A small Apple union can be an example for others
2023.01.11 14:59
A small Apple union can be an example for others
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – On Wednesday, employees at Apple’s first unionized retail location began collective bargaining with management, marking a turning point not only for the iPhone company but for Big Tech as a whole.
On Wednesday morning, contract negotiations with Apple management began after Apple store workers in Towson, Maryland, who made history in June by voting to form the first union at one of the tech giant’s US stores, began. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) union is the organizing force behind the worker group, which is based in a mall near Baltimore.
“There’s a lot at stake” for Apple employees at this and other stores, according to Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations labor and employment law professor Risa Lieberwitz. She stated, “This will be watched by other Apple employees.” This will be watched by additional tech workers.
A broader wave of workplace organizing coincided with the unionization bid of Apple store workers in Towson’s success. Workers gained new leverage as a result of a tight labor market and the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought to light some of the unfair conditions that confront America’s frontline workers. Workers at Apple, Starbucks, and Amazon’s stores and warehouses started organizing themselves again.
Top tech companies have responded in a variety of ways to the rise of worker organizing efforts. After a significant union victory in the spring, Amazon has so far refused to recognize its first union and has continued to challenge its legitimacy.
Microsoft, on the other hand, has openly supported its first union, declaring this month that it looks forward to “engaging in good faith negotiations as we work towards a collective bargaining agreement.”
Although there have been some tensions, Apple appears to be the first of those three companies to enter into negotiations with its unionized employees. The National Labor Relations Board had previously filed a complaint against Apple for allegedly questioning employees about their support for a union and selectively prohibiting the placement of pro-union flyers in a break room at an Apple store in New York City. () In a filing with the NLRB, Apple denied those claims.)
An Apple spokesperson stated that the company “will engage with the union representing our team in Towson in a respectful and in good faith” manner. The statement also talked about how much the company values the work done by its retail staff and how much money and benefits they get.
According to David DiMaria, the IAMAW’s lead organizer for the union campaign for the Towson Apple store, workers at the Apple store were excited ahead of Wednesday’s first meeting. “They’ve been putting in a lot of time doing all that prep,” he told. “First contracts are a lot of prep work.” They are in good spirits now that everything has paid off and they can start negotiating their contracts at the table. They are ecstatic and cannot wait to get there.
Pay, working conditions, and most importantly, having a voice at work are top priorities for the bargaining unit, according to DiMaria. “Being a part of that decision-making process in the things that affect them on the day-to-day is really important,” she says.
Lieberwitz noted that, regardless of industry, negotiating a union’s first contract in the United States is “generally difficult” due to the fact that many employers have historically resisted or attempted to delay the process. The longer a union goes without a contract, the longer a company will not have to agree to any of the demands made by workers. It takes a union that wins an election on average 465 days to ratify a first contract, according to Bloomberg Law labor data analysis.
She added, “it will require patience, a recognition that this may take a long time, and sticking together in that sense of labor solidarity” for the employees.
