Since the beginning of 2022, the Cupertino giant has found itself in the middle of a delicate situation inside its stores: employee unions. Although an overview of Apple Stores has started the process, only two units have effectively unionized — and that number might have been higher, were it not for Apple’s anti-union efforts.
according to Information from journalist Mark Gormanfrom bloombergOver the past two weeks, Apple managers in nearly 270 US retail stores have held meetings with employees to discuss the risks of unionization. During the conversation, the management used the position of the first store to unionize, which is Apple Tucson City Centre (in Maryland), as a kind of “warning”.
Among the points Maçã raised was that the union representing store employees in Maryland — the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM — required payment of a fee equivalent to 1.5% of salary — an amount that “could increase rapidly over time.”
It was also alleged that the store in question gives more priority to full-time employees who want to take weekends away, putting part-time employees at a disadvantage. Likewise, they warned stores that older employees would be given priority over freshmen for new jobs.
Furthermore, the process of unionization was explained in a way that some employees saw as an attempt to throw cold water on the idea. If only a small portion of the employees participate in a labor election—and the majority of that group votes to join—the union remains valid for the entire store.
Employees were also warned about signing authorization cards, which is an initial and mandatory step in the unionization process: “Signing an authorization card means that you are authorizing the union to speak for you and that means you want the union to be your exclusive representative,” Apple claimed.
Finally, the Cupertino giant has tried to soften the criticism by saying that it “believes in the right to vote”, as long as its employees are “fully aware of what they are voting for”.
Meanwhile, Gorman reports that the company has begun negotiations with the Maryland store to unionize — but no deal has yet been reached amid the store’s 20 offers, comparable to Apple’s two. Among the points of contention, the company proposed an attendance policy that would discipline late or absent employees based on a points system over a six-month period. The union did not accept these proposals and told employees that it was still working on efforts to terminate employment, increase salaries and leave.
It remains for us to continue to follow this internal “battle”.
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