Apple accused of creating illegal pseudo-union at Ohio store

Jump to First Reply
Posted:
in General Discussion edited December 2022
According to a recent complaint by the Communications Workers of America, Apple illegally created a work group driven by managers to try to stop union organizing efforts.

Apple Store
Apple Store


In a filing on December 16 with the US National Labor Relations Board, the Communications Workers of America accused Apple of "soliciting employees to join an employer-created / employer-dominated labor organization as a means of stifling union activities." This kind of action is forbidden under US federal labor law.

The complaint involves Apple's Easton Town Center store in Columbus, Ohio.

What Apple made was a "dedicated working group that can be used as a formal means for employees and leaders to provide feedback on both local and retail organization-wide initiatives, policies and practices," the CWA said.

The CWA also accused Apple of holding mandatory anti-union meetings, something the company has been accused of before. During the sessions, store management reportedly claimed that Apple would be legally barred from negotiating on specific topics if workers unionized, which is false.

"Creating a work group controlled by management is undemocratic and a clear attempt at union-busting," CWA's secretary-treasurer, Sara Steffens, said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg Law. "If management actually cared about workers having a voice on the job, they would direct them to Apple Retail Union/CWA which is run by workers, not bosses."

Apple has faced plenty of union activity in 2022. For example, employees at a Maryland Apple Store voted to form a union in June, and workers at Apple's Penn Square Store in Oklahoma voted to unionize in October.

Not all employees have been successful, however. For example, the CWA tried to unionize staff in Atlanta but withdrew its request in May, saying that Apple used intimidation tactics.

Workers at the St. Louis Galleria Mall Apple Store withdrew their petition to unionize in November. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers blamed Apple's hostility toward their efforts.

Read on AppleInsider
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    DAalsethdaalseth Posts: 3,127member
    The NLRB has already found Apple guilty of engaging in union busting activities. If this one is true Apple needs to be hit with some serious penalties. This kind of behaviour is just not acceptable. 
    sconosciuto
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 2 of 25
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    DAalseth said:
    The NLRB has already found Apple guilty of engaging in union busting activities. If this one is true Apple needs to be hit with some serious penalties. This kind of behaviour is just not acceptable. 
    Union organizers lie through their teeth. This was brought when workers at Apple’s St. Louis Galleria Mall store were interviewed by the media after union organizers claimed Apple had used illegal tactics. Nope, 60 out of the 80 employees simply didn’t want to organize.
    mike1bloggerblogiOS_Guy80macxpressbshankFileMakerFeller
     6Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 25
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,450member
    DAalseth said:
    The NLRB has already found Apple guilty of engaging in union busting activities. If this one is true Apple needs to be hit with some serious penalties. This kind of behaviour is just not acceptable. 

    If a union can lobby for itself, the company should absolutely be allowed to lobby against the union.
    iOS_Guy80genovellebshank9secondkox2sdw2001
     5Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 25
    Madbummadbum Posts: 536member
    Apple has every right to explain their side of the union story.

    Honestly

    Apple
    should close half of these stores and just leave large shoe store in key cities and locations 

    then these people can joint the unemployed union 
    9secondkox2bloggerblogiOS_Guy80bshank
     4Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 25
    I think the Apple Store employees SHOULD organize, but I take the press releases from the unions with a grain of salt. Very big grain. Also, are employees who join the union ineligible for management positions? That could be a big disincentive to joining the union.
    FileMakerFeller
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 25
    narwhal said:
    I think the Apple Store employees SHOULD organize, but I take the press releases from the unions with a grain of salt. Very big grain. Also, are employees who join the union ineligible for management positions? That could be a big disincentive to joining the union.
    There is no worse time to unionize when the economy is cratering …. Apple stores in small locations are now a loss leader, they should be closed and salary saved
    bshank
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 25
    Annnnnnd … all the people not working in Apple stores, certainly not members trying to unionize, and those with little or no union expertise (nor any expertise in managing a unionized company), please sound off. Your wisdom is so very pertinent. 
    Japhey9secondkox2fred1JaiOh81muthuk_vanalingamFileMakerFeller
     4Likes 0Dislikes 2Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 25
    Japheyjaphey Posts: 1,773member
    Madbum said:
    narwhal said:
    I think the Apple Store employees SHOULD organize, but I take the press releases from the unions with a grain of salt. Very big grain. Also, are employees who join the union ineligible for management positions? That could be a big disincentive to joining the union.
    There is no worse time to unionize when the economy is cratering …. Apple stores in small locations are now a loss leader, they should be closed and salary saved
    Sources?
    9secondkox2FileMakerFeller
     1Like 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 9 of 25
    NLRB is shady and doesn't really enforce its rulings. Unions only enrich union bosses.
    MadbumiOS_Guy80
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 25
    Annnnnnd … all the people not working in Apple stores, certainly not members trying to unionize, and those with little or no union expertise (nor any expertise in managing a unionized company), please sound off. Your wisdom is so very pertinent. 
    Former union worker from a company that died meeting union demands and now none of the employees have jobs there. 

