Employees at several Apple stores in the United States have taken steps to form unions and negotiate higher wages and better profits.
Retail workers at an Apple Store in Atlanta turned Wednesday the first group of employees to the tech giant to officially file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to hold union elections.
At least 70 percent of the store’s 107 employees have signed union authorization cards, according to Communications Workers of America, which would represent workers if they voted in favor of unionization.
The vote could take place next month.
Low wages in a high stress environment
The official presentation comes days after employees of Apple’s retail store at New York City’s Grand Central Terminal they announced that they are also collecting signatures to try to unionize and pressuring your employer to improve your overall working conditions.
“Employees say they face low wages in a very stressful work environment that includes persistent exposure to COVID-19 and other challenges,” said CBS News technology journalist Dan Patterson.
Workers at Apple’s Grand Central Terminal location are demanding a $ 30 minimum wage and better benefits. Currently, retail store workers earn a minimum of $ 20 an hour, an Apple spokesman said.
Apple vendors also “want to move forward in the same or very similar way as executives or people who work in Apple offices,” Patterson said. “They say they are often treated as second-class citizens, even though they work hard.”
An Apple store could inspire the group
An in-store union vote could encourage employees at other Apple stores to follow suit.
In fact, workers at at least three Apple stores are already considering similar moves, according to Patterson.
“This is part of a broader trend that includes tech stores and companies like Starbucks and Amazon, where store employees have been unionized in recent months,” Patterson said.
The move by Apple employees could also inspire employees of other companies.
“You have to think that this vote could empower not only other Apple stores to unionize, but across the spectrum when it comes to technology and other outlets,” Patterson said.
Apple store workers at the company’s Grand Central Terminal store have been signing union authorization cards since February.
“He’s pretty advanced right now,” Patterson said. “Some people say it could be very likely that they will vote to join the union.”
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