Employees at Apple’s Grand Central Station shop in Manhattan have declared ambitions to form a union, mirroring previous unionization campaigns at corporations such as Starbucks and Amazon.
If the bid, which wants improved compensation and benefits for employees at the New York site, is successful, it will result in the establishment of the first-ever retail union by American employees of the Cupertino-based tech giant, which has 272 locations in the US.
The effort, dubbed ‘Fruit Stand Workers United,’ seeks benefits such as improved pay and additional time off for staffers at the New York store, organizers said Monday, who are currently collecting signatures to form the union.
The group, which first took steps to unionize in February when it voted to affiliate with national labor union Worker’s United, is currently seeking signatures from at least 30 percent of staff to qualify for a union election.
‘Grand Central is an extraordinary store with unique working conditions that make a union necessary to ensure our team has the best possible standards of living,’ staffers behind the prospective union said in a statement to their website Monday.
‘Workers have the right under the law to organize to demand better wages, benefits, and working conditions from Apple.’
In their statement, organizers cited ‘extraordinary times with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and once-in-a-generation consumer price inflation’ as reasons behind the decision to seek union protection.
The group, however, did not name which staffers are behind the effort – which asks for a $30 minimum wage for workers and ‘more robust benefits,’ including faster accrued and more vacation time, better retirement options, and ‘a thorough analysis of our work conditions, mainly relating to health and safety.’
For retirement, organizers demand the tech giant provide higher match rates for their 401(k) plans – which currently offers matches of up to 6 percent of an employee’s pay.
Staffers also ask for robust increases to Apple’s Education Reimbursement program, which currently offers up to $5,250 per year to student employees for education expenses.
‘Whatever doesn’t get negotiated will be deferred to Apple,’ the group said, setting the stage for a potential showdown between the iPhone maker and its retail faction.
As of Tuesday, at least three other Apple retail locations in the US are in the process of forming a union, employees who who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of losing their jobs told The Washington Post Monday.
Staffers behind the budding union told The Post that the campaign comes in response to ‘union busting’ efforts from Apple brass to deter employees from unionizing.
Apple has not publicly commented on the announcement, but a spokesperson told CNBC Monday that the company offers ‘very strong compensation and benefits’ for both its full-time and part-time employees, who receive a starting wage of $20 per hour.
The company also provides benefits such as parental leave and stock grants, and recently expanded sick days and other benefits for its retail workers in the US earlier this year.
‘We are fortunate to have incredible retail team members and we deeply value everything they bring to Apple,’ the spokesperson said.
The company, headed by CEO Tim Cook, currently does not recognize any trade unions in the US, but does recognize some in Europe, as well as one in Japan.
The move serves as the latest in a wave of unionization efforts in a labor landscape drastically changed by the pandemic, as workers taking advantage of a demand for manpower seek better wages, benefits, working conditions, and shorter working hours.
Earlier this month, Amazon warehouse workers across the bay in Staten Island voted to unionize in a historical vote that saw the first labor union with the ecommerce giant, despite fierce pushback by Amazon brass.
A vote at a second Staten Island Amazon site is scheduled for later in April.
Staffers at Seattle-based coffee colossus Starbucks have have also successfully unionized, with employees at 16 locations, including one in downtown Manhattan, voting to form unions – a drive also backed by Workers United.
More than 100 stores have since announced aspirations to follow suit, amid the wave of activism.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com when contacted about the unionization efforts Tuesday.
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