    The only people benefitting from unions are those running the union. 

    You have no idea where you’re coming from. 
    MadbumbloggerblogiOS_Guy80bshankbeowulfschmidt
     5Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 25
    Japhey said:
    Madbum said:
    narwhal said:
    I think the Apple Store employees SHOULD organize, but I take the press releases from the unions with a grain of salt. Very big grain. Also, are employees who join the union ineligible for management positions? That could be a big disincentive to joining the union.
    There is no worse time to unionize when the economy is cratering …. Apple stores in small locations are now a loss leader, they should be closed and salary saved
    Sources?
    Probably like…the news every day for the last 1.8 years. 
    bshank
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 12 of 25
    lkrupp said:
    DAalseth said:
    The NLRB has already found Apple guilty of engaging in union busting activities. If this one is true Apple needs to be hit with some serious penalties. This kind of behaviour is just not acceptable. 
    Union organizers lie through their teeth. This was brought when workers at Apple’s St. Louis Galleria Mall store were interviewed by the media after union organizers claimed Apple had used illegal tactics. Nope, 60 out of the 80 employees simply didn’t want to organize.
    found the bootlicker
    doozydozen9secondkox2JaiOh81grandact73
     3Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 13 of 25
    Madbummadbum Posts: 536member
    Annnnnnd … all the people not working in Apple stores, certainly not members trying to unionize, and those with little or no union expertise (nor any expertise in managing a unionized company), please sound off. Your wisdom is so very pertinent. 
    Former union worker from a company that died meeting union demands and now none of the employees have jobs there. 

    The only people benefitting from unions are those running the union. 

    You have no idea where you’re coming from. 
    Exactly right. The only thing that will happen here is these people will pay sky high union dues paying lawyers fighting Apple when they could have just performed and gotten raises.

    my 2 kids worked there part time in college and both almost doubled their hourly wages over 5 years there, working part time!!
    9secondkox2
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 14 of 25
    lkrupp said:
    DAalseth said:
    The NLRB has already found Apple guilty of engaging in union busting activities. If this one is true Apple needs to be hit with some serious penalties. This kind of behaviour is just not acceptable. 
    Union organizers lie through their teeth. This was brought when workers at Apple’s St. Louis Galleria Mall store were interviewed by the media after union organizers claimed Apple had used illegal tactics. Nope, 60 out of the 80 employees simply didn’t want to organize.
    found the bootlicker
    …In the mirror. 
    Madbum
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 15 of 25
    Madbummadbum Posts: 536member
    lkrupp said:
    DAalseth said:
    The NLRB has already found Apple guilty of engaging in union busting activities. If this one is true Apple needs to be hit with some serious penalties. This kind of behaviour is just not acceptable. 
    Union organizers lie through their teeth. This was brought when workers at Apple’s St. Louis Galleria Mall store were interviewed by the media after union organizers claimed Apple had used illegal tactics. Nope, 60 out of the 80 employees simply didn’t want to organize.
    found the bootlicker
    …In the mirror. 
    lkrupp said:
    DAalseth said:
    The NLRB has already found Apple guilty of engaging in union busting activities. If this one is true Apple needs to be hit with some serious penalties. This kind of behaviour is just not acceptable. 
    Union organizers lie through their teeth. This was brought when workers at Apple’s St. Louis Galleria Mall store were interviewed by the media after union organizers claimed Apple had used illegal tactics. Nope, 60 out of the 80 employees simply didn’t want to organize.
    found the bootlicker
    …In the mirror. 
    Can they join the “Unmployed Union workers of America “ when Apple closes these under performing stores in this cratering economy?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 16 of 25
    JFC_PAjfc_pa Posts: 955member
    Retail sales clerks being “represented” by the union (CWA) that I paid dues to as a lineman, or that represents machinists and aerospace workers? That amount of ignorance is mind blowing. With zero idea what a sales job entails those dues will be wasted at best and at worst what will be demanded of their employers so out of wack as to blow up the represented stores. 

