Apple (AAPL) – Get Apple Inc. Report is used to laurels.
Most often we praise its sense of innovation. And when we’re not bragging about the new features of the new iPhone, we’re ecstatic about the breakthrough of the Apple Watch.
And often when there’s a crack in that armor at nearly $2.73 trillion in market capitalization, it doesn’t last long. We saw it again recently with the negative headlines on on its New Safety Guide, especially about AirTags.
While the Apple tracking product was designed to help find frequently lost items, many reported it being planted in coats and purses to stalk women as well as cars that would later end up stolen. The inexpensive price ($29.99 for one and $99 for a four-pack) also makes it an easy thing for those with bad intentions to buy and then dispose of.
The outrage did not last long and calm returned to Cupertino, at the company’s headquarters in California. But this calm could this time be short-lived. Workers at least eight physical Apple Stores are set to file to form a union. This activism shows that Apple will probably not escape the union demands observed at several large companies across the country in recent months.
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Some Apple Workers Want to Form a Union
Groups at least two Apple retail stores are backed by major national unions and are preparing to file paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the near future, The Washington Post reports, citing anonymous sources.
Spurred by wages that have stagnated below the rate of inflation, and encouraged by successful efforts by Starbucks (SBUX) – Get Starbucks Corporation Report employees to form unions, retail workers say they hope they can push the world’s most valuable company to share more of its record-setting profits with the workers who sell, repair and troubleshoot the products it sells.
According to the workers, Apple retail employees can earn anywhere from $17 to more than $30 per hour, depending on the position and the market, and receive between $1,000 and around $2,000 in stock.
Apple announced in late January that it generated record revenue for the quarter ended December 25 at $123.9 billion, up 11% year-on-year. Net profit was $34.6 billion. Apple had also decided to pamper its shareholders by announcing a share buyback plan for $27 billion.
“These record operating results allowed us to return nearly $27 billion to our shareholders during the quarter, as we maintain our target of reaching a net cash neutral position over time,” CFO Luca Maestri said in the press release.
The social climate seems to be getting tenser and tenser at Apple. Last August, a group emerged Apple Together, claiming to represent more than 100,000 workers. It sent a letter to Cook asking for an improvement in the working conditions of the employees and that the company’s senior executives be held accountable for their actions deemed controversial.
“Apple celebrates its footprint of over 2.4 million workers. That’s us: including more than 100,000 direct employees in the United States working under 22 executives,” wrote Apple Together. “It’s time to think equitable at Apple—together.”
Apple Workers Want Better Working Conditions
The group reiterated the same speech in a letter addressed to Cook and the entire management team.
“Hundreds of us have documented our stories of abuse, discrimination, and harassment. Hundreds of us have documented reporting our stories through internal channels, and receiving no relief,” it wrote. “At Apple, we are called upon to do the right thing, and that must extend to how we treat employees. We are reaching out because Apple must fulfill its promise of inclusion, diversity, and equity. We demand an environment where everyone feels safe and welcome and has the promise of equal opportunity and treatment.”
On December 23, Apple Together asked employees to make their dissatisfaction known by going on strike on December 24, Christmas Eve.
“Calling all Apple workers and patrons! Tomorrow, December 24th, 2021, Apple workers are staging a walkout/callout to demand better working conditions,” it posted on Twitter.
Contacted by TheStreet, Apple did not respond.
Coincidence or not, the manufacturer of AirPods and Macs has made a few gestures towards employees in recent weeks. But it seems that is not enough.
Tim Cook’s Cupertino, Calif., group, which operates 270 physical stores in the U.S., will increase benefits for all employees at these stores, those working part-time as well as full-time, Bloomberg reported early February, citing anonymous sources.
Apple will double paid sick days for part-time and full-time employees. Employees will now be able to use them for mental-health reasons or to take family members to the doctor. In total, these changes will give 12 paid sick days to full-time employees, for example.
Apple is not known to have social tensions, unlike Amazon (AMZN) – Get Amazon.com, Inc. Report, for example, which had to fight last Spring to avoid the formation of unions in certain warehouses.
Apple strangely finds itself in an unusual situation. Difficult to say if the company will choose a showdown with these employees or will try to find common ground with them.
This potential social conflict is accentuated when Institutional Shareholder Services, a shareholder advisory group, is urging investors to vote against Apple CEO Tim Cook’s $99 million pay and bonus package.
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