Apple Accelerates Union Formation... Amid Growing Union Movements at Amazon, Seobak, and Other US Companies

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Apple has applied to hold a vote for union formation, marking the official push for establishing a union. Following Amazon and Starbucks, the wave of union formation continues across the United States.

According to CNBC and other outlets on the 20th (local time), employees at the Apple store in Kimberland Mall, northwest of Atlanta, submitted a petition to the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a vote on union formation. If more than 50% of eligible voters approve in this vote, the union will be established.

The employees pushing for the union stated that about 70% of the more than 100 store employees currently support the effort. They are reportedly demanding from management a base hourly wage of $28, wage increases to offset inflation, and performance-sharing options for store employees.

With the support of the Communications Workers of America, if a union is formed through this voting process at the Apple store, it will be the first union established at an Apple store in the United States. Currently, employees at the Apple store in Grand Central Station, New York City, are also pursuing union formation.

Recently, there has been a surge in union formation across the U.S. In the case of Starbucks, the first store union was formed last December, and employees at Amazon’s New York warehouse overwhelmingly voted in favor of union formation earlier this month.

However, these companies continue to maintain a no-union management policy, intensifying conflicts between both sides. On the same day, Starbucks filed two complaints with the NLRB citing business disruption and customer threats. Starbucks claimed that at their stores in Phoenix, Arizona, and Denver, Colorado, union members illegally blocked entrances and used abusive language during protests.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.