Working from home was one of the perks of the covid-19 stay-at-home orders, and most of the corporate world was able to prove that their jobs could be done fully or mostly remote. But big tech’s push to return to work is not coming without resistance, as Axios is reporting this morning that contractors at YouTube are prepared to strike over being forced to return to the office.
The 43 contractors work in Texas for YouTube Music and are preparing to go on strike this afternoon over being forced to return to the company’s office in Austin this Monday, despite some of these contractors being completely remote previously. The contractors are employed by Cognizant, and Axios reports that a return-to-work notification was sent to them in November—after they had filed for union recognition.
“Our hope is we can actually have a dialogue where we are listened to,” said Cognizant/YouTube employee Neil Gossell, as quoted in Axios.
YouTube did not immediately return Gizmodo’s request for comment.
One of the main sticking points for the Cognizant contractors is pay. The contractors say their pay begins at $19 per hour, and claim that this isn’t enough income to sustain a life in Austin, where their office is. About 25% of the contractors currently live in Austin but some say they work more than one job to make ends meet. Axios says that the majority of these contractors were hired during the pandemic and have always been remote workers.
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At the same time, office occupancy has hit a post-pandemic high of 50.4% according to Axios, who cites a report from Kastle Systems. While the return to office trend has steadily increased since July 2021, the number appears to have plateaued since September, hinting at a new (old) reality for the corporate world. Tech giants like Tesla, Apple, and Google have been forcing their employees to return to the office post-pandemic for at least a year now, but some employees are continuing to pushback.
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