Google DeepMind Unionization Talks Are Off to a Rocky Start
Google DeepMind Unionization Talks Are Off to a Rocky Start
Google DeepMind 工会化谈判开局不利
Negotiations between Google DeepMind and its London-based employees over the possibility of unionization stumbled this week, after initial talks left union representatives feeling they had wasted their time, WIRED has learned. 据《连线》（WIRED）获悉，Google DeepMind 与其伦敦员工之间关于工会化的谈判本周陷入僵局，工会代表在初步会谈后感到自己的时间被浪费了。
In May, DeepMind employees asked Google to recognize the Communication Workers Union and Unite the Union as joint representatives. The company later denied that request, but agreed to participate in negotiations arbitrated by a third-party body. 今年 5 月，DeepMind 员工要求 Google 承认“通信工人工会”（CWU）和“联合工会”（Unite the Union）作为其联合代表。公司随后拒绝了这一请求，但同意参与由第三方机构仲裁的谈判。
An initial meeting on Wednesday was attended by union officers, DeepMind employees involved in the unionization push, the third-party arbitrator, and DeepMind HR representatives. Those advocating for unionization were left frustrated by the absence of DeepMind leadership figures. 周三举行的首次会议有工会官员、参与工会化推动工作的 DeepMind 员工、第三方仲裁员以及 DeepMind 人力资源代表参加。由于 DeepMind 高层领导缺席，工会支持者感到非常沮丧。
“Recognition talks not being attended by senior management at the opening stage is a leading indicator that a company isn’t engaging in good faith. It’s just a time-wasting exercise,” claims John Chadfield, a CWU officer, who attended the meeting. “Negotiations have stalled at an early stage.” “在谈判初期，高级管理层不出席认可会谈，这是公司缺乏诚意的先兆。这纯粹是在浪费时间，”出席会议的 CWU 官员 John Chadfield 表示，“谈判在早期阶段就已经陷入停滞。”
DeepMind denies that negotiations have stalled. “The first step in the process is to define who the unions want to represent and the parties agreed on next steps to do this,” says Al Verney, a Google DeepMind spokesperson. “The appropriate representatives attended this initial meeting.” DeepMind 否认谈判陷入停滞。Google DeepMind 发言人 Al Verney 表示：“这一过程的第一步是明确工会想要代表的对象，双方已就此达成后续步骤的共识。出席此次初步会议的代表是合适的。”
During the meeting, a DeepMind employee read out a prepared letter on behalf of colleagues that support unionization, reviewed by WIRED. “Instead of having meaningful dialogue with its employees about our concerns, Google DeepMind workers have been treated as a problem handed off to HR,” the letter states. The employee reading the statement was interrupted on two occasions by DeepMind HR representatives, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the meeting. 会议期间，一名 DeepMind 员工代表支持工会化的同事宣读了一封准备好的信件（《连线》已审阅该信件）。信中写道：“Google DeepMind 没有就我们的关切与员工进行有意义的对话，而是将员工视为一个甩给人力资源部门处理的问题。”据多位知情人士透露，这名宣读声明的员工在过程中两次被 DeepMind 的人力资源代表打断。
The letter goes on to allege that Google has attempted to quash open dialogue between DeepMind employees and crack down on dissent, by shutting down or reconfiguring internal chat venues, and preventing staff from responding to company-wide communications about the unionization bid. Employees that sought to dance around restrictions were “reprimanded” by HR, the letter alleges. 信中进一步指控称，Google 试图通过关闭或重新配置内部聊天场所，并阻止员工回复有关工会化竞标的全公司通讯，来压制 DeepMind 员工之间的公开对话并打击异见。信中称，试图绕过这些限制的员工遭到了人力资源部门的“训斥”。
“The intention was to intimidate,” claims a DeepMind employee involved in drafting the letter, who asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak to the media. “These are well-established union-busting techniques.” “其目的是恐吓，”一位参与起草该信件的 DeepMind 员工表示。由于未获授权向媒体发言，该员工要求匿名。“这些都是行之已久的破坏工会手段。”
