Apple accused of retribution in firing five union activists

Posted:
in General Discussion
Apple's is crushing the will to organize by disciplining and now illegally firing staff, says the Communication Workers of America.

Apple Country Club Plaza, Kansas City
Apple Country Club Plaza, Kansas City


While Apple has signed union agreements for stores such as Apple Glasgow, it's also repeatedly been accused of taking steps to dissuade retail staff from unionizing. That includes anti-union comments from HR chief Deirdre O'Brien, and also alleged violations of the National Labor Relations Act.

According to The Washington Post, further charges have now been filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by the Communication Workers of America (CWA) union. The CWA claims that Apple fired five Kansas City staff in retaliation for their union-organizing efforts.

In each of the five cases, Apple reportedly used tardiness and improperly filling out attendance forms as the reason for the firings. One fired employee, Gemma Wyatt, says she was put on disciplinary notice for being late for her shift by about one minute, three times in a month.

"I had a long history with the company, and I loved my job," Wyatt told The Washington Post. "They absolutely succeeded in crushing the will to organize at our store."

"People are, of course, interested in having a say in their working conditions," she continued, "but not risking their livelihood."

Kansas City staff have been attempting to organize a union for about a year. During that year, Apple reportedly began holding optional meetings about unionization, then ultimately made them mandatory.

Another fired employee, Sergio Hernandez Jr, said he became an activist when he saw that some store workers got paid a premium for speaking Spanish, while others did not.

The CWA claims that at the separate Memorial City Store in Houston, staff were interrogated about their support for unions. They were allegedly promised improvements to their working conditions if they didn't support the union, and one worker was disciplined after saying they did support unionization.

Apple's reported position in the mandatory anti-union meetings echoes Deirdre O'Brien's comments, which are that unions get between Apple and its staff. Separately, staff have claimed that unions are needed precisely because Apple distances itself from its staff and their concerns.

One Apple Store employee said in 2022, that saying anything to management, or complaining about anything, is "like writing a letter to Santa."

Apple has not commented on the CWA's latest filing with the National Labor Relations Board.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    I suggest that every Apple employee decry unions to management, and then vote yes for unionization.
    lkrupprobin huberJaiOh819secondkox2
  • Reply 2 of 16
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    Come on, Tim! Take some of that vaunted Apple awareness and sensitivity to progressive thought and apply it to your own employees. 
    9secondkox2JaiOh81chasmAlex_V
  • Reply 3 of 16
    Yeah, those Apple retail workers who start at $22/hour and already have a ton of benefits sure do need a union. They’re being treated so badly! Shame on your Apple for paying retail workers well above minimum wage and providing all those other benefits that most other retail jobs don’t. I go to the Apple store frequently and from what I can see, most of them get paid just to stand around and chat with each other.
    9secondkox2genovelle
  • Reply 4 of 16
    There are 500 Apple retail stores and every one is different. They range  from urban flagships to small suburban stores with 1/10th the traffic. I worked 15 years in a nice upscale suburban store that grew from 29 employees to over 130. Evolving from 12 hour iPhone launch days to servicing a high percentage online pickups. Where staff had to know iPods, Macs and camcorders to 5 major products lines and a myriad of services. I worked with some very unskilled and some very skilled leaders. I also worked with some very manipulative employees. So when I read these stories I wonder what mix of store, leadership and employees am I hearing about. Most often I lean toward a team that has some highly manipulative employees with unskilled leadership. Those stores are no fun at all.
    9secondkox2dewme
  • Reply 5 of 16
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,625member
    Yeah, those Apple retail workers who start at $22/hour and already have a ton of benefits sure do need a union. They’re being treated so badly! Shame on your Apple for paying retail workers well above minimum wage and providing all those other benefits that most other retail jobs don’t. I go to the Apple store frequently and from what I can see, most of them get paid just to stand around and chat with each other.
    Being fired in retribution is treating employees very badly. 

    If true, it leaves Apple in very bad light, independently of what you are stating. 
    muthuk_vanalingamgrandact739secondkox2JaiOh81anomebeowulfschmidt
  • Reply 6 of 16
    sunman42sunman42 Posts: 262member
    Yeah, those Apple retail workers who start at $22/hour and already have a ton of benefits sure do need a union. They’re being treated so badly! Shame on your Apple for paying retail workers well above minimum wage and providing all those other benefits that most other retail jobs don’t. I go to the Apple store frequently and from what I can see, most of them get paid just to stand around and chat with each other.
    I'm going to assume this post is from a bot that never tried to live on a minimum wage. Minimum wage is not a living wage, or even anywhere close to it. The lack of empathy for people who actually have to work for a living (even if, when the Store's not busy, they dare to speak to one another) bespeaks a robotic lack of concern for actual human beings.

