Union drives are heating up at Apple.
Workers at the Apple Store in the Atlanta area Cumberland Mall will hold a vote on whether to unionize, according to Bloomberg Law.
This is the second report of union activity among Apple Store retail workers in a span of days. On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that workers at the Grand Central location were collecting the signature cards from employees that would authorize the would be-union’s Organizing Committee to hold a vote. Those employees, calling themselves Fruit Stand Workers United, also launched a website. The Post said three other locations were organizing as well.
But the Atlanta store is farther along in the process. Employee organizers have already collected signature cards from 70 percent of store workers authorizing a union vote, which is well over the needed 30 percent. While the Grand Central employees are organizing with Workers United, Atlanta Apple Store employees have registered their vote with the Communications Workers of America. That makes them the first Apple Store workers to file for a union election.
The votes and card collections come on the heels of a December 24 walkout by some Apple Store employees demanding better pay and working conditions. Earlier in 2021, Apple corporate employees and retail workers joined together to form the #AppleToo movement, which collects and shares salary information and stories of people’s workplace experiences.
Now, with multiple potential union votes on the horizon, it sounds like those activities were just the beginning of the fight for workers’ rights at Apple.