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Comment by lowiqengineer | Hacker News Reader

It’s pretty apparent that they think people who don’t work for google are vastly inferior human beings. It honestly runs counter to their “social justice” facade.

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I really think this is unreasonable. Even at google there are different subcultures, including many with an anti-corporate streak. Furthermore I’m not going to blame an employee for not sticking out their neck for client businesses who also don’t give a shit about them. This isn’t a problem of individual providence.

Google needs a damn union just to get some reason in the building.

> Google needs a damn union just to get some reason in the building.

The problem is not mainly with how Google treats their employees (though there's definitely something wrong there), but with how they treat their customers.

Its true - they believe themselves to be so damn smart they behave with rank condescension towards everyone else as the "top 1% of intelligence".

If they were so smart their lunch wouldn't be getting eaten by the likes of Amazon.

I was referring to the use of a union to give employees say about the products they make. They provide collective leverage far more broadly than in the negotiation of work conditions and compensation and can negotiate directly with the board, who would normally go to great lengths to avoid speaking to their own employees (in my experience).

Hell, I’ve met more investors footing my salary than board members per se, and they definitely have zero interest in employee negotiations—that’s what management is for.

Nobody who get a Google paycheck has a sincere "anti-corporate" streak.

An anecdote: I was running my bootstraped company with 5 employees when in 2013 I suddenly started getting Google recruiting emails about once every 4 days. They wanted me for a "role" of a SRE, probably because I asked stack overflow sysadmin questions. I never responded.

> Google needs a damn union just to get some reason in the building.

I'm pretty pro-union in general but I don't follow your reasoning. Cops are unionized, and when they murder innocent civilians in broad daylight, the unions are right behind to pay for their legal defense. Unions don't bring reason to a workforce; they merely represent that workforce.

> including many with an anti-corporate streak.

So basically the worst form of slacktivist hypocrites.

I was not looking to start an argument; you are entitled to your opinions, at least.

I’m not arguing either. But dude, google? Google!? Its business is selling ads for corporations. A google software engineer can get a job at countless places including nonprofits sometimes making close to google money, but even if they made half that income they would be living more comfortably than 3/4s of the US.

Anti corporate soapbox or google job, please just pick one.

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