Read more from Author Rachel Maga here: https://globelivemedia.com/author/rachel-maga/
Welcome to Human Capital for the latest information on weekly work, diversity and inclusion. Last week began with a public apology on GitHub that fired an employee who warned Washington, DC employees about the Nazis on Capitol riots.
After that, Google stopped access to company information by AI ethics researcher Margaret Mitchell, and some whispered that it was reminiscent of the treatment of Dr. Timnit Gebru. It was. Meanwhile, Instacart has revised its platform, resulting in job losses.
GitHub HR manager resigns, company offers reinstatement to dismissed Jewish employees
GitHub found that there was “serious negligence in judgment and procedure” about dismissing a Jewish employee who warned a colleague that there was a Nazi in the Washington, DC area on the day of the U.S. Capitol riot. recognized.
Erica Brescia, COO of GitHub, said in an official blog that the company’s HR manager has resigned the day before, taking full responsibility for the situation. GitHub didn’t disclose the name of the person who left the company, but it’s widely known that GitHub’s HR department head is Carrie Olesen.
GitHub said it would overturn the “decision to leave the employee” and tell the agent about it.
“I would like to express my heartfelt apologies to him in public,” Brescia wrote in a blog. However, the dismissed employee had previously told me that he wanted another form of reconciliation rather than reinstatement.
Google’s AI ethicist is interrogated
Google is investigating AI ethics researcher Margaret Mitchell using automated scripts to find cases of Dr. Timnit Gebru’s abuse, Axios reported. Gebble said he was fired by Google but the company claims she resigned. In a statement to Axios, Google said it had locked Mitchell’s account.
Our security system automatically locks an employee’s internal account if it discovers that it is at risk due to an authentication issue, or if automated rules regarding sensitive data are invoked. I will. In this case, our system yesterday detected that an account illegally took out thousands of files and shared them with multiple external accounts. I explained this to the parties today.
The recently formed Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) has issued a statement worried about Mitchell’s account suspension.
“Regardless of the company’s findings, the ongoing action for our leaders casts doubt on Google’s attitude towards ethics in AI and business practices. Many members of the ethics AI team are members of AWU. Yes, we recognize the importance of their duties and stand up in solidarity for them. ”
Google’s Sundar Pichai meets with HBCU leaders
More than five representatives of HBCU (Historical Black College) will meet with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Chief Executive Officer Melonie Parker during January 2021. However, we will exchange opinions on the recent issue of discrimination such as race in the company. According to CNN. The purpose of this meeting is for HBCU to have a good relationship with Google and for the company to provide a good environment for HBCU students and graduates.
I’m finna tell yall why @Google fired me- their MOST successful diversity recruiter in the history of their company- with the receipts to support that statement.
– Real Abril🌈 (@RealAbril) December 21, 2020
Amazon launches anti-union website
The company launched an anti-union website prior to Amazon’s Alabama warehouse workers voting to form a union. The site, called Do It Without Dues, aims to persuade employees not to vote in favor of forming a union.
Instacart plans to fire nearly 2000 people
Instacart plans to dismiss nearly 2,000 employees, including 10 from Kroger’s supermarket Mariano’s, which formed a union in 2020. Vice reported. The target employees are in charge of customer service and product packaging in the store.
According to a Vice article, 10 affected employees formed the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1546 in Storky, Illinois. But they haven’t negotiated a deal with Instacart yet, Vice reports. Instacart has notified the union of the change plan. Instacart said in a letter that it plans to stop hiring salespeople at Kroger-affiliated stores (including Storky’s Mariano’s store), in the first and second quarters of 2021, but after mid-March. Says.
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