The fight to unionize Apple employees in Europe continues.
Workers at the store in London’s White City area joined forces last December 12 and asked the Cupertino, California-based tech giant to voluntarily recognize their union.
According to United Tech & Allied Workers (UTAW) — the UK branch of the Telecom Workers’ Union that represents Apple employees — the company has until today, December 22, to respond to the official request for union recognition.
The action by workers at this British store is the latest in a global union campaign spreading across the company. In November, a shop in Glasgow, Scotland, voted to unionize With the Trades Union Congress, a trade union in the United Kingdom.
This followed similar moves in the US, where several different stores applied for the same type of recognition (although it’s not clear if the company recognized any).
The first victories
These initiatives in the UK and the US, in turn, follow the example of the long-standing struggle for workers’ rights, which took place in European countries such as Italy – where 1,300 employees of 14 stores were recognized as a union class for the first time. In a collective agreement concluded in 2013 – and like Germany, where the union campaign began in 2012.
Workers UK action is the latest in a global union campaign ripping through the company.
“They showed us that it’s possible,” said an employee at the London Apple Store, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We’re starting to find that there are a lot of people interested in unionizing here in the UK. Suddenly, we’re less afraid to talk about it with each other.”
The motivation for joining the union is simple: “It’s like any other worker facing a cost-of-living crisis,” explains the employee. “The money is no longer worth what it used to be. We can’t even live in the city where we work. We don’t have the money to buy the devices we sell in the stores where we work.
Another employee at the same store, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, says that “there’s a lot of stress and a lot of burnout at very, very high rates.” They are seeking some recognition from unions because they want to be able to negotiate work schedules and changes so that they are “healthier and don’t create the mental health holes that we find ourselves in”.
One employee, who has been with the company for a long time, says he has noticed the culture deteriorate over the years. Apple claims to have made significant improvements but doesn’t actually implement them — unless it’s subjected to external pressure, he notes. He was driven to join a union when he realized he would not be able to effect change within the company on his own.
“I tried for a long time to be a positive influence and encourage real change, but it seemed impossible. For me, unions are a way to achieve that.”
Focus change
The factor adds that Apple has changed a lot, from a customer-centric model to one focused on achieving goals calculated by algorithms. “It starts to take a huge toll on everyone’s mental and emotional health. And that has really led to the company losing talent.”
Apple has made no effort to recognize workers’ rights. In May, “Vice” magazine exposed and released a document used by the company to discourage employees from joining unions. Eran Cohen, one of the UTAW organizers, says Apple’s approach to the UK unit is similar to the leaked US document.
“They don’t go so far as to do what I would describe as ‘getting their hands dirty’ by dissolving unions,” he says. They prefer to make passive aggressive attacks. Instead of saying a lot of words “We are against unions”, they chose a mock speech, saying that they realize that everyone has the right to form a union, but they don’t want anyone to be forced to join unions. “
This anti-union stance does not sit well with workers seeking representation. “Apple has always been a very anti-union company,” said the first anonymous worker we spoke to.
“There have always been rumors of people losing their jobs because they unionized. There is a widespread misconception that there is something in our contracts that prevents us from unionizing. This is something that management has also reinforced.”
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