It is not new that the Apple does not see with good eyes the movement of unionization that is taking place among retail employees. The company has already adopted, for example, practices such as meetings to discourage the formation of unions, as well as circulating a statement with the same objective.
Now, however, Apple is being accused of going further: according to the Washington Post, five employees at Apple Country Club Plaza in Kansas City were laid off. The official reason for the dismissal was employee delays, in addition to incorrect filling out of timesheets. They were released between November 2022 and February 2023.
Employees, however, said they began to organize for unionization following sensing differences in the treatment given to them compared to part-time workers, among other issues. In this way, the union Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board for “unlawful retaliatory dismissal” on grounds of intent to unionize.
The well-known meetings on the theme also took place in the store. Initially, they were optional, but became mandatory. In them, managers discouraged employees from unionizing, saying that unions would be an obstacle in the relationship between employees and the company.
Gemma Wyattone of the fired employees, stated that she was placed under disciplinary action following being regarding a minute late three times in one month, being fired following this occurred twice more.
I had a long history with the company and loved my job. They definitely succeeded in destroying our will to organize in our store. People are, of course, interested in having a say in terms of working conditions without jeopardizing their livelihoods.
According to the union, dismissals for this reason were uncommon until then, which led to the belief that the dismissals were, in fact, due to employees being involved in the unionization process. Companies like Starbucks they would also use similar tactics to discourage union membership.
Another employee dismissed for the same reason was Sergio Hernandez Jr, who worked as a technical expert on the store’s Genius. He said he became active in the union movement when he noticed that other employees were getting bonuses for speaking Spanish — but not him.
The union also filed another complaint concerning Apple Memorial City in Houston. In this case, the charge is that the company questioned individual employees regarding support for unionization, subjecting one of them to disciplinary measures for supporting the union and promising improvements in working conditions if they refused to support unionization.
Apple has not officially commented on the reported complaints or cases. However, even when the company comments on accusations of this type, it is usually done with very generic statements. It will be important, therefore, the outcome of the complaint in the US National Council on Labor Relations.
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via AppleInsider