    AppleInsider should screen the comments for bot products.
    muthuk_vanalingamgrandact739secondkox2JaiOh81beowulfschmidtAlex_V
  • Reply 7 of 16
    This person was fired for breaking the rules, and showing up late to work. Whether that had anything to do with her being part of the union or not, doesn’t really matter because she broke the rules and got fired for it. If she hadn’t been part of the union effort and got fired for the same thing, no one would complain, and somehow we are to believe that just because someone is involved with a unionization effort they can do whatever the hell they want and not get fired, because anything else will be construed as retaliation. These union pushers should be model employees, not just barely showing up to work on time. whether the firing is retaliation or not, doesn’t really matter, because she gave them a legit reason to fire her, and so they did.
    9secondkox2
  • Reply 8 of 16
    This person was fired for breaking the rules, and showing up late to work. Whether that had anything to do with her being part of the union or not, doesn’t really matter because she broke the rules and got fired for it. If she hadn’t been part of the union effort and got fired for the same thing, no one would complain, and somehow we are to believe that just because someone is involved with a unionization effort they can do whatever the hell they want and not get fired, because anything else will be construed as retaliation. These union pushers should be model employees, not just barely showing up to work on time. whether the firing is retaliation or not, doesn’t really matter, because she gave them a legit reason to fire her, and so they did.
    Actually it does matter if it can be shown that the union workers were treated differently, in practice, as a class than non-union workers for the same infractions.
    9secondkox2JaiOh81
  • Reply 9 of 16
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,666member
    sunman42 said:
    Yeah, those Apple retail workers who start at $22/hour and already have a ton of benefits sure do need a union. They’re being treated so badly! Shame on your Apple for paying retail workers well above minimum wage and providing all those other benefits that most other retail jobs don’t. I go to the Apple store frequently and from what I can see, most of them get paid just to stand around and chat with each other.
    I'm going to assume this post is from a bot that never tried to live on a minimum wage. Minimum wage is not a living wage, or even anywhere close to it. The lack of empathy for people who actually have to work for a living (even if, when the Store's not busy, they dare to speak to one another) bespeaks a robotic lack of concern for actual human beings.

    AppleInsider should screen the comments for bot products.
    Wasn’t aware apple employees made minimum wage without benefits…
    mitchperkins
  • Reply 10 of 16
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,666member
    This person was fired for breaking the rules, and showing up late to work. Whether that had anything to do with her being part of the union or not, doesn’t really matter because she broke the rules and got fired for it. If she hadn’t been part of the union effort and got fired for the same thing, no one would complain, and somehow we are to believe that just because someone is involved with a unionization effort they can do whatever the hell they want and not get fired, because anything else will be construed as retaliation. These union pushers should be model employees, not just barely showing up to work on time. whether the firing is retaliation or not, doesn’t really matter, because she gave them a legit reason to fire her, and so they did.
    Actually it does matter if it can be shown that the union workers were treated differently, in practice, as a class than non-union workers for the same infractions.
    Incorrect. If you violate the terms of your employment, you can be fired. Period. Even if someone else did the same thing and were not fired as they were viewed as more valuable to the company. An at-will employee can be let go pretty easily. Companies are not forced to retain problematic employees. 
    mitchperkins
  • Reply 11 of 16
    sunman42 said:
    Yeah, those Apple retail workers who start at $22/hour and already have a ton of benefits sure do need a union. They’re being treated so badly! Shame on your Apple for paying retail workers well above minimum wage and providing all those other benefits that most other retail jobs don’t. I go to the Apple store frequently and from what I can see, most of them get paid just to stand around and chat with each other.
    I'm going to assume this post is from a bot that never tried to live on a minimum wage. Minimum wage is not a living wage, or even anywhere close to it. The lack of empathy for people who actually have to work for a living (even if, when the Store's not busy, they dare to speak to one another) bespeaks a robotic lack of concern for actual human beings.

    AppleInsider should screen the comments for bot products.
    I’m a Russian bot, comrade! Who else would spout disinformation other than a Russian bot such as Apple Store employees make minimum wage (they don’t) and they don’t get benefits (they do!).

