Apple Retail Workers in NYC Want a Minimum Wage of $30/Hour
Apple retail workers have started to unionize and ask for benefits.
Fruit Stand Workers United, the union that workers at Apple's flagship Grand Central Terminal retail location in Manhattan organized, wants to raise the minimum wage to $30 per hour.
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Workers Cry $30 Per Rate and Other Benefits
In a statement released by the Fruit Stand Workers United in its website on Monday, they said that for pay, they seek a minimum $30 for all workers, built up on a matrix based on role, tenure, and performance.
Furthermore, the website of Fruit Stand Workers United posted, "For benefits, we seek more robust changes, like increased tuition reimbursement, faster accrued and more vacation time, and better retirement options, including higher match rates for 401(k) and enrollment into pension plans."
For health and safety, the organizers want Apple to conduct research into security protocols with customer interactions, and research into track dust, health effects from building materials, and noise pollution at Grand Central.
Fruit Stand Workers United's demands come amid a surge of unionizing efforts at both tech and retail companies. Earlier this month, Amazon warehouse workers in New York voted to unionize.
Meanwhile, employees at several Starbucks locations have also voted for create a union. Contractors for Google Fiber and employees at two Verizon retail locations have also voted to have workers' representation, in the past few weeks.
Apple Retail Workers in NYC Aim Towards Unionizing
Workers at Apple's flagship Grand Central Terminal have started to form a union by formally collecting signatures.
Dubbed as Fruit Stand Workers United, the organizers started having employees sign cards to say they're interested in joining a union.
This sets the start of the clash between the iPhone maker and the employees who sell them.
In order to file with the National Labor Relations Board, a key step before filing a union petition, the organizers need 30% of about 270 eligible employees at the Grand Central location.
Fruit Stand Workers United can officially petition the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election once they gather over 30% of workers to sign.
According to a report of Washington Post, people involved in the organizing effort have endured months of efforts by Apple to convince employees that unionizing is a bad idea. The organizers accused the company of "union busting" tactics.
At present, they have decided to hand out signature cards to would-be union members.
The Grand Central location would become the first of Apple's retail stores to have a union, if the organizers of Fruit Stand Workers United are successful in gathering enough votes.
In a statement released by Apple, the company said "We are fortunate to have incredible retail team members and we deeply value everything they bring to Apple. We are pleased to offer very strong compensation and benefits for full time and part time employees, including health care, tuition reimbursement, new parental leave, paid family leave, annual stock grants and many other benefits." However, they did not say anything as to whether they would support or fight the union effort.
