Standing in front of Google’s office in Lower Manhattan on Monday morning, a small crowd of tech workers had a message for their employer: Say something.
I was among a few reporters covering the Alphabet Workers Union’s press conference over President Donald Trump’s weekend executive order declaring companies will need to pay a $100,000 fee for employees on H-1B visas.
A group of around 25 stood huddled in front of the office, competing with the honking cars and confused joggers who darted in front of the podium. In red union T-shirts and gray “Googlers for job security” tops, they criticized Google for its public silence over the announcement, which has thrown much of corporate America into chaos.
“Google is one of the most powerful companies in the world, and they have yet to say anything about what’s happened and really take a stand and side with their own workers,” Parul Koul, president of the AWU, told me. She added that their main target is the Trump administration, but that a public statement from a company with such profound “political and economic power” is a “key part” of a response.
Many Big Tech companies sent internal memos after the executive order was issued on Friday. Google’s immigration law firm, BAL, instructed employees on H-1B visas to either stay in the country or, if they were traveling, return by 12:01 am on Sunday. The White House clarified on Saturday that the fee will only apply to new applicants.
As of Monday afternoon, Google had not issued a public statement on the new fee. Representatives for Google did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment. In 2024, Google applied for almost 5,500 H-1B visas for employees, according to USCIS data.
“Our employer, Google, has a choice to make,” Tim Traversy, a 29-year-old software engineer, said in a speech, as a passing truck driver gave a thumbs up from his window. “They are one of the largest and most powerful companies in the US. Will they stand with the immigrant workers that helped build this company?”
Lu Liu, 37, is from China and used to be on an H-1B visa himself, before he became a permanent resident in 2017. He said he would’ve canceled his travel plans had he still been on the visa, and plans to check in on his teammates as soon as he logs on. Liu and other speakers reiterated a separate demand that Google allow employees who are let go to take severance as an extended period of time on payroll, to allow workers on visas more time to find a new job if they’re ever laid off.
At one point, two security employees from Google came outside, and a union member jogged over to chat with them, his sign imploring Google to “stand with immigrant workers” dangling by his side. I turned my phone camera to their conversation, prepared for an altercation, but they stood smiling and gesturing, before eventually shaking hands. Google relies on H-1B visas, and I left wondering what those high up at the company — those whom union members aimed to reach — would say if they weren’t worried about the consequences.
Tech executives, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, have spent the past few months getting close to Trump, donating millions to his inaugural fund and attending a White House dinner earlier this month. While companies five years ago were quick to publicly champion progressive causes, they’ve since started shying away from commenting on hot-button social issues, including immigration.
As the Google employees walked into their office for the first workday after the executive order, they didn’t know what the mood would be like inside. Traversy told me people don’t tend to talk about stuff like this in the office, except in one-on-one conversations.
Still, he said, it “lurks under the surface.”
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