Apple store workers in Oklahoma City voted by majority to form a union. It would be the second such at Apple.
In the USA, the majority of employees at a second Apple Store spoke out in favor of their own employee representation. In the Oklahoma City store, 56 votes were cast in favor and only 32 against, reports the AP news agency. A total of about 95 employees were entitled to vote. For the trade union movement at Apple, this is the second success within a few months. At the end of June, the employees of an Apple store in Towson, Maryland, were the first to speak out in favor of such employee representation. Apple now appears to be retaliating with potentially illegal actions.
Stage victories for the US labor movement
The vote in Oklahoma City is now another success for the union movement in the USA, which has gained strength in the wake of the corona pandemic, even if the victories so far have only been selective. In April, for example, the employees of an Amazon warehouse in the US state of New York surprisingly broke out in favor of employee representation, and other similar votes were then lost. In the USA, the workforce always decides for themselves whether they can be represented; then a negotiating right applies to all employees. Works councils and other methods of internal democracy are unknown there.
Like Amazon, Apple is fighting resolutely against the formation of unions, campaigns against which have already been described as propaganda. Just a few days ago it became known that the company would not let employees of the first unionized Apple store in the USA participate in new perks that their colleagues at other locations received. The aim is to improve health care and educational opportunities. Meanwhile, further votes are in preparation. Apple can still appeal the decision from Oklahoma City to the responsible National Labor Relations Board.
TechAint 