Whether in Europe or the United States, Apple Stores do not have a good reputation when it comes to employee compensation and working conditions that often prioritize productivity over employee well-being. Faced with the deaf ears of the management of Apple Park, the employees of the Apple Store in Atlanta decided to send an open letter which was shared in the American press.
They’re not asking for the moon, but for fair pay and improving working conditions
For several weeks now, the American Apple Stores have gradually begun to unionize, signs have appeared in one of the Apple Stores in New York and this is now the case at the Apple Store in Atlanta, which is becoming the first to file a union election.
They say they love working for Apple, love the company, but can no longer stand the low pay and the working conditions that must be improved for the good of all.
To challenge Tim Cook and the rest of the management, the employees of the Apple Store in Atlanta wrote a common letter for several changes to be implemented (here are the main points that are requested):
- Fair compensation
- More transparency on pay inequality within Apple
- Promote more BIPOC employees to leadership positions
- Increased COVID-19 safety measures in stores
According to the report of Vice, five other Apple Stores plan to unionize soon. Elli Daniels a labor organizer from Atlanta explains:
We want to have a voice in our workplace. We do this because we love Apple and love our job and want to make sure we can continue to love the company as much as we do right now. We don’t do it because we want to turn our backs on the business.
The complete open letter
Our vision is to create an environment where Apple retail workers are fairly compensated, authentically heard, and treated fairly, and to enrich the workplace by building a foundation of care and trust, both for us -same as for our customers.
A fairer, fairer and fairer world is our ultimate goal. We seek to create a space where technology and community combine, allowing our users to work towards this goal with us. We work at Apple because Apple’s public values align with ours. We’re here to live up to them, and we want Apple to do it too.
Apple is the most valuable company in the world, and as we continue to develop and grow, we need the power to ensure that all of our employees are included in the successes Apple achieves.
But in a company as big as Apple, it takes a lot of people to make a change. That is why we form a democratic union, an organization run by us, with leaders elected by us, which we own.
What we are working on:
- Fair pay : Transparency around pay inequality, cost of living adjustments and real living wages for all employees.
- career development : Dedication to training and developing our employees for promotion from within as a primary method of fulfilling open roles and a clear path for advancement.
- Business-Retail Parity : Benefits and bonuses that match company employees, fair RSU allocation, and matching RSU vesting schedule.
- Equity : Agreement to recruit, hire, train and mentor BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Color) employees into leadership and decision-making roles.
- health and wellbeing : A work environment that takes mental health seriously promotes and encourages physical health, and champions team members with disability and/or accessibility needs.
- Security Adequate measures to value and protect employee safety, employee feedback on operating models, and better enforcement of current, COVID and other policies.
- Ideals : An influential role in decision-making to ensure that our day-to-day operations align with our public values, our flexibility to enable civic participation, and opportunities for paid volunteering.
We love Apple and want it to live up to its true potential. Apple has the power to make significant changes in the way retail workers around the world are treated, and we look forward to working with Apple leaders to bring regarding that change.
