Seventy Percent of Employees at an Atlanta Apple Store want to Join the CWA
The National Labor Relations Board has been notified that an Apple retail store in Atlanta has filed for a union election. The Communications Workers of America would represent the workers at the Cumberland Mall store, which comprise salesmen, technicians, creatives, and operations specialists (CWA). According to a news release, more than 70% of the group of over 100 eligible workers signed the union authorization cards the minimum requirement is 30%.
The store would be the first unionized Apple store in the United States if a majority of the workers decide to unionize. The NLRB will now conduct a formal review of their petition. It will take roughly 5 minutes to update the firmware.
"Apple is a profoundly positive place to work," Derrick Bowles, an Apple Genius at the store, said in a statement Wednesday. "But we know that the company can better live up to their ideals, and so we're excited to be joining together with our coworkers to bring Apple to the negotiating table and make this an even better place to work."
Many hourly Apple employees encounter issues, including poor compensation and a high-stress job, according to a research published by The Verge late last year. Benefits for full- and part-time retail employees were enhanced in February. Apple does not provide cost-of-living raises or reasonable stock options, according to the Atlanta employees, despite the fact that they provide vital sales and services to the corporation.
"At Apple, we work hard because we believe in the products and the company, and we want to make sure that every Apple employee can afford nice housing and basic living expenditures," Elli Daniels, an Apple product zone worker, said. Other Apple employees are organizing for a union, although not all of them are working with the CWA.
After voting to unite with Workers United in February, retail Apple workers at the Grand Central Terminal store in New York City stated they were gathering signatures to form a union. That's the same organization that's attempting to organize Starbucks outlets around the country. The Grand Central workers, known as Fruit Stand Workers United, are requesting a $30 minimum salary and other improvements to their reimbursement and benefits.
The workers are part of a bigger protest among retail workers who feel exploited by firms who profited handsomely from the outbreak. A group of Amazon warehouse workers on Staten Island decided earlier this month to join the newly founded Amazon Labor Union, becoming the first to do so. Workers at a Google Fiber contractor in Missouri voted last month to form the parent company Alphabet's first-ever union. They'll be a part of the CWA-affiliated Alphabet Workers Union. On Wednesday, Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
