Apple Store employees in Atlanta opt out of union vote

As the fight to unionize at the Apple Store escalated, one group is withdrawing its bid. Apple Store employees in Atlanta are withdrawing their request for a union election, Bloomberg reported.

Just last week, Apple Store employees in Atlanta accused Apple of cracking down on unions as the company repeatedly held closed meetings with anti-union messages to employees. In an emailed statement, Communications Workers of America (CWA) said it took the step “because Apple’s repeated violations of the National Labor Relations Act made free and fair elections impossible.”

The CWA also cited concerns about an increase in Covid-19 cases among employees, which could affect the security of in-person voting.

Apple waged a systematic, sophisticated campaign to intimidate them and infringe on their right to form a union, the CWA said.

Under National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rules, the group will have to wait at least six months before petitioning again. No word on whether the Apple Store staff in Atlanta will continue where they left off. Employees were ready to vote in early June in what was to be the first NLRB election at the Apple Store.

Apple is happy with this decision

Apple seems grateful to have one less store right now. The company commented on the move, stating that “We are fortunate to have great members of the retail team and we deeply appreciate all they bring to Apple.”

We are pleased to offer very high compensation and benefits for full-time and part-time employees, including medical care, tuition reimbursement, new parental leave, paid family leave, annual stock subsidies and many other benefits — Apple continued.

The Apple Store in Atlanta, among others, has unionized.

The Apple Store in Atlanta was the second store to begin the merger process last month. While New York was first, Maryland and Kentucky are following suit.

Apple has already shown its opposition to unionization as it has worked with Littler Mendelsohn’s anti-union legal team. It’s the same firm that represents Starbucks, which also helped McDonald’s in 2014 when workers asked for $15 an hour. In addition, just yesterday, the company announced a wage increase for retail employees in response to rising inflation. Starting pay is now $22 an hour with potentially higher wages in some markets.

The company also used retail director Deirdre O’Brien to discourage employees from unionizing. Vice received an audio leak from a video sent to Apple Store employees where O’Brien explained her concerns about retail employees joining a union.

Sight

Overall, I don’t think Apple’s situation will improve. As more and more stores begin to unionize or consider unionizing, Apple’s concern will continue to grow. Just because the Atlanta Apple Store now backed out of its bet doesn’t mean it won’t try again later. However, it looks like Apple will do everything in its power to stop the fight.

Connected:

Reading now