Apple Store Employees in St. Louis Reject Unionization Efforts

[goobot]

Again, the fact that an aerospace and machinist union wants to represent Apple Store retail employees says it all: this is a dying union desperate to boost falling membership numbers in any way possible.

What does a machinist have in common with a person who sells you an iPhone?

Pretty sure that’s common practice for most unions for a long time. But we can always say the same about Apple trying to boost numbers by expanding into advertising to keep numbers up right? What does making a phone have to do with computers since Apple was Apple computer at one time right? Just Apple boosting numbers

 

[Black Tiger]

Unions created the middle class, period and created many benefits that exist today, including weekends off for many many people, sick days, and health benefits. None of these would exist without the past efforts of unions.

Corporations have systematically destroyed the middle class through anti-union behaviour and clawing back all of these gains. Now while Apple has dangled a few tiny carrots as short term bribes to prevent unionization, they are playing the long game. These workers have sacrificed long-term benefits for short term gains. Billionaires exist because unions have vanished. And while most Apple users are well off and-or affluent, and can’t relate to the struggles of average people, society will suffer as a whole as the middle class disappears.

 

[madrigal77]

Well, so you rather corporations dictate whatever they want? While sometimes unions can be detrimental, they are one of the very few options workers have to have their rights and dignity held against powerful interests.
Greed is the engine of the American, Inc empire and it's not surprising the middle and lowers classes are being squeezed at a rapid pace since the 80s.

Corporations can dictate whatever they want, within the boundaries of the law. Why shouldn't they?

 

[kenni417]

oh wow that's odd, usually threads that MacRumors post about union disable the comment section

 

[Fanboi4life]

Unions created the middle class, period and created many benefits that exist today, including weekends off for many many people, sick days, and health benefits. None of these would exist without the past efforts of unions.

Corporations have systematically destroyed the middle class through anti-union behaviour and clawing back all of these gains. Now while Apple has dangled a few tiny carrots as short term bribes to prevent unionization, they are playing the long game. These workers have sacrificed long-term benefits for short term gains. Billionaires exist because unions have vanished. And while most Apple users are well off and-or affluent, and can’t relate to the struggles of average people, society will suffer as a whole as the middle class disappears.

Finally, someone who’s making sense in this thread. For all you capitalists that are okay will Apple exploiting their employees for peanuts on the dollar, the billionaires will never pick you and you’ll never be invited to their club. Stop defending the ultra wealthy and start sticking up for the working class. Unions assure that working conditions are safe and if it wasn’t them, we’d still have child labor and sixteen hour days.

 

[gugy]

Corporations can dictate whatever they want, within the boundaries of the law. Why shouldn't they?

And who makes the laws? The politicians that's been bought by the same corporations in both parties btw. lol

 

[SnappleRumors]

Corporations have systematically destroyed the middle class

Good god, no. The middle class is destroyed by excessive government and over taxation.

 

[Evil Spoonman]

The power of unions is already apparent in this story. Merely the threat of unionization forced Apple to improve their offer to these employees.

It is pretty apparent from the comments here how poorly understood the power dynamic between employees and their employers are. Also apparent how effective the capitalists have been at destroying the reputation of unions in North American society. The middle class in North America was created and maintained by the collective power of labour. As unionization slid away, so too did the middle class. Sad, but expected.

 

[madrigal77]

Here are some more details.

Sounds like typical union behaviour.

Further, the letter says that IAM rushed a vote, “disregarded the wishes of our organizing employees,” and “IAM preemptively pulled their petition with the NLRB and released a statement claiming hostility towards employees from Apple’s Management had led to this decision. The reality is much simpler: the majority of employees at this Apple Store do not wish to work with the IAM.”

 

[madrigal77]

And who makes the laws? The politicians that's been bought by the same corporations in both parties btw. lol

Yes, because only the corporations buy politicians. Unions would never do such a thing...

 

[gugy]

Yes, because only the corporations buy politicians. Unions would never do such a thing...

They might to a much smaller scale because they do not have the funds like corporations. lol

 

[aParkerMusic]

“…which suggests that Apple's efforts to improve benefits to stymie unionization have been successful.”

Ah, yes, the only reason they could’ve decided against unionization was Apple’s dastardly basket of evil tricks, improving benefits recently!

