Glasgow Apple Store staff become first in UK to unionize

Staff at Apple Glasgow have voted "overwhelmingly" in favor of having UK trade union GMB represent them.

As Apple agrees to negotiate with unions in Australia, and Apple Maryland unionized in the States, so staff in Glasgow, Scotland, have been pressing for union representation. The final vote follows months of negotiations.

Initially, Apple Glasgow staff had to individually join the GMB union, then they had to ask Apple to officially recognize that union. According to the The Herald newspaper in Scotland, Apple then agreed to there being a voluntary recognition ballot.

"This is an absolutely historic vote and is a tribute to the hard work of activists and workers in Apple Glasgow," said GMB Organiser John Slaven. "The vote is astonishing in terms of the size of the majority as workers have spoken with a clear and overwhelming voice."

An Apple spokesperson told The Herald that the company has "long been committed to providing an excellent experience for our customers and teams."

"Apple is one of the highest paying retailers in Scotland," continued the spokesperson, "and we've regularly made enhancements to our industry-leading benefits as a part of the overall support we provide to our valued team members."

Scottish Secretary Louise Gilmour of the GMB said that the union now looks forward "to building a productive relationship with Apple in Glasgow."

The GMB is a UK trade union formed from the merger of many general workers union. Now known solely as "the GMB," it was previously named the General, Municipal, Boilermakers' and Allied Trade Union.

7 Comments

danox 3393 comments · 11 Years

About 2 years ago

Reverse Truss…..

22july2013 3725 comments · 11 Years

Och aye the noo.

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

Unions are the kiss of death for productivity. Demonstrable fact, no incentive to perform, no fear of consequences for failure to perform. As I was told by an old timer when I joined, “Kid, nobody ever got fired for not doing their job.”

Hedware 97 comments · 3 Years

lkrupp said:

Unions are the kiss of death for productivity. Demonstrable fact, no incentive to perform, no fear of consequences for failure to perform. As I was told by an old timer when I joined, “Kid, nobody ever got fired for not doing their job.”

Where is your evidence for your claim? Fox News?

williamh 1045 comments · 13 Years

Hedware said:

lkrupp said:

Unions are the kiss of death for productivity. Demonstrable fact, no incentive to perform, no fear of consequences for failure to perform. As I was told by an old timer when I joined, “Kid, nobody ever got fired for not doing their job.”

Where is your evidence for your claim? Fox News?

Why don't you check his words for evidence? For example, lkrupp "was told by an old timer when [lkrupp] joined." One might understand this to mean that lkrupp was a member of a union and has first-hand knowledge. How about you?

Anyhow, Glasgow is a pretty working-class and leftist place so it's not a surprise that the workers there would unionize. I've walked by that shop probably a hundred times but never went in. During working hours there is always a dude with a sandwich board advertising a competing shop for Apple repairs. I thought that was kind of a shit thing to do but Apple doesn't seem to do anything about it.