Apple reportedly fired five employees for participating in union activities, according to the Communications Workers of America union. The union members who lost their jobs are from Kansas City, while the other member received sanctions for organizing in their office in Texas. Furthermore, CWA claimed that the Cupertino Big Tech threatened its employees that they will experience worse conditions at work if they show support to the union.
Apple Told Unionized Workers to Drop Labor Support In Exchange for Improved Working Conditions, CWA Claims
As reported by The Verge, the terminated workers are active members of a labor group stationed at the Apple retail store in Country Club Plaza, Kansas City. They claimed that Apple terminated their employment for tardiness, absences and improper filing of attendance forms, but all of that is part of the company's retaliation against them for organizing. The company has also been accused of singling out union members to receive disciplinary actions.
Apple had to deal with unionizing workers only last year, as their staff at the stores in Towson and Oklahoma City became the first ever in the company to unionize. The tech giant made efforts to convince its staff out of joining labor groups, like holding regular meetings in different stores to explain the setbacks if ever they decide to become unionized.
As for CWA, the group said that Apple illegally terminated their employees for joining a union, which is why they filed a complaint against the company for the first time. Apart from the case of unlawful termination in Kansas, Apple reportedly interrogated retail workers at the Houston store individually, confirming if they ever participated in any union activities. For those staffers who admitted to being union members, Apple allegedly offered them a better working setup only if they stop supporting the union.
However, those who insisted on staying in the union group were disciplined and threatened to experience worse conditions, according to CWA.
Related Article: Apple Retail Workers in Atlanta Backs Out From Forming Union - But Was It Voluntary?
Apple Asked Unionized Workers for a Bargain Agreement
This is not the first time that Apple was accused of unfair treatment of unionized workers. As reported by Engadget, union members at the Apple store in Towson are allegedly stripped of their benefits. They are told that they will get their benefits back if they withdraw support from the union. Apple is said to offer increased wages and extended benefits to prevent staffers from organizing.
Apple is not the only tech giant to experience opposition from unionized workers as of late. There have been recent reports of Amazon and Starbucks employees organizing to call for better working conditions. There are companies such as Activision Blizzard, Amazon and Microsoft who have tried to ward off unionizing attempts, but to no avail as more workers have been participating in union activities over the past few years.
Read Also: Apple Staff Make Bid for First Union - How Much Does the Union Organizers Want Workers To Be Paid?
