Facebook is pushing to secure higher pay and better benefits for contract workers who support its employees, including janitors, receptionists, security workers and cooks.
In a blog post on Tuesday, May 12, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg announced a new minimum hourly wage of $15 for contractors and vendors working with the company, at least 15 paid days off per year, and a $4,000 “new child benefit” for new parents who do not receive paid parental leave.
“Taking these steps is the right thing to do for our business and our community. Women, because they comprise about two-thirds of minimum wage workers nationally, are particularly affected by wage adjustments. Research also shows that providing adequate benefits contributes to a happier and ultimately more productive workforce,” Sandberg wrote.
Facebook initially planned on announcing the changes last Monday, given the new standards are already in effect for some of the social media company’s largest support teams at its Menlo Park headquarters in California. However, relaying the information was delayed after the sudden death of Sandberg’s husband, David Goldberg, on May 1.
The move comes at a time as low-wage workers nationwide pressure companies to provide a minimum wage of $15 per hour and better benefits. Silicon Valley tech giants—such as Apple, Google and Facebook – have received extra scrutiny in this regard, as the wage gap between its employees and workers who serve the company but are paid by outside contractors can be particularly jarring.
Facebook would not disclose the number of workers the changes affect, although it is likely to be in the hundreds, the Associated Press reported.
Among indicators of improvements for tech industry contract workers is a deal agreed upon in February that enhances conditions for shuttle drivers who bring Facebook employees to and from work.
“Facebook’s decision is a direct result of security officers and shuttle drivers joining together for a stronger Silicon Valley,” said David Huerta, president of United Service Workers West, a California-based affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, according to USA Today. “We see this as a great first step, and we will continue to work with good corporate citizens like Facebook who are heeding the call to raise standards and respect service workers’ right to organize a union.”
Further improvements have occurred at Google and Apple, as both companies began taking contract security workers under its payroll following union protests and demands for better-working conditions. Support staff at Google in Northern California were also given a minimum hourly wage of $15, according to the company. Google is also pushing to raise driver hourly pay to at least $24, plus an additional 15 percent for those who work split shifts.
Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, described the changes in Facebook’s wage and benefits as “corporate responsibility at its best.”
“Facebook’s extraordinary announcement marks the dawn of a new day in this country,” Ness said. “At a time when federal lawmakers are dragging their feet on fair and family-friendly workplace policies, Corporate America is beginning to step forward to adopt these policies – in Facebook’s case, by saying the company won’t be party to poverty wages and practices that force workers to choose between job and family.” (With reports from Associated Press and USA Today)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend May 16-19, 2015 Sec. D pg.1)
