and
was the dean of Regent University's government school. She is currently a
member of the NASA Advisory Council. She is the president and founder of the
Gloucester Institute, a leadership training center for young African
Americans.

In other words, she is eminently qualified. Yet Meredith Whittaker organized
people against her because she disagrees with her politics.

Ms. James has not one incident on record where she caused harm to anyone. She
is merely the head of a conservative think-tank.

Diversity of thought is very important. I feel little sympathy for the
trouble-causers.

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xvector
I can't say I'm surprised. People tend to forget that corporations are run by
humans and give them free reign to act like monsters.

Hopefully these two can push through and create the change they want.

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atsjie
As a manager, would you want an activist person that rails against bad company
practices/policy, or a more docile person who only focusses on day-to-day
work?