    edited December 2022
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 17 of 25
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,958member
    I haven't been keeping up on this particular news about unions but are there or has there ever been any factual evidence coming from Apple Corporate promoting these alleged actions or are these just bad managers who either need better training or to be replaced? 
    FileMakerFeller
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 18 of 25
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,481member
    Madbum said:
    lkrupp said:
    DAalseth said:
    The NLRB has already found Apple guilty of engaging in union busting activities. If this one is true Apple needs to be hit with some serious penalties. This kind of behaviour is just not acceptable. 
    Union organizers lie through their teeth. This was brought when workers at Apple’s St. Louis Galleria Mall store were interviewed by the media after union organizers claimed Apple had used illegal tactics. Nope, 60 out of the 80 employees simply didn’t want to organize.
    found the bootlicker
    …In the mirror. 
    lkrupp said:
    DAalseth said:
    The NLRB has already found Apple guilty of engaging in union busting activities. If this one is true Apple needs to be hit with some serious penalties. This kind of behaviour is just not acceptable. 
    Union organizers lie through their teeth. This was brought when workers at Apple’s St. Louis Galleria Mall store were interviewed by the media after union organizers claimed Apple had used illegal tactics. Nope, 60 out of the 80 employees simply didn’t want to organize.
    found the bootlicker
    …In the mirror. 
    Can they join the “Unmployed Union workers of America “ when Apple closes these under performing stores in this cratering economy?
    I’m sure you are referring to the failed cratering economy Biden created that has added more jobs in the last 2 years than any time in the last 50 years.  You know the one that the fed keeps raising rates because it won’t slow down. The remedy is to put the brakes on it. Is that the cratering economy you speak of? 

    It’s unfortunate that there is a political party willing to lie and even sabotage the well being of the country to regain power. And no, it not both sides. 
    FileMakerFeller
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 19 of 25
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,481member
    According to a recent complaint by the Communications Workers of America, Apple illegally created a work group driven by managers to try to stop union organizing efforts.

    Apple Store
    Apple Store


    In a filing on December 16 with the US National Labor Relations Board, the Communications Workers of America accused Apple of "soliciting employees to join an employer-created / employer-dominated labor organization as a means of stifling union activities." This kind of action is forbidden under US federal labor law.

    The complaint involves Apple's Easton Town Center store in Columbus, Ohio.

    What Apple made was a "dedicated working group that can be used as a formal means for employees and leaders to provide feedback on both local and retail organization-wide initiatives, policies and practices," the CWA said.

    The CWA also accused Apple of holding mandatory anti-union meetings, something the company has been accused of before. During the sessions, store management reportedly claimed that Apple would be legally barred from negotiating on specific topics if workers unionized, which is false.

    "Creating a work group controlled by management is undemocratic and a clear attempt at union-busting," CWA's secretary-treasurer, Sara Steffens, said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg Law. "If management actually cared about workers having a voice on the job, they would direct them to Apple Retail Union/CWA which is run by workers, not bosses."

    Apple has faced plenty of union activity in 2022. For example, employees at a Maryland Apple Store voted to form a union in June, and workers at Apple's Penn Square Store in Oklahoma voted to unionize in October.

    Not all employees have been successful, however. For example, the CWA tried to unionize staff in Atlanta but withdrew its request in May, saying that Apple used intimidation tactics.

    Workers at the St. Louis Galleria Mall Apple Store withdrew their petition to unionize in November. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers blamed Apple's hostility toward their efforts.

    Read on AppleInsider
    So, creating a work group to better listen to their employees is illegal. That is nuts on so many levels. It’s clear Apple feels it goes above and beyond for their employees, but there are some that are dissatisfied with that. Having a 3rd party interfere with a business that literally paid employees full pay checks for months while stores were closed, long before the government came to the rescue. 

    Preventing them from creating a structure that may work better to help all of their employees and not just those paying dues to a third party is counterproductive 
    FileMakerFeller
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 20 of 25
    JFC_PAjfc_pa Posts: 955member
    Apple listening to its  employees is a problem for the CWA? 

    That may say it all. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
Sign In or Register to comment.