Apple union push faces setback; The Atlanta organizers are withdrawing the ballot

Shoppers walk past an Apple Store at Franklin Park Mall during Black Friday. Shoppers go to stores to take advantage of Black Friday sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stephen Zenner | SOPA pictures | LightRocket | Getty pictures
A union vote in an Apple store at the Cumberland Mall in Atlanta is in doubt after the union tried to organize the retail workers withdrew their request for election.
The union, Communications Workers of America, claimed in a statement that Apple had violated labor laws and made a fair choice impossible. In addition, CWA said that there is an increasing number of Covid cases in the store, which may affect the vote due to the workers̵[ads1]7; health problems.
The vote was scheduled for next week. If successful, it would have been the first unionized American Apple store.
The development is a setback for Apple workers’ efforts to organize themselves in the company’s retail stores in the United States. In addition to the Cumberland Mall location, there are at least three other Apple stores with workers holding public unions. A union vote for workers in a Maryland store is scheduled for June 15.
“An overwhelming majority of workers at the Cumberland Mall Store announced that they were forming a union in April and asked for recognition from the company,” a CWA representative said in a statement. “Since then, Apple has conducted a systematic, sophisticated campaign to intimidate them and disrupt their right to form a union,” a “behavior.” [that] violates U.S. law, the principles of Apple’s credo and supplier code, and international human rights standards. “
“We are not moving forward with the choice given what Apple’s response has been and the coercive environment they have created,” the Cumberland Mall Organizing Committee said in a statement to store employees.
It is a shame and a disgrace that Apple chose to spend tens of thousands of dollars to pay a third party, outside the law firm “union evasion”, abandon its known values, and aggressively and fraudulently violate the union in our store, and interfere with our legal right to organize a trade union “, the message continued.
It said Atlanta store operators will “reset” and will partner with other stores to prepare them for future union runs.
Employees at the Atlanta store applied for a union in April, when organizers said more than 70 percent of the store’s employees signed cards that signaled interest in being represented by CWA.
Since then, Apple has faced accusations that it uses anti-union tactics that violate labor laws. CWA said in an unfair internship filing earlier this month that store executives held “prisoner public meetings” where workers are required to attend meetings that include corporate anti-union.
Earlier this week, Apple’s head of retail and human resources, in a video distributed internally, said she believed unions would make it harder for Apple executives to respond to employees’ concerns, and that unions are not committed to employees.
Cumberland Mall organizers are calling for more transparency in how workers are paid, a commitment to diversity in management and increased Covid employee safety measures.
“We are fortunate to have incredible members of the retail team, and we greatly appreciate everything they bring to Apple,” said an Apple representative in response to a question about the poll in Atlanta, saying the company offers strong compensation and benefits.
Earlier this week, Apple announced that it would increase the starting salary for retail employees to $ 22 per hour. In the report to employees, Cumberland Mall’s organizing committee said that the unplanned increases were a direct result of the organizing work.
“Thanks to what we started here in Atlanta, Apple will give all employees in all stores an unplanned increase. This is because of us,” the organizing committee said.