On January 4, 225 Google engineers publicly announced that they'd had enough. Months of secret talks had finally culminated in the formation of the Alphabet Workers Union. The AWU represents the most high-profile union of its kind at perhaps the world's most powerful company, Alphabet (GOOG  ), otherwise known as Google's parent company.

Unlike a traditional union, the AWU isn't exactly arguing for higher wages for its members. Instead, they're mainly arguing for higher moral standards at Google (GOOGL  ). It wouldn't be a misstep to call the Alphabet Workers Union an "activist union."

But what are the implications of the AWU model of employee activism? And could the AWU's model offer a blueprint for forming similar "activist unions" at some of the world's most powerful tech companies?

A Union for All Workers

Labor unions have had a hard time getting a foothold in Silicon Valley because big-tech firms usually have thousands of disparate workers, with a multitude of employment classifications, according to the New York Times. Under a traditional union scheme, nearly half of all Alphabet employees such as contractors and non-full-time workers would've been left out in the cold.

The fact that the AWU's 225 card-carrying members represent less than a fraction of Google's 260,000 strong workforce might be one of the union's greatest strengths. The AWU is a minority union, and minority unions can include "temps, vendors or contractors," as noted in a New York Times op-ed penned by two of the group's leaders.

The AWU's minority union model could be a way for other similar movements to get a foothold at big tech companies, whose employees are as diverse and scattered as Google's.

But being inclusive isn't the only way the AWU breaks the traditional union mold. That's because the AWU has a very different set of goals in mind from most other unions.

A Union of Activists

Perhaps the biggest hurdle for organized labor to overcome in Silicon Valley was the typically well-paid, white-collar nature of big tech employees. For many of these employees, the traditional union focus of higher wages and higher benefits didn't exactly prove to be a clarion call for mobilized action.

But the AWU has an en entirely different premise; it aims "to give structure and longevity to activism at Google," the New York Times reports. The AWU aims to steer corporate policy. And everything from the type of contracts Google takes to how it handles sexual harassment up to and including benefits and pay for Google's subcontractors is on the table.

"Our goals go beyond the workplace questions of 'Are people getting paid enough?" the AWU's vice chair Chewy Shaw told the New York Times, "Our issues are going much broader. It is a time where a union is an answer to these problems."

And it's the sorts of issues that the AWU focuses on that make its model of union activism highly relevant to Silicon Valley's well paid but socially conscious workers. In its first press release, the AWU cites numerous policy flubs at Google over the past few years. Buy-outs for corporate honchos accused of sexual harassment. Questionable government contracts, which theoretically could've weaponized AI. And most recently, the firing of Dr.Timnit Gebru, a woman of color and one of AI's most prominent researchers, for her critique of Google's inclusion efforts.

Diversity, ethics, and accountability are issues that almost any employee at a tech behemoth would find meaningful. So not only is the AWU inclusive, but it's also relevant, and this has significant implications for the future of organized labor in big tech.

Why it matters

Technology's role in society isn't just an issue for Alphabet employees; it's an issue that concerns everyone. If the Alphabet Workers Union proves successful, we could have a new model for employee activism at companies like Amazon (AMZN  ), Facebook (FB  ), or any other tech giant that might emerge in the future. The AWU's model could offer a platform for speaking truth to power in these spaces, preventing potential missteps that might impact all of our futures.

By being relevant and inclusive, the AWU managed to form in a sector which is essentially free of organized labor, and that already makes it a success.