Most corporations really don’t want their employees unionizing. Unions give employees collective bargaining power. This leads to better wages and benefits. There are, for employees, pros and cons to unions, but for many workers, the benefits often outweigh the costs. For the companies they work for, however, unions could mean trouble. Employees will want fair wages, which will go to workers instead of record profits or outrageously paid executives. Companies often fight unions with everything they can, sometimes even with illegal measures. This is because the cost of unions to a corporation are often higher than any fine they would get.
When Apple Store employees in Towson, Maryland became the first Apple employees to unionize, they set a precedence. Other stores may follow, and other workers in retail may also do the same. However, workers at the store say it wasn’t an easy process. They allege Apple’s union-busting tactics involved threats. One Apple employee claims Apple told them they’d pull his immigration assistance if the store unionized.
Yes, you read that right, Apple reportedly threatened to push someone towards deportation.
Now Apple employees are speaking up about the treatment they received as they fought to unionize at their store. A petition calls out Apple’s reported anti-union tactics.
A “Traumatic” Fight
“We knew both the Apple Human Rights Policy and the Apple Supplier Code of Conduct laid out a framework of neutrality by which the company and its suppliers should be conducting themselves.
Unfortunately for us, these policies were not followed. What we received in return for reaching out to our CEO was nothing short of a systematic and coordinated campaign designed to inflict substantial collective pressure on us as a workforce. To be clear, this was nothing short of traumatic for many of us.”
– From the CORE petition
The Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE) started a petition asking Apple to, “Abide by your own code.” CORE claims that Apple has “strong human rights policies, especially around workers’ rights to organize,” but violated those policies when allegedly trying to prevent the Towson location’s union. Their petition serves as an open letter to Apple’s board of directors, so they can prevent this kind of alleged abuse in the future.
Potentially losing your ability to stay in the country, and knowing your vote could cost someone their home, is exceptionally cruel. If true, it’s a horrifying form of union-busting that Apple must hold those responsible accountable for.
Apple reportedly engaged in other union-busting tactics and threats. These included captive audience meetings, round-table meetings, and one-on-one meetings with employees to discourage unionization. These put a lot of pressure on employees who feel like they have to attend or could lose their jobs. At one point Apple reportedly even claimed the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) was racist, citing it’s origins in 1880s Georgia. They reportedly claimed it’s ran by rich white men, to which Graham DeYoung, an Apple employee for 15 years and union organizer, says, “Hey, look at the Apple board of directors.”
To everyone involved, it’s clear Apple didn’t want employees to unionize. They did anyway. Now Apple has to deal with the consequences of their actions, which may push other stores to do the same. Employees in other stores may hear of the alleged bullying and realize it only heightens the need for the protections a union could offer.