New Joint Employer Rule to Test Tech Companies’ Union Playbook

A landmark union victory at YouTube Music, along with pending changes to a federal joint-employer rule, may force tech companies to reconsider relationships with contractors and staffing agencies.

Workers at YouTube Music voted unanimously to unionize with the Alphabet Workers Union, a Communications Workers of America affiliate, which will force Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc., into contract negotiations with a union for the first time in its history.

The Texas-based workers are directly employed by staffing agency Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., but a National Labor Relations Board regional director ruled in March that Google has enough control ...