An Apple Inc. retail store located in the upscale community of Short Hills, New Jersey has officially petitioned for a merger.
This renewed effort signals a growing push for unionization in Apple’s retail sector. Five of the company’s stores in the United States are already actively seeking to organize their workforce.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 22: On December 22, 2022, people gathered at the Apple Store at The Grove Mall during the holiday shopping season, three days before Christmas. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Renewed Unionization Efforts in New Jersey
In a recent development, Apple Store employees in New Jersey are working to form a union. If they succeed, it will be the fifth Apple Store to do so. This time, 104 employees in Short Hills, New Jersey, have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
If the unionization effort is successful, Apple Store employees will join the Communications Workers of America. This union represents employees from Apple Stores and companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Frontier.
Four other Apple Stores have tried to merge in the past few years. However, only the stores in Oklahoma City and Townson, Maryland, were able to do so. Yet Apple did not fully support these efforts and opposed them.
John Nagy, operations manager at Apple’s Short Hills, New Jersey store, has been actively promoting the idea of unionization among Apple workers.
He believes that unionization is critical to ensuring fair treatment, competitive pay, comprehensive benefits and improved working conditions for all employees.
Nagy stressed that Apple should refrain from interfering with ongoing organizing efforts and should instead respect the autonomy of workers to make their own decisions regarding unions.
Also Read: Apple Doesn’t Want Union, So Gave Retail Managers Scripts – Report
Apple says it maintains competitive compensation and offers comprehensive benefits to full-time and part-time retail employees. Despite this claim, however, workers at the New Jersey Apple store still have to participate in a union election where they will decide whether to join the union.
If the majority votes yes, Apple will have to negotiate with the workers.
That process could hit obstacles, however, as Bloomberg points out that Apple has yet to reach an agreement to negotiate with workers in Maryland and Oklahoma.
Previous unionization
The NLRB filed a complaint against Apple Store employees in Maryland the previous year, alleging that Apple failed to provide fringe benefits to its employees.
The NLRB accuses Apple of withholding increased benefits from Towson workers to discourage other employees from unionizing. Some of these new benefits include additional health care options, a free Coursera subscription, and prepaid tuition at select colleges.
Last year, Apple’s Towson store made history by becoming the first Apple retail location in the U.S. to unionize, voting to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
Apple introduced its new benefits in October 2022. However, after discovering they were excluded from those benefits, Towson employees wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook expressing their disappointment and filed a complaint with the NLRB.
The judges also found that Apple illegally questioned workers about their support for unions at its stores in New York and Atlanta, Georgia.
Related article: Apple tries to keep stores from unionizing by holding anti-union meetings
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