On Oct. 14, an Apple store in Oklahoma City became the second store at the company to vote to unionize. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) must certify the vote before contract negotiations can begin. We’ve gathered articles on the news from SHRM Online and other media outlets.
Purpose of Organizing at Apple Store
Oklahoma staffers said they were unionizing for better pay, career development and improved health and well-being conditions in their work environment. “It is our belief that great value is added to a company when its people are truly represented,” they said on their website. They added they were fighting “for the soul of Apple” and to “shine the spotlight back onto the company.”
Apple Statement
Apple said in a statement that “we believe the open, direct and collaborative relationship we have with our valued team members is the best way to provide an excellent experience for our customers, and for our teams.”
Employees at the Oklahoma City store said that they received good benefits and their pay had improved over the past several months. The company recently raised the starting minimum wage at its stores to $22 an hour. But workers said that supervisors’ decisions about hiring, pay and job assignments often were opaque and that a union would bring greater transparency to the store.
First Unionized Apple Store Was in Maryland
The first Apple U.S. store to vote to unionize is located near Baltimore, the NLRB noted June 18. Compensation, input on hours and scheduling, and being involved in establishing safety protocols during the pandemic all were issues during the unionization drive there, according to one store worker.
(SHRM Online) and (CNN Business)
Other Unionization Drives at Apple
Apple workers at other stores have tried to unionize, including at locations in Atlanta and New York City. The Atlanta workers in May withdrew a petition to vote on unionization but might seek to hold a vote in the future. In New York City, the NLRB has issued a complaint against the company that it allegedly prohibited the placement of pro-union fliers in the employee break room and interrogated workers.
Union Elections So Far This Year
Between January and July of this year there were 826 union elections in the U.S., up 45 percent from the number held in the same period of 2021. The 70 percent success rate by unions far exceeds the 42 percent success rate in the first seven months of 2021. But only 41,000 potential union members were eligible to vote in the 2022 elections—a small fraction of the more than 100 million workers at U.S. businesses who don’t belong to a union.
