Google has announced plans to pay workers in Houston, TX, Iowa, and North Carolina less, a move that has lead to substantial backlash.
Google ruffled features by announcing a change in the compensation status for the Research Triangle area in North Carolina, as well as Houston, TX, and Des Moines, IA. According to the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), the salary band was lowered from “National” to “Discount.
The company’s decision comes at a time when many Google employees are relocating to these areas, and will result in 25% less pay than the National rate. The areas in question include higher concentrations of minorities, groups Google is actively courting in its attempts to diversify. As the AWU points out, if Google is successful in expanding its recruitment of minorities, “the data will tell the story that Google is paying minorities less.”
The AWU is calling on Google to abandon its plans and reclassify the areas to match the National salary band. The union also wants Google to be more transparent about any future pay decisions.
