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Apple has hired anti-union attorneys from Littler Mendelson as Apple retail employees across the country begin the union process.
In mid-April, Apple Cumberland Mall employees in Atlanta, Georgia, began teaming up with Communications Workers of America in an effort to file union elections. The proposed union would include 107 workers, with more than 70% of workers signing statements of support.
To avoid organizational strain, Apple tapped talent from Littler Mendelson, a San Francisco law firm that handles labor and employment disputes.
Littler is the same company currently fighting the Starbucks workers’ union efforts. The company also helped McDonald’s avoid responsibility in 2014 when a case alleged the company retaliated against employees who participated in the Fight for $15 campaign.
“From the beginning, I thought unionization was a good thing,” an unnamed Apple retail employee told The Verge. “Reward is so unequal in the stores – there are people who have worked in positions for shorter periods of time and earn more than people who have worked in the same roles for years. They position themselves as a company that is open to feedback, but no one is acting with a union that supports the workers, they will put more pressure on them to actually take action.”
Apple Cumberland Mall employees aren’t the only ones asking for more, either. Apple Store employees in the United States have quietly pressed to organize, citing wages have stagnated as the Cupertino tech giant continues to post record profits.
Apple employs more than 65,000 people in retail, including employees who sell, repair, and troubleshoot products and services. The Cupertino tech giant’s retail footprint accounted for 36% of the company’s $366 billion in revenue in 2021.
Earlier in April, Apple employees trying to unionize at the company’s Grand Central Terminal store in New York City asked to be paid at least $30 an hour, along with other benefits.
This post Apple hires labor-disrupting attorneys to fight workers’ union-making efforts
was original published at “https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/04/25/apple-hires-labor-busting-lawyers-to-fight-employees-efforts-to-unionize?utm_medium=rss”
