Oklahoma Apple Store staff to vote on labor union
William Gallagher
Almost 100 workers at Apple Penn Square, Oklahoma, are to vote on forming a labor union, potentially making it the second US Apple Store to unionize.
Staff at Apple Penn Square previously filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board in the hopes of getting an official vote. Now they have this, and voting is set to conclude on Friday, October 14, 2022.
According to CNN Business, just under 100 employees are eligible to vote. It's not clear how many people work at Apple Penn Square, but staff must individually join a union before they can then take part in such a vote.
There are multiple US unions that retail staff are able to join, but in this case the store's workers are hoping to be represented by the Communication Workers of America union.
"I want everyone to realize unions aren't just for those bad and hard workplaces, it is for everyone in America, we have the right to unionize," Patrick Hart from the store told CNN. "I just want people to realize that, because it can do a lot of good for a lot of people who feel they're stuck in their workplace."
"They don't have to leave their job, they can just make their current one a better place," he continued.
Hart also said that he was weary of hearing from his managers that "that's just how it is," whenever concerns where raised.
While working to improve pay is a factor in unionization, staff at the store have said that the impetus for them is to "have a seat at the table and negotiate what our experience looks like."
Apple has not commented publicly on the vote. If Apple Penn Square staff vote to unionize, they will be the second store to do so, following Maryland.
Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
Andrew Orr
6 Comments
Who pays your salary? Fools … give what would be union dues to a worthy cause and go to work!
Just make sure they don't unionize prior to the upcoming new benefits Apple is going to dish out.
Sandor: it IS rather bewildering to see Apple users (of all people) arguing against better working conditions. “We demand to be paid the minimum wage and treated poorly” is the kind of rallying cry I would expect from certain ex-president cultists and masochists, not the audience Apple tends to cultivate and is generally associated with.
It’s disappointing to see Apple work against the idea of unions when in fact it should be *embracing* the concept. Happy employees are better and more productive employees, and unions should be seen as partners rather than adversaries. Employees who are great with customers AND have outstanding tech skills are rare and should be cultivated and incentivised to remain with the company. The way you do this is by negotiating for pay and perks that reward the best and the brightest.
This doesn’t always require a union, but Apple does in fact have a track record of not being responsive to employee complaints (like the unpaid time for bag-checking) and have consistently lost in court on these matters. Letting your workers know that you value them and will work in good faith with a union through your actions and compensation would probably be a more successful tactic to prevent unionization that the current, failing, anti-union skullduggery — which also invites state or federal investigations.