“We’ll continue to engage constructively in the…process and have open dialogue with employees,” says Verney. “For topics outside of this, we continue to offer employees a variety of other channels and opportunities to discuss their views.” “我们将继续以建设性的方式参与这一进程，并与员工进行公开对话，”Verney 表示，“对于此范围之外的话题，我们继续为员工提供各种其他渠道和机会来讨论他们的观点。”
The push to unionize at DeepMind began in February 2025, when Google’s parent company Alphabet removed a pledge not to use AI for purposes like weapons development and surveillance from its ethics guidelines, WIRED previously reported. 据《连线》此前报道，DeepMind 的工会化推动工作始于 2025 年 2 月，当时 Google 母公司 Alphabet 从其道德准则中删除了“不将人工智能用于武器开发和监控等目的”的承诺。
“Those principles were a big part of why I joined DeepMind,” says a second DeepMind employee, who asked to remain anonymous for the same reason. “We basically just got rid of them all.” “这些原则是我加入 DeepMind 的重要原因，”第二位同样要求匿名的 DeepMind 员工表示，“我们基本上把它们全部抛弃了。”
Employees across the AI industry have raised concerns about the militarization of the models they are developing. In late February, staff at DeepMind and OpenAI signed an open letter in support of Anthropic, after the US Department of Defense sought to designate the lab a supply chain risk over its refusal to allow its technology to be used in autonomous weapons and mass surveillance. 整个 AI 行业的员工都对他们所开发模型的军事化表示担忧。2 月下旬，在 DeepMind 和 OpenAI 的员工签署了一封公开信，支持 Anthropic。此前，美国国防部因 Anthropic 拒绝将其技术用于自主武器和大规模监控，试图将其列为供应链风险。
In April, The New York Times reported that Google had entered into a deal allowing the Pentagon to use its AI for “any lawful government purpose.” Roughly 600 US-based Google employees reportedly signed a letter protesting the permissive terms of the deal. The US Department of Defense later confirmed that it had reached deals with seven leading AI companies—including Google, SpaceX, OpenAI, and Microsoft—to use their models on classified networks. 4 月，《纽约时报》报道称，Google 已达成一项协议，允许五角大楼将其 AI 用于“任何合法的政府目的”。据报道，约 600 名美国 Google 员工签署了一封信，抗议该协议的宽松条款。美国国防部随后证实，已与包括 Google、SpaceX、OpenAI 和微软在内的七家领先 AI 公司达成协议，在机密网络上使用其模型。
Google has previously defended its deals with government organizations. “We are proud to be part of a broad consortium of leading AI labs and technology and cloud companies providing AI services and infrastructure in support of national security,” Jenn Crider, a Google spokeswoman, told The New York Times in April. “We remain committed to the private and public sector consensus that AI should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight.” Google 此前曾为与政府机构的交易进行辩护。Google 发言人 Jenn Crider 在 4 月告诉《纽约时报》：“我们很自豪能成为由领先 AI 实验室、技术和云公司组成的广泛联盟的一员，为国家安全提供 AI 服务和基础设施。我们仍然致力于私营和公共部门的共识，即在没有适当人工监督的情况下，AI 不应用于国内大规模监控或自主武器。”
In 2021, Google employees in the US formed the Alphabet Workers Union. The union is not recognized by Alphabet for collective bargaining purposes but has previously succeeded in negotiating agreements on behalf of Google contractors. 2021 年，美国 Google 员工成立了“Alphabet 工人工会”（Alphabet Workers Union）。该工会未获得 Alphabet 的集体谈判认可，但此前曾成功代表 Google 合同工谈判达成协议。
If negotiations in London do not progress, says Chadfield, the CWU representative, employees will ask an arbitration committee to force Google to recognize the unions. CWU 代表 Chadfield 表示，如果伦敦的谈判没有进展，员工将要求仲裁委员会强制 Google 承认工会。
“We’re hoping that Google genuinely comes to the table and we can agree something amicably,” claims Chadfield. “[But] both sides have to come to the table with some concessions. Google is coming with no concessions whatsoever.” “我们希望 Google 能真诚地坐到谈判桌前，让我们能友好地达成共识，”Chadfield 表示，“但双方都必须带着让步来到谈判桌前。而 Google 目前没有任何让步。”