New video highlights ongoing struggles between Apple and union members
The conflict between Apple and its Reston retail store union members is on full display in a new video, highlighting negotiation struggles, discipline disparities, and more.
Apple Towson Town Center
The video was shared to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday, and is a seven-and-a-half minute long inside look into contract negotiations between Apple and IAM CORE members.
"We go in there and we'll make proposals, and we get back, 'Well, here's our counter,' after three hours of negotiating, and it's a screenshot of of the web page of, you know, what our current policy is," Eric Brown, an Apple Store employee and IAM CORE member, says in the video.
EXCLUSIVE: We got an inside look at contract negotiations at the first Apple store to unionize.
The picture is damning for a company that claims its "soul is our people."
Apple has stalled for 2 years while cracking down on unionized workers, forcing around 50 to leave. pic.twitter.com/JQWnOhRnMf-- More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS)
The union alleges that Apple is stalling negotiations as much as possible. That's a claim it first made over a year ago in April 2023.
In the video, union members say they're pushing for fair wages to help keep up with inflation and the cost of living. One member points out that Apple's sustained profit growth means the tech giant could easily afford to give workers better pay.
However, allegedly Apple has struck back at union members, forcing around 50 to leave in the two years since the union formed.
"We're seeing like six to eight discipline-related conversations per day," Billy Jarboe, Apple Store worker and union member, says.
Union member and worker Chaya Barrett notes that Apple has policies that disproportionately negatively impact employees who may have children or work two jobs. Apple requires retail employees to have four hours of customer-facing time, but when Towson Town Center shifted its closing time from 9:00 pm to 8:00 pm, many workers could not meet the requirement.
The union also points out that Apple has since rolled out changes requested by the union -- to everywhere except the unionized store. It believes that the move is retaliatory.
While this practice is illegal, the consequences are not strict enough to force Apple to comply with the law.
Union negotiations continue to trudge along. On May 8, IAM CORE members put forth a motion to strike if no meaningful progress was made. On May 12, workers at the store voted in favor of the strike.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Apple recently upped wages substantially. And now they want even more? It’s not like it’s not a fair wage.
apple being profitable doesn’t magically make your job more than what it is.
Now, I didn't say the retail should get paid what the person with an engineering masters gets paid, I'm saying they're important too. You need your hear to live, but you want your arms and legs to work. Engineers are like the heart, and retail are the limbs.
I do agree that this is a one-sided video, designed to promote their needs, however, I have a feeling it's must closer to reality than anything Apple corporate says and does.
I've stopped using one of their stores in London because the staff have become awful and obnoxious (it's the Westfield store) they act as if they're more important than the customer and their level of knowledge is next to zero as far as Apple products are concerned.
Apple retail jobs are among the best and sought after, but good people can't get in now.
I would close the store and sack the lot!
Get back to hiring people based on their abilities not the colour of their skin!
They should to make an example, however the problem is with Apples DEI hiring policies!
Time must work differently for you.
Not sure if you are familiar with 9seconds but they are kind of impervious to facts ad reality. You would be better off having a conversation with a brick wall.
Overall, no one should have to fight a company, that has billions of dollars laying around and talks about how important their employees are, to treat them well. Labor laws exist as a vital part of the American system, to protect from corporate greed, as we'd learn over the last 200+ years that large comoanies tend to put profits above human life. Locating back at American history, about every 50 years or so we need another labor moment to reset these companies straight, which is currently happening now.