An Atlanta Apple store has filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Cumberland Mall store employees, including salespeople, technicians, creatives and operations specialists, would be represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA). According to a press release, more than 70 percent of the group of about 100 eligible employees signed the union authorization cards — the minimum required is 30 percent.
If a majority of workers vote to join a union, the store would be the first unionized Apple store in the US. Their petition now goes for formal review by the NLRB.
“Apple is a very positive place to work, but we know the company can better live up to their ideals, so we’re excited to work with our colleagues to bring Apple to the negotiating table and make this an even better place.” to work,” Derrick Bowles, an Apple Genius employee at the store, said in a statement Wednesday.
A report from The edge late last year described the difficulties many Apple hourly workers face, including low pay and a stressful workplace. In February, the company increased benefits for its full- and part-time retail staff. The Atlanta employees said that while Apple provides essential sales and services to the company, it does not provide cost-of-living increases or access to equitable stock options.
“We work hard at Apple because we truly believe in the products and the company, and we want to make sure every Apple employee can afford quality housing and basic living costs,” said Elli Daniels, Apple’s Product Zone Officer.
Employees at other Apple stores are also involved in union actions, but not all of them work with the CWA. Retail Apple workers at Grand Central Terminal store in New York City announced they are collecting signatures to form a union after the vote in February to join Workers United. That’s the same group working with Starbucks stores across the country on union activities. The employees of Grand Central, known as Fruit Stand Workers United, demand a minimum wage of $30 an hour and other improvements to their compensation and benefits.
The workers are part of a larger movement among store workers who felt exploited during the pandemic by companies that saw huge financial windfalls. A group of workers at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island voted earlier this month to become the first to unionize as part of the newly formed Amazon Labor Union. And employees of a Google Fiber contractor in Missouri voted last month to create the first-ever union at parent company Alphabet. They will be part of the Alphabet Workers Union, also affiliated with CWA.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.