William Gallagher
Apple's is crushing the will to organize by disciplining and now illegally firing staff, says the Communication Workers of America.
While Apple has signed union agreements for stores such as Apple Glasgow, it's also repeatedly been accused of taking steps to dissuade retail staff from unionizing. That includes anti-union comments from HR chief Deirdre O'Brien, and also alleged violations of the National Labor Relations Act.
According to The Washington Post, further charges have now been filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by the Communication Workers of America (CWA) union. The CWA claims that Apple fired five Kansas City staff in retaliation for their union-organizing efforts.
In each of the five cases, Apple reportedly used tardiness and improperly filling out attendance forms as the reason for the firings. One fired employee, Gemma Wyatt, says she was put on disciplinary notice for being late for her shift by about one minute, three times in a month.
"I had a long history with the company, and I loved my job," Wyatt told The Washington Post. "They absolutely succeeded in crushing the will to organize at our store."
"People are, of course, interested in having a say in their working conditions," she continued, "but not risking their livelihood."
Kansas City staff have been attempting to organize a union for about a year. During that year, Apple reportedly began holding optional meetings about unionization, then ultimately made them mandatory.
Another fired employee, Sergio Hernandez Jr, said he became an activist when he saw that some store workers got paid a premium for speaking Spanish, while others did not.
The CWA claims that at the separate Memorial City Store in Houston, staff were interrogated about their support for unions. They were allegedly promised improvements to their working conditions if they didn't support the union, and one worker was disciplined after saying they did support unionization.
Apple's reported position in the mandatory anti-union meetings echoes Deirdre O'Brien's comments, which are that unions get between Apple and its staff. Separately, staff have claimed that unions are needed precisely because Apple distances itself from its staff and their concerns.
One Apple Store employee said in 2022, that saying anything to management, or complaining about anything, is "like writing a letter to Santa."
Apple has not commented on the CWA's latest filing with the National Labor Relations Board.
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Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
Marko Zivkovic
16 Comments
I suggest that every Apple employee decry unions to management, and then vote yes for unionization.
Come on, Tim! Take some of that vaunted Apple awareness and sensitivity to progressive thought and apply it to your own employees.
Yeah, those Apple retail workers who start at $22/hour and already have a ton of benefits sure do need a union. They’re being treated so badly! Shame on your Apple for paying retail workers well above minimum wage and providing all those other benefits that most other retail jobs don’t. I go to the Apple store frequently and from what I can see, most of them get paid just to stand around and chat with each other.
There are 500 Apple retail stores and every one is different. They range from urban flagships to small suburban stores with 1/10th the traffic. I worked 15 years in a nice upscale suburban store that grew from 29 employees to over 130. Evolving from 12 hour iPhone launch days to servicing a high percentage online pickups. Where staff had to know iPods, Macs and camcorders to 5 major products lines and a myriad of services. I worked with some very unskilled and some very skilled leaders. I also worked with some very manipulative employees. So when I read these stories I wonder what mix of store, leadership and employees am I hearing about. Most often I lean toward a team that has some highly manipulative employees with unskilled leadership. Those stores are no fun at all.