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Apple has been known to treat unions with a degree of distrust, but now it appears that it may actively single out and punish unionized workers unfairly. In a new New York Times report, there is evidence and testimony from some union workers who have been fired and perceived to be treated differently from other workers.
This could be put Apple in hot water – although nothing has happened so far except for those affected to talk about their experiences.
Maryland became the first store in the United States to join a union in June last year.
Fire union workers
The New York Times focuses first on the story of Gemma Wyatt of the Kansas City Apple store, who was fired after joining a union, punished for being “a minute late three times in a month” , and ended up missing a meeting because she was sick and “didn’t give managers enough notice”.
Wyatt has spoken out, saying “it took us time to realize they weren’t firing us just because of time and presence,” and has since become part of a “suit filed with the National Labor Relations Board in March accusing Apple of unfair labor practices.”
Apple isn’t alone in treating union workers differently. Other outlets, such as Starbucks and Trader Joe’s, are also under scrutiny as their staff join a union. Apple, of course, has responded to the allegations by saying it had “not punished or fired any workers in retaliation for union activity,” and went on to say, “We strongly deny these allegations and look forward to providing the full set of facts to the NLRB.”
Apparently Apple was pretty unaffected by unions – until they started making more progress around the workforce and more people started joining. Since then, Apple has held meetings to “discuss the risks of unionizing,” in an effort to discourage employees from working together. Since then, it seems there has been more direct action.
