Google’s union, the Alphabet Workers Union, launched a petition on Tuesday titled “#DropTheDeadnames,” demanding that employees be permitted to use their chosen names on company ID badges. This campaign began after Phares Lee, a biological woman who is transgender, asked to have their “deadname” removed from their badge while employed by a subcontracting security firm to work at a Google data center in South Carolina. Their request was denied.
Addressed to Google’s Chief Diversity Officer, On-site Google Security Manager and Site Operations Manager, the petition began, “We believe Google and G4S must build a better workplace. That means creating a workforce that is more representative of our users, and a workplace that creates a sense of belonging for everyone.”
“We believe Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are vital for providing community, personal, and professional development opportunities for Googlers from underrepresented communities,” the petition continued. “Therefore, we believe that Google and G4S must make the following immediate corrective actions:”
The campaign then listed five “corrective actions.”
- Issue a valid ID badge to “Phares Lee” instead of only accepting the one with his dead name on it.
- Cease reverting his preferred name to his dead name after Phares attempts to update it within Google’s online systems (Teams/MOMA).
- Communicate to all temporary, vendor, and contract workers (TVCs) that they are free and able to meet with ERGs during office hours and events during their working time—the same as Google full-time employees (FTEs).
- Communicate to all TVCs that they are also permitted to communicate and participate with ERGs during non-working time—the same as Google FTEs.
- Create a “Chosen Name Policy” that covers all FTEs and TVCs alike; ensures publicly displayed names reflect a chosen name where it differs from their legal name; allows pronoun stickers to be displayed on name badges, and protects the right to privacy of dead names.
“I’ve been facing workplace issues that feel like discrimination to my gender identity, but it’s not just about me as an individual. Google and G4S need to make changes so that no one else has to go through what I’ve had to” said Lee, according to the petition.
In addition to signing the petition, viewers are encouraged to “Wear a ‘Hello my name is’ sticker to work,” or “Post a selfie in solidarity” with the hashtag, #DropTheDeadnames.
“For Lee, Google’s value of a ‘workplace that creates a sense of belonging for everyone’ has not been extended to TVCs (Google’s term for temps, vendors, and contractors) like him,” the campaign explains. “He has requested repeatedly to remove his deadname from his name badge, only to be denied. He repeatedly changed his deadname to his chosen name on Google’s Teams/MOMA, only to have it revert to his deadname. Finally, he was told he’s not even allowed to talk to corporate-created Employee Resource Groups which were set up to support underrepresented communities. None of this ‘creates a sense of belonging.’” (Emphasis added by campaign).
Deadnaming is a term used to describe the use of a transgender person’s birth or former name, often without the person’s “consent.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition had 345 signatories.