Workers win vote to form US Apple Store union

Workers at an Apple Store in Towson, Maryland have voted to form a union. Out of 110 eligible voters, 65 employees voted in support of unionization versus 33 who voted against it. The organizing committee, known as the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE), has now filed to certify the results with America's National …

[Marty McFly]

"Standard of living" wages...

I remember in my younger years when I worked jobs that didn't pay that much.... I learned as much as I could from them, took the skills, and found a better paying job.

Do the retail workers at Towson Apple Store actually think this is a legitimate career? Seriously, if the retail job pay sucks, get the heck out! Are they afraid they cannot get a different low paying job with lousy hours? Trust me, if enough leave the employer will figure it out really quick.

Maybe that is the issue - this is the best job these employees can hope for, so they cannot leave?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "Standard of living" wages...

Lord knows Tim Cook did.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "Standard of living" wages...

I assume you're a have. I'm curious to know what you think is a "legitimate career" for the have-nots?'

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "Standard of living" wages...

The economy cannot function without staff in traditionally low paying jobs like retail and hospitality. Are you seriously suggesting that none of them should be paid a wage that will allow them to survive? They may only be able to move to other similar positions with similar low pay.

If all retail workers did leave where would the economy be?

I know that in the US it seems to be traditional to massively underpay staff in certain sectors and rely on a tipping culture to allow them to actually make ends meet.

With the profit margins on Apple kit, they should be able to pay staff a little more, with maybe shareholders and senior execs having to take a little less. The execs would barely notice a change in income that could make a big change to a low paid staff member.

I have never been in a union myself as I have always tended to work in small organizations, but good luck to them.

[Neil Barnes]

Re: "Standard of living" wages...

rely on a tipping culture

"Thank you - you sold me this overpriced and unnecessary luxury item so well, here's a tenner for yourself."

Nah. Can't see it, somehow. If anyone ever did, I rather suspect that the lucky recipient would be hauled into the office to explain why he's stealing.

I'm a firm believer in paying people a living wage.

[codejunky]

Re: "Standard of living" wages...

@Marty McFly

Not sure how you have so many downvotes. Guessing working and taking a job that pays enough to live on (which also needs to balance with not spending every penny and more) isnt popular.

The idea of closing the gap between the salary of sales job and the owner of the global business shows the green eyed nuttiness.

[Swarthy]

Re: "Standard of living" wages...

So, by your logic, people should quit working at "crap" jobs, and get into a more profitable position. What happens when everyone does that? We already have restaurants that close at 3PM, or are only open on alternate days, because they cannot keep enough staff to stay open. WalMart has already ditched the 24/7 business hours, and will not go back - citing labor shortages.

Will you be one of the ones yelling at the lone teen behind the counter at Burger King to hurry up and make your burger, because everyone else left to get a better job?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "Standard of living" wages...

"Will you be one of the ones yelling at the lone teen behind the counter at Burger King to hurry up and make your burger, because everyone else left to get a better job?"

The ones who think they are part of the Elite don't eat at Burger King.

[codejunky]

Re: "Standard of living" wages...

@Swarthy

"So, by your logic, people should quit working at "crap" jobs, and get into a more profitable position. What happens when everyone does that?"

People get richer. I am serious, that is how it works and people get richer. Thats why there has been a lift out of absolute poverty in the west, China lifted many out of absolute poverty and why we can continue to get richer without it being at the expense of others.

"We already have restaurants that close at 3PM, or are only open on alternate days, because they cannot keep enough staff to stay open."

And? If your making a comment on how destructive the lockdown policies were and the economic damage caused by covid and the overreaction to it thats fine but thats government killing jobs.

"Will you be one of the ones yelling at the lone teen behind the counter at Burger King to hurry up and make your burger, because everyone else left to get a better job?"

Why would I shout at a teenager doing a job? Someone who got up to work to gain working experience and earning money? I will point out that while not due to a labour shortage but due to the demands for higher minimum wages there are automated burger making machines and increasing automation in the industry because increased minimum wage will put those kids out of a job.

[Falmari]

Re: "Standard of living" wages...

@codejunky “The idea of closing the gap between the salary of sales job and the owner of the global business shows the green eyed nuttiness”

Possibly if that was what they were doing but they are not doing that. Because:-

A) Tim Cook is not the owner of Apple not even the largest shareholder. His shareholdings are dwarfed by 3 separate institutional investors. He is not even the largest individual shareholder the current Chairman is.

B) CEO is a salaried position so they are comparing the gap between 2 salaried positions.

[codejunky]

Re: "Standard of living" wages...

@Falmari

"CEO is a salaried position so they are comparing the gap between 2 salaried positions."

Shows how much attention I pay to apple. Does still beg the question of why they think the gap needs or should be closing.

[Irony Deficient]

“[…] that number is screed even further by the competitive salaries paid to our engineering teams.”

Which meaning of the past participle “screed” was intended here? (The OED doesn’t have an entry for the verb “scree”.)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: “[…] that number is screed even further by [...].”

I suspect the intended word was 'skewed'

[werdsmith]

Re: “[…] that number is screed even further by the competitive salaries paid to our engineering.”

Missing w somewhere in e pair.

My bathroom floor is being done next month.

[Mayday]

I wonder

How long it will be until this store is "closed" or "relocated" due to "strategic and/or economic reasons"

[First Light]

Re: I wonder

Hopefully the union has done its research and picked a store to organize that is not marginal.

[Snowy]

Re: I wonder

Just what I was thinking.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: I wonder

I find it strange that an individual store of a large chain is treated as an independent business unit and can independently unionise in this way. I noted a similar situation with the Amazon warehouse. Surely this should have been a national vote including ALL Apple retail store staff. Or is this just yet another way that $Big_Corp in the US operate? Every individual business unit is, at least on paper, a separate and notionally autonomous entity? Divide and conquer, except in this case, by dividing into smaller units, it actually makes it a bit easier to start a grass roots movement, but back on the other side of the coin, easier for $Big_Corp to stamp on it in one way or another (again, as shown by the Amazon warehouse vote)

[Tubz]

Workers say to apple, we need a pay rise or we strike, Apple responds, sorry your all unemployed as this store is no longer viable. Wait 6 weeks reopen store as market has changed and store now viable, sorry don't bother applying for your jobs back, your on the megacorps ultra secret black list.

[Swarthy]

After a few of those, the NLRB will take notice, and might start fining Apple whole minutes of profit.