[ad_1]
Employees at an Apple store in Atlanta petitioned for a union election Wednesday. If successful, workers can form the first union at an Apple retail store in the United States.
The movement continues its recent trend of service sector unionisation, in which unions won elections. Starbucks, Amazon and REI locations.
Workers hope to join the Communications Workers of America, which represents workers at companies like AT&T Mobility and Verizon and has made a joint move to the tech industry in recent years.
The union says nearly 100 workers at the store at Cumberland Mall in northwest Atlanta are eligible to vote, including salespeople and repair technicians, with more than 70 percent of them signing authorization cards showing their support.
The union said in a statement that Apple, like other tech employers, has created a staggered workforce that rejects retail employees the pay, benefits and respect they earn in corporate offices.
Workers said they liked working at Apple, but sometimes felt like they were being treated like second-rate employees. “We want equal to what the company is actually getting,” said Sydney Rhodes, a store employee involved in the union campaign.
Ms. Rhodes, who has worked at Apple for four years, said she and many of her colleagues hope to continue working for Apple in the years to come, but it is often unclear how they can move forward within the company. “Another reason we work for this alliance is a clearer and more concise way to grow, especially internally,” she added.
An Apple spokesperson said the company offers strong benefits, including health insurance, tuition reimbursement and paid family leave, and pays a minimum wage of $20 per hour for its retail employees.
“We are fortunate to have retail team members and we deeply value everything they bring to Apple,” the spokesperson said, but declined to comment on the union’s effort. The company did not say whether it would voluntarily recognize the union.
Officials at the National Labor Relations Board will then determine whether there is enough interest among workers to choose – the bar is officially 30 percent – and determine the terms of a possible vote. Both the union and the employer will have the opportunity to weigh in on the details, including the universe of employees eligible to participate and whether voting will take place by mail or in person.
Other unions, notably Workers United, a member of the huge Service Employees International Union that spearheaded the organizing campaign at Starbucks, are also trying to unionize Apple retail employees, which number in the tens of thousands in the United States.
Workers at an Apple Store in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal began signing authorization cards, which could lead to applying for a union vote that would allow them to join Workers United. movement reported over the weekend by the Washington Post.
Activism and worker organizing at Apple has been thriving since last summer, with dissatisfaction with the company’s plan to ask employees to return to the office. snowballed into a wider movementis called #AppleToo. The move was intended to highlight workplace issues such as harassment, unequal pay, and what employees described as a culture of confidentiality pervasive throughout the company.
“Apple employees in every line of business and around the world are using their voices to demand better treatment,” said Janneke Parrish, one of the #AppleToo leaders. Miss Parrish said Apple fired him in retaliation for its organization. “I’m very happy to see you take this big step in defending workers’ rights,” he said. Apple contested Ms. Parrish’s accusations.
The #AppleToo movement has included retail workers who say Apple isn’t doing enough to protect themselves from the coronavirus throughout the pandemic.
Complaints of retail workers The rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the country and it escalated late last year. At least 20 Apple stores had to close temporarily as a precaution or because stores can no longer operate as many of their workers are infected. On Christmas Eve, several dozen Apple employees left their jobs to demand better wages and working conditions.
Ms Rhodes said efforts at her store began in earnest last fall, and she’s been encouraged by her colleagues’ union campaigns at companies like Starbucks and Amazon.
Beyond its initiatives at Apple, the communications workers union has also appeared at Google in recent years, offering workers in so-called solidarity or minority association this allows them to coordinate actions without union selection and approval from the labor board. Companies do not have to negotiate with minority unions as with more formal unions.
The union also recently won a vote to represent nearly a dozen retail employees officially employed by a Google contractor at Google Fiber stores in Kansas City, Mo. This wanting to represent Several dozen Wisconsin-based quality assurance employees at Activision Blizzard, the video game maker founded by Microsoft acquisitionAwaiting regulatory approval.
[ad_2]
Source link