The Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) filed the complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Feb. 19.

The union claims that Hitachi as a vendor for Alphabet, imposed wage restrictions through its subsidiary, GlobalLogic.

GlobalLogic oversees about 1,800 employees responsible for rating, labeling, and training Google’s AI products.

The complaint alleges that GlobalLogic illegally limited wage discussions among Google AI contract workers and fired an employee who raised these concerns.

According to AWU, GlobalLogic banned pay discussions after employee Ricardo Levario surveyed his coworkers about wages and then dismissed him.

The union argues that both the policy and Levario’s termination violate workers’ rights.

Google clarified that GlobalLogic employees work for Hitachi, not Alphabet, and emphasized that it expects its suppliers to treat workers fairly.

If GlobalLogic is found to have violated labor laws, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) could investigate, mandate policy changes, or order Levario’s reinstatement.