    Hail Putin!

    9secondkox2bestkeptsecret
  • Reply 12 of 16
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,480member
    sunman42 said:
    Yeah, those Apple retail workers who start at $22/hour and already have a ton of benefits sure do need a union. They’re being treated so badly! Shame on your Apple for paying retail workers well above minimum wage and providing all those other benefits that most other retail jobs don’t. I go to the Apple store frequently and from what I can see, most of them get paid just to stand around and chat with each other.
    I'm going to assume this post is from a bot that never tried to live on a minimum wage. Minimum wage is not a living wage, or even anywhere close to it. The lack of empathy for people who actually have to work for a living (even if, when the Store's not busy, they dare to speak to one another) bespeaks a robotic lack of concern for actual human beings.

    AppleInsider should screen the comments for bot products.
    I think the point is that Apple pays their retail employees far beyond market rates for retail and offers benefits few in retail besides management would get. Also when most retail stores were closed and there were no checks coming to employees, Apple kept them whole while they sat at home. 
    mitchperkins
  • Reply 13 of 16
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,275member
    Yeah, those Apple retail workers who start at $22/hour and already have a ton of benefits sure do need a union. They’re being treated so badly! Shame on your Apple for paying retail workers well above minimum wage and providing all those other benefits that most other retail jobs don’t. I go to the Apple store frequently and from what I can see, most of them get paid just to stand around and chat with each other.
    Just because these employees make more than you doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be allowed to have a union if they want to. $22/hour is not a lot of money after taxes, and in most big cities it wouldn’t even be a livable wage.

    You probably need to be reminded that these employees have to have highly-specialized technical skills AND strong customer relation skills, alongside the ability to demonstrate and troubleshoot a huge range of software and hardware. $22 an hour for that level of knowledge alone is almost insulting, then throw in the ability to represent Apple so well that customers enjoy the experience and you have a very special and highly-sought-after retail level employee indeed.

    Don’t be angry at people you perceive yourself to be like who are doing better than you. Be jealous and motivated to improve your workplace situation.
  • Reply 14 of 16
    This person was fired for breaking the rules, and showing up late to work. Whether that had anything to do with her being part of the union or not, doesn’t really matter because she broke the rules and got fired for it. If she hadn’t been part of the union effort and got fired for the same thing, no one would complain, and somehow we are to believe that just because someone is involved with a unionization effort they can do whatever the hell they want and not get fired, because anything else will be construed as retaliation. These union pushers should be model employees, not just barely showing up to work on time. whether the firing is retaliation or not, doesn’t really matter, because she gave them a legit reason to fire her, and so they did.
    Actually it does matter if it can be shown that the union workers were treated differently, in practice, as a class than non-union workers for the same infractions.
    Incorrect. If you violate the terms of your employment, you can be fired. Period. Even if someone else did the same thing and were not fired as they were viewed as more valuable to the company. An at-will employee can be let go pretty easily. Companies are not forced to retain problematic employees. 

    An at-will employee can be let go for any legal reason.  If the employee is let go as retaliation for union activities, that's illegal, irrespective of what "legal" excuses the company comes up with to "justify" the firing.  Labor lawyers win these types of cases all the time.
    gatorguy
  • Reply 15 of 16
    chasm said:
    Yeah, those Apple retail workers who start at $22/hour and already have a ton of benefits sure do need a union. They’re being treated so badly! Shame on your Apple for paying retail workers well above minimum wage and providing all those other benefits that most other retail jobs don’t. I go to the Apple store frequently and from what I can see, most of them get paid just to stand around and chat with each other.
    Just because these employees make more than you doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be allowed to have a union if they want to. $22/hour is not a lot of money after taxes, and in most big cities it wouldn’t even be a livable wage.

    You probably need to be reminded that these employees have to have highly-specialized technical skills AND strong customer relation skills, alongside the ability to demonstrate and troubleshoot a huge range of software and hardware. $22 an hour for that level of knowledge alone is almost insulting, then throw in the ability to represent Apple so well that customers enjoy the experience and you have a very special and highly-sought-after retail level employee indeed.

    Don’t be angry at people you perceive yourself to be like who are doing better than you. Be jealous and motivated to improve your workplace situation.
    These “highly skilled” employees are getting paid exactly what they think they are worth because they accepted the job. If the pay and benefits Apple is offering were “insulting”, then they should have passed and accepted another offer from a different company instead.
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