Protesters close Chicago Apple Store over Palestinian employee firing
A small group of demonstrators disrupted the Lincoln Park Apple Store in Chicago on Saturday to protest Apple's use of labor in Africa and its disciplining of at least one employee wearing pro-Palestinian clothing items.
The protest, which took place Saturday, was peaceful but resulted in the store closing early, with a heavy police presence afterwards. A group called Apples4Ceasefire staged the protest, alleging that a Palestinian employee at the store was wrongly terminated for wearing accessories supporting the Palestinian people, including the traditional keffiyeh.
The group, which claims some 300 members who say they are current or former Apple employees, said the firing at the Lincoln Park store was not an isolated incident.
"In fact, anyone who has dared to express support of the Palestinian people in the form of kaffiyehs, pins, bracelets, or clothing, has been actioned against under the guise of breaking business conduct' and creating a harmful environment," the letter said.
The protest was sparked by the firing of former Lincoln Park store employee Madly (pronounced "Medley") Espinoza, who specifically asked Apple managers if it was allowed to wear a keffiyeh at work, and received permission to do so. As the conflict in Gaza dragged on, she was asked not to wear it anymore.
Espinoza switched to wearing pro-Palestinian jewelry, again after getting permission from managers, along with some 40 other employees who wore similar accessories. She was later fired and the others reprimanded, and told her actions were "too political."
The open letter from the group, titled Apples4Ceasefire, claims it is disappointed and in shock at "the lack of care and understanding this company has given the Palestinian community, not only abroad suffering in Gaza, but also twards our own team members and anyone who supports them within our stores and offices."
BREAKING: Apple Store closes in Chicago amid pro-Palestinian protest
Protesters entered the Apple Lincoln Park store in Chicago today, chanting "Free, free Palestine" inside in a demonstration against the tech company. A protester distributed flyers reading "Stop Exploiting DR pic.twitter.com/X5fV1TgDzT-- Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene)
In addition to protesting the firing of the employee, the dozen or so protesters in the store also demanded that Apple leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where some rare earth and other materials are mined. The group released a letter asking CEO Tim Cook to acknowledge the deaths of civilians in Gaza, as he did in a letter to employees about Israeli deaths after the initial Hamas attack.
A group of Google employees have also protested against the search giant's decision to fund an Israeli tech conference held last month in New York. One Google Cloud engineer was fired by the company after disrupting a talk at the event.
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Comments
I am sure it has a lithium battery in it. Hypocrite!
Make political statements off the clock. Not on it. Did Apple give Espinoza the opportunity to conform to a required dress code? IDK. If offered the opportunity, did Espinoza comply or refuse? IDK. She asked permission and it was granted on two instances, according to the story.
I would think store management would consider that fact before terminating someone's employment. Did they? Again the article doesn't say. If Apple said they changed their mind, and show up for work tomorrow, politically unadorned, then that's what employees would need to do. I'd want to know more before vilifying Apple or giving them a pass.
There can be no support for those electing terrorists or those supporting a government responsible for war crimes (Israel hasn't been found guilty - it is just @StrangeDays that decided Israel is guilty).
Now, the government elected by the Palestine people were behind the terror attack. No way Apple could ever allow employees to show support for a people electing terrorists on repeat. Apple did the right thing to stop such politics from entering. There is however no policy against neutral scarfs or wearing a kippah.
Was Apple right in firing this employee in light of the fact the employee had been given permission in the recent past? In order to determine that, we need more facts. For example, if the employee had been told by managers at the store they could wear certain things, but later upper management in Cupertino decided otherwise regarding a policy for all stores, then it would boil down to how Apple spoke to this employee. Personally, I would have treated it very delicately, apologizing to the employee for conflicting information, but letting them know that rules handed down by Cupertino are the final word. If the employee heard and understood that but continued to wear the symbols anyway, they should be given a formal warning, but no further action. If the employee continued to disobey, they should be given a second warning and asked to go home for one work day. If they returned to work and continued to ignore the rules, then and only then should they be fired. That is how I personally would have handled it.
But I am surprised anyone gets fired anymore with the crazy USA being as litigious as it is. But I guess Apple employee's have to sign a lot of legal documents to become an employee that prevents many lawsuits against Apple in the event that employee is ultimately fired.
As far as your person is concerned, that means you are not wearing anything with any sort of logo outside of your Apple t-shirt or black "track jacket." For sometime, I wore a couple of pins on my black jacket- one was of Snoopy in his orange space suit. Despite the Snoopy in Space cartoon on Apple TV+, I was eventually told not to wear that as it was against brand standards.
Nit picking? Yea, for sure. But the real issue was if I could do that, then others can wear things to their liking. I didn't like having to take that pin off. But I understood why.
A keffiyeh is not a religious item. They have been worn in the many desert areas for millennia. Their real purpose to be able to drape it across your face to protect against blowing sand. On the other hand, a Hijab is part of Islamic tradition. I worked with at least two people who wore a Hijab. I should also note, Apple stores when necessary, provided a private space for those employees who needed one for prayer time.
Hamas executes people for being gay, and because hundreds of Palestinians have had to flee to Israel just to pursue being gay. "Sharia courts have also been set up where homosexuals are threatened with the death penalty by stoning, burning and hanging. These courts also declare persons suspected of homosexuality to be ‘outlaws’, who can be murdered with impunity. It is also reported that the PA police regularly inflicts appalling torture on homosexuals."
Which is absolutely horrific, but still isn't justification for doing the same in turn to them.