As unionization efforts proceed at Apple Stores across the country, a fourth location has begun forming a union. The Apple Store at Oxmoor Center Mall in Louisville, Kentucky, has announced it is organizing a campaign, reported by Bloomberg Law.
The group’s leader, Specialist Jay Hedgspeth, believes the store may even have enough support to win an election. According to him, the employees are sick of low pay relative to Apple’s profits and feel that the metrics-driven culture has left them feeling disconnected from their work.
Everything that happens in an Apple Store is metrics driven these days. It’s all about how many people can you connect with, how many people can you get Apple Care paired with their transactions, Hedgspeth said. Everything is geared toward getting those numbers as high as possible.
About 30% of the store’s eligible employees are in favor of forming a union. With that being the legal threshold to hold a union election, the group is waiting for at least 70% support before petitioning for a vote.
Kentucky has the fourth Apple Store to unionize
Oxmoor isn’t the first Apple Store to fight for a union. Reports of Apple Stores in the US preparing to unionize began back in February. News broke last month when employees at Apple’s flagship store in New York City took the first steps to unionize. Following suit, Atlanta and Maryland Apple Store employees have started to form a union as well.
Each store has workers fighting for better wages, improved working conditions, more vacation time, better retirement, and more. Many have even complained how the cost of living has increased faster than their wages. As Apple is the second most valuable company in the world, employees feel it’s only fair.
Apple is fighting back
However, the tech giant has been fighting back against forming a union. Apple has been working with the same anti-union legal team as Starbucks to stop these efforts. Additionally, the company has provided anti-union talking points for store leaders to change the discussion around unions at their stores.
Also in the news today, Apple Senior Vice President of Retail Deirdre O’Brien released a video to staff, pushing back on unionization. According to Bloomberg, O’Brien told Apple Store employees that “it is your right to join a union – and it is equally your right not to join a union.”
Related:
- High-profile former Apple employees helping unionization efforts, as Deirdre O’Brien ‘listening’
- Atlanta retail employees accuse Apple of union busting, possibly breaking labor laws
- Apple Store unions could represent an opportunity for Apple, not a threat
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