First Apple Store Union Petitions Board for Protection for Non-Union Workers

Apple Towson Town Center - Image via Apple

02 AUGUST 2022 - There is a really ugly story in Wired about some of the anti-union tactics employed by Apple and the anti-union law firm it employed earlier this year. It has employees at Apple Towson Town Center outside of Baltimore, MD saying that management threatened a loss of pay and benefits if they did unionize. They also say that “one employee was told his immigration assistance could be taken away if the union won.”

The union won, by the way. Now, under its protection, Wired says the employees “have created a petition, calling on the Apple board to ensure that staff in other stores are not subjected to the same tactics.” Seeing the anti-union campaign as the result of having reached out to Apple’s CEO, the petition says:

…we are reaching out to you, our Apple Board of Directors, in the hopes that you will be able to take action to make sure no other Apple employees needlessly go through what we did.

The petition goes on to say:

We are deeply concerned about our fellow employees mental wellbeing because we are all too aware of what awaits them if they decide to organize a union.

The right to union representation is guaranteed by the U.S. government; it is a right that Apple recognizes in its Human Rights Policy and demands its suppliers respect in their Supplier Code of Conduct. Do not punish us for exercising these rights. These anti-union campaigns have real world consequences on your employees’ health.

The petition was actually launched about a month ago. So far it seems to have elicited little public notice and no public response from Apple nor its board. Apple offered no comment for the Wired report.