Google programmer fired for protesting at office - says he just came to watch (company denies)

A programmer who was fired from Google due to protests at the company's offices says that he was simply observing the disobedience action against the Israeli defense contract. The former employee anonymously revealed that he went to the hall of Google's New York office just to see the protest.

"When I got there, about 20 people were sitting on the floor. I didn't talk to them, but I spoke with people who were standing, handing out flyers, etc.," he said, adding that the protesters were wearing identical t-shirts.

Then the employee returned to his workplace and visited the protesters again at the end of the workday. "I talked to them for about four minutes, for example: 'Oh my God, are you still sitting here! How are you?'," he said. The next day he returned to work and spent the day without incident, but in the evening he received an email from Google notifying him of his dismissal.

Earlier, Google sent 9 employees who occupied offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California, on administrative leave. They protested against Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract with the government of Israel. They were later arrested as well. Google then fired 28 employees. An internal memo from the company's global security department stated that they were ready to take further measures if necessary. Less than a week later, Google fired more than 20 other employees - some of whom also claim they did not protest.

The fired programmer says that no one had ever contacted him or asked if he had actually participated in the protests. He says he is shocked and had no idea this would happen.

While observing the protest action, a security guard approached him and others, asking to show their Google badges to make sure there were no unauthorized participants. "It never occurred to me that I shouldn't show my badge. He is a guard at my workplace, and I did nothing wrong."

More than 50 fired employees filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. According to a statement from the group No Tech For Apartheid, which organized the protests, employees accuse Google of retaliation and request to be reinstated.

Google denies firing those who were not involved in the protests. A Google representative stated that all fired employees were "personally and unequivocally involved in subversive activities in our buildings."

Source: The Verge