A number of left-wing Google employees were arrested on Tuesday for occupying company offices in New York City and Sunnyvale, California.
The disgruntled employees were protesting Google’s $1.2 billion contract to provide cloud computing services to the Israeli government. They opted to stage a sit-in at Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s office in Sunnyvale and the 10th floor commons of Google’s New York office.
BREAKING— @google also orders for arrest of of its own workers in SUNNYVALE who sat in for 10 hours at @googlecloud CEO @thomasortk’s personal office, demanding google cut Project Nimbus, the company’s $1.2 billion contract with Israel.
arrests were caught on our livestream pic.twitter.com/pgLe4gkybY
— No Tech For Apartheid (@NoTechApartheid) April 17, 2024
As seen in the video above, NYPD officers began arresting protesters who refused their request to vacate the office. The Washington Post reported that nine employees were arrested across both offices, citing Jane Chung, a spokesperson for the protesters.
According to The Post, the sit-ins organized by the activist group No Tech for Apartheid were seen as “escalating the conflict inside tech companies over the war in Gaza and whether U.S. companies should sell their technology to Israel.”
Google workers in NYC and Sunnyvale have stated they will sit in until they are removed–or Google drops its contract with Israel.
Supporters outside Google HQ in Manhattan have committed to stay outside in support. Stay tuned https://t.co/8Q8K4WKcLb
— jane chung (@orientaljanedoe) April 16, 2024
“As the Israeli Occupation Forces bombed homes, clinics, and schools in Gaza and threatened to push Palestinian families from their homes in Jerusalem May 2021, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud executives signed a $1.22 billion contract to provide cloud technology to the Israeli government and military. By doing business with Israeli apartheid, Amazon and Google will make it easier for the Israeli government to surveil Palestinians and force them off their land,” said a No Tech for Apartheid website set up to push an open letter.
Outdoor protests were also held at Google offices in New York City, Sunnyvale, San Francisco, and Seattle.
“Some workers and outside activists have opposed the contract, known as Nimbus, since it was signed in 2021. But protests have ramped up over the past seven months as Israeli forces continue to bombard the Gaza Strip, following Hamas’s Oct. 7 cross-border attack on Israel. Workers have circulated internal emails, protested outside company offices and staged a “die-in” outside one of Google’s buildings in San Francisco in December, blocking traffic on a busy downtown street,” The Post reported.
BREAKING— ARRESTS OF GOOGLE WORKERS BEGIN IN NYC
WE WILL CONTINUE TO ORGANIZE@ThomasOrTK YOU ARE A GENOCIDE PROFITEER
DROP PROJECT NIMBUS NOW
NO TECH FOR GENOCIDE pic.twitter.com/pxBgLQUuD7
— No Tech For Apartheid (@NoTechApartheid) April 17, 2024
Google spokesperson Bailey Tomson said the employees were violating company policies and that “action” will be taken.
“Physically impeding other employees’ work and preventing them from accessing our facilities is a clear violation of our policies, and we will investigate and take action,” Tomson said, according to the newspaper. “These employees were put on administrative leave, and their access to our systems was cut. After refusing multiple requests to leave the premises, law enforcement was engaged to remove them to ensure office safety.”
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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