by Louis Galleria location, Apple Store employees decided not to unionize by refusing to unionize in their application to the National Labor Relations Board this week. Bloomberg.
Employees said they did not believe the union would provide “anything that complements Apple’s culture and existing benefits,” suggesting that Apple’s efforts to improve benefits to prevent unionization have been successful. Apple increased paid sick leave and vacation days in February, and improved working conditions in June by increasing time limits between shifts, limiting night shifts, and not working more than five consecutive days.
Workers at the store said they did not want to be represented by the International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the group of workers that aims to organize the store. Of the 90 employees, 66 said they “do not want to join the union and do not support the union in any way”.
In November, IAM abandoned plans to vote for unionization, blaming “anti-union practices and growing hostility towards workers” at the time. Employees allege that IAM gave up on unionization efforts after learning of the petition. “Most of the employees in this “Apple Store” don’t want to work with IAM,” the employees said. They also said they “do not believe a union is necessary at this time”.
Workers said that although Apple was accused of engaging in anti-union behavior, union opposition was unaffected by management. In October, Apple refused to provide new benefits to a unionized story in Maryland, and employees there were told that Apple had to negotiate benefits with Apple through the union.
Apple’s head of retail, Deirdre O’Brien, warned employees that unionizing would make it harder for Apple to make changes. “We have an open, collaborative and direct engagement relationship,” he said at the time. “I feel that this could fundamentally change if a store is represented by a union under a collective bargaining agreement.”
As of now, two Apple Stores in the US have chosen to unionize, and employees at several other Apple retail outlets are also considering unionizing.
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