Atlanta, GA Apple retail workers plan to file for union election
Workers at an Apple Store in Atlanta, Georgia are planning to become the first Apple retail location to file for a union election, according to a new report.
Apple Cumberland Mall
The proposed union would include 107 workers at the Cumberland Mall retail store in northwest Atlanta. As of Wednesday, about 70% of workers have signed cards of support and plan to file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, Bloomberg has reported.
According to internal documents viewed by the publication, the effort is backed by the Communications Workers of America and is part of a broader campaign to organize technology sector employees. It would be called Apple Workers Union.
Organizers at the store say wages have fallen below the living wage in Atlanta. The starting pay is $20 an hour, far below the $31 needed for a single parent with one child would need to live. The union will ask for base pay to be raised to at least $28 an hour.
In addition, the workers are also asking for larger raises to offset inflation and a greater profit sharing program to match corporate employees.
The Atlanta store isn't the only brick-and-mortar Apple retail location to push for unionization. Workers at the Grand Central Apple Store are also working to form a union, and have recently published demands on their own website under the moniker Fruit Stand Workers United.
Apple has taken steps to increase pay and benefits for its retail employees in an effort to retain workers in an increasingly tough labor market.
If the workers succeed, it sets the stage for a battle between organized labor and Apple. The campaign comes along a broader push for organizing among tech companies. In fact, the effort to unionize at the Atlanta store started when several workers began following the fight over the Amazon union in Alabama.
Read on AppleInsider
Apple Cumberland Mall
The proposed union would include 107 workers at the Cumberland Mall retail store in northwest Atlanta. As of Wednesday, about 70% of workers have signed cards of support and plan to file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, Bloomberg has reported.
According to internal documents viewed by the publication, the effort is backed by the Communications Workers of America and is part of a broader campaign to organize technology sector employees. It would be called Apple Workers Union.
Organizers at the store say wages have fallen below the living wage in Atlanta. The starting pay is $20 an hour, far below the $31 needed for a single parent with one child would need to live. The union will ask for base pay to be raised to at least $28 an hour.
In addition, the workers are also asking for larger raises to offset inflation and a greater profit sharing program to match corporate employees.
The Atlanta store isn't the only brick-and-mortar Apple retail location to push for unionization. Workers at the Grand Central Apple Store are also working to form a union, and have recently published demands on their own website under the moniker Fruit Stand Workers United.
Apple has taken steps to increase pay and benefits for its retail employees in an effort to retain workers in an increasingly tough labor market.
If the workers succeed, it sets the stage for a battle between organized labor and Apple. The campaign comes along a broader push for organizing among tech companies. In fact, the effort to unionize at the Atlanta store started when several workers began following the fight over the Amazon union in Alabama.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
You forgot to add /s at the end so I added it. You're welcome
Would sales employees at Apple in Georgia be happy with $7.25/hour if they also got a 1% commission based on their sales? Perhaps 1% for a customer who is upgrading from an older Apple product, 2% for a new Apple customer, and 3% for a customer who switches from Android.
What's absurd is referring to the belief that one should be able to live comfortably on the wages from a full time job "absurd".
Enough food, and of good quality
Enough clothing of good quality
Money for household and personal supplies
Money for educational needs and enrichment for children (school supplies, trips, extra curricular)
Modern conveniences such as a reliable car, television, smartphone, appliances, internet, air conditioning, etc.
Money for leisure activities, some entertainment outside the home.
—Can’t afford all that? Find a better job. Work two jobs. Hustle.
Apple like to be left wing on social issues but on economic issues not so much.
Given inflation if your wages are not going up by 7%+ per year you are effectively taking a pay cut.