- The task force, which seeks to represent workers at Apple’s Atlanta store, withdrew its request for a union vote, citing intimidation, reports said.
- The June 2 vote could mark the beginning of Apple’s first union store in the United States.
- The decision comes days after an audio leak showed Apple’s chief executive expressing concern about uniting the company’s retail employees.
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Employees at an Apple store in Atlanta withdrew their request for a union vote just days before it took place, citing alleged intimidation by the technology giant, the reports said.
Retail employees at the Apple Cumberland Mall had to vote on June 2 whether or not they wanted to be represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA). They are now rejecting the union proposal, in tandem with the CWA’s claims that “Apple’s repeated violations of the National Labor Law have made free and fair elections impossible,” Bloomberg reported.
“The vast majority of Cumberland Mall Store workers announced they were forming a union in April and demanded recognition from the company,” a CWA spokesman said in a statement, according to CNBC. “Since then, Apple has waged a systematic, sophisticated campaign to intimidate them and prevent their right to form an alliance.
In April, store workers became the first in the company to apply for union elections, with more than 70% of eligible workers signing union cards. If successful, the vote would mark the beginning of Apple’s first union store in the United States.
Since then, news reports have shown allegations of anti-union tactics by Apple.
Just a few days ago, audio recordings showed that Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of retail and human trafficking, was concerned about the union of 58,000 Apple employees.
“I’m worried about what it would mean to put another organization at the center of our relationship, an organization that doesn’t have a deep understanding of Apple or our business, and most importantly, one that I don’t believe will share our commitment to you,” O said. Brian, according to Vice, who published part of the recording.
Earlier in May, Vice also announced that Apple had sent a scenario of anti-union talks to store managers.
In addition to Atlanta, Apple’s stores in Maryland and Kentucky, as well as the company’s leading location in New York, have begun the process of pursuing unionization.
The technology giant has raised the basic wage of retail workers from $ 20 to $ 22 an hour amid insistence on unionized shops, according to a note reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and CNBC. The increase also comes amid a hot labor market and rising inflation.
Representatives of the CWA and Apple did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.
Are you an Apple retailer with a story to share? Email this reporter at sjackson@insider.com.
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