Sam Oliver
The group contacted members of the press on Thursday, which is 10 years to the day since Apple opened its first stores on May 19, 2001 in McLean, Virginia, and Glendale, Calif. The Apple Retail Workers Union alleges that Apple's stores are "demanding" environments and that some employees have been subjected to "unfair treatment and compensation.
"We deserve better," the letter reads. "Our time has come."
As first reported by Macworld, an anonymous person representing the organization said that "some stores in the Pacific Northwest may be talking amongst themselves" about forming a union. They claimed the Alderwood Mall store in Lynnwood, Wash., is "the closest anyone has come to collective action."
As for supposed "unfair treatment" at Apple's retail stores, the person reportedly said that wages, break schedules, training opportunities, and selection and hiring processes for internal candidates were primary complaints.
"It's unclear how serious or large an effort the Apple Retail Workers Union is at this time," author Lex Friedman wrote, noting that the official Twitter page has just two tweets, one of them from January, while the Facebook page has a few posts from February and has been "liked" once.
Apple's retail outlets have become an important part of the company's overall business, and every quarter the company reports that about half of Macs sold in stores are to new customers who never owned a Mac before. During its last quarterly earnings conference call, the company revealed that Apple's retail stores were soon to host their 1 billionth visitor.
William Gallagher
Marko Zivkovic
Wesley Hilliard
Amber Neely
Malcolm Owen
Mike Wuerthele
179 Comments
A group calling itself the "Apple Retail Workers Union" is attempting to drum up support for its cause as Apple's retail business celebrates its first 10 years.
The group contacted members of the press on Thursday, which is 10 years to the day since Apple opened its first stores on May 19, 2001 in McLean, Virginia, and Glendale, Calif. The Apple Retail Workers Union alleges that Apple's stores are "demanding" environments and that some employees have been subjected to "unfair treatment and compensation.
"We deserve better," the letter reads. "Our time has come."
As first reported by Macworld, an anonymous person representing the organization said that "some stores in the Pacific Northwest may be talking amongst themselves" about forming a union. They claimed the Alderwood Mall store in Lynnwood, Wash., is "the closest anyone has come to collective action."
As for supposed "unfair treatment" at Apple's retail stores, the person reportedly said that wages, break schedules, training opportunities, and selection and hiring processes for internal candidates were primary complaints.
"It's unclear how serious or large an effort the Apple Retail Workers Union is at this time," author Lex Friedman wrote, noting that the official Twitter page has just two tweets, one of them from January, while the Facebook page has a few posts from February and has been "liked" once.
Apple's retail outlets have become an important part of the company's overall business, and every quarter the company reports that about half of Macs sold in stores are to new customers who never owned a Mac before. During its last quarterly earnings conference call, the company revealed that Apple's retail stores were soon to host their 1 billionth visitor.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no law saying you have to work there. Just quit if you don't like the working conditions!!
Steve Jobs should immediately fire any and all people who seek to unionize. If an employee is unhappy for whatever reason, then they are free to quit. Nobody forced them to take the job.
Unions are disgusting and they should be abolished and made illegal.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no law saying you have to work there. Just quit if you don't like the working conditions!!
This ^^^
If you don't like where you work - QUIT! No one is forcing you to be there! This is the current problem in the US. People feel entitled to more for nothing.
There was a place for unions in the past, but that time has come and gone.
Steve Jobs should immediately fire any and all people who seek to unionize. If an employee is unhappy for whatever reason, then they are free to quit. Nobody forced them to take the job.
Unions are disgusting and they should be abolished and made illegal.
Firing workers who seek to get better working conditions or to unionize is exactly why unions exist in the first place . Read up on your history.
However, unions were created in a time when labor laws and good working conditions were almost non-existent. Its an outdated concept that doesn't have much application in today's world. As a teen, I worked for the supermarket 'union,' and all it ever did for me was take $3 out of my weekly paycheck and give me a slight discount to Disneyland... as far as my meager wages, lack of full-time hours and benefits, they didn't help much there. Found it much easier to move on and find another job to replace the one I'm not happy about =).
Of course, with only one Facebook "like" on their page, I don't think this is anything Apple has to worry about.
Steve Jobs should immediately fire any and all people who seek to unionize. If an employee is unhappy for whatever reason, then they are free to quit. Nobody forced them to take the job.
Unions are disgusting and they should be abolished and made illegal.
Oh boy, this is going to be such a great thread. Educational and informative and full of talk about Apple products.
I am soooo glad I am in a union so I am protected from people like you sir.
I hope you never have to go home and tell your family you lost your job because some jerk (like you) came to work in a bad mood.
First and last post on this ignorant thread.