I don’t trust people, politically, when they assume the only reason someone might not agree with the left-wing line is because they’ve been duped. I’ll admit there are pros and cons to consider with unionization, though I generally don’t support unions, and think they’re unwise in the case of Apple. I don’t assume those who do support it are dupes, though.

 

[johnsc3]

Again, the fact that an aerospace and machinist union wants to represent Apple Store retail employees says it all: this is a dying union desperate to boost falling membership numbers in any way possible.

What does a machinist have in common with a person who sells you an iPhone?

I truly feel this way, too. It should have been, if at all, a union just off and from Apple.

 

[Realityck]

Apple Store employees at the St. Louis Galleria location this week decided not to unionize, rejecting unionization in a filing with the National Labor Relations Board, reports Bloomberg.

9to5Mac had an article where they posted why employees rejected unionization. From the press release from Apple Store Galleria staff:

During these conversations, some employees expressed they wanted to rescind their authorization cards. Some no longer felt the union would provide anything complimentary to Apple’s culture and existing benefits, while others felt they had been misled when signing their cards initially. Group discussion turned to how individuals could proceed with revoking their support for the union.

On November 21st, the organizing committee informed the ad hoc group that they had requested the IAM not file the previous week, but the union ignored their request to delay, and chose to rush the store into a vote during a busy holiday season.

With this new information, we determined if we took on a union as a partner, the IAM would not be a good fit for our team. In their haste to represent us, the IAM disregarded the wishes of our organizing employees.

 

[rp100]

Any updates on what the Towson store unionized employees were able to negotiate? Last news I saw was that they initiated a lawsuit for being refused new benefits (which had to go through collective bargaining?)

 

[tridley68]

Unions only want your dues to donate to political campaigns mostly the ones with a D in front of their names just saying in my area they donated $60 grand to one local canidate

 

[sdwaltz]

Unions are good and necessary for skilled trades (electricians, plumbers/pipefitters, carpenters, etc) but a worthless suck for any other profession.

 

[xbjllb]

I miss the old days when most Apple users were of above-average intelligence and understood history.

 

[looking4anotebo]

European here. Attitudes toward unions is definitely one of the major divides between the USA and Europe. We have a lot of sympathy for unions here, they stand up for the little guy in commoditised jobs.

We have a much more elaborate propaganda model (in the US) which leads people to believe unions are evil.

 

[GMShadow]

We have a much more elaborate propaganda model (in the US) which leads people to believe unions are evil.

Definitely couldn't be differences in the unions, no sir.

 

[leicaman]

This is Missouri after all. So hostility to unions is pretty common.

I was born there, went to grad school, and worked at newspapers for nine years in the state before I escaped for good.

 

[rpmurray]

Not to forget paid sick days (a month when starting a new job up to multiple months at 100% salary), maternity protection, special vacation days for marriage, death or moving to a new apartment, obligatory breaks and idle periods after a certain number of working days/hours and a lot more

Makes you wonder where they find the time to do any work.

 

[Abazigal]

Makes you wonder where they find the time to do any work.

To be fair, a lot of those allowances seem to be one-off events. Like how many times do you expect someone to get married or move house in their lifetime?

 

[Chazak]

It’s sad how completely we’ve forgotten the lessons of the past.

Do you at least like the memory of the idea of a 40-hour work week?

Or, how much do you appreciate the fact that it’s illegal for your workplace to have doors locked such that those inside cannot leave?

Without unions, we wouldn’t even have that much.

“Divide and conquer.” “United we stand; divided we fall.”

A trivial analysis will show that “right-to-work” states get paid less, work longer hours, have less job stability …

… and all y’all think this is a good thing?

b&

I don't think you are going to find mostly sympathetic voices on MacRumors or anywhere else where professionals, highly skilled and highly educated working people in mostly tech related positions hang out. In the 60s and 70s you would have had a better chance. Your comment reads like a coach's pep talk before the big game with one cliché after another. It impacts credibility and doesn't create warm, fuzzy moments for most of your audience here.

In the USA, for the most part, unions do not enjoy a positive relationship with the majority of people. They have a massive PR problem and have for most of the last 100 years. You referred to the history of unions, much of it going back to 50-30 years ago, but chose to ignore their history of abuses, financial mismanagement, pension fraud, organized crime connections, violence, work rule abuses and more. It seems not a year goes by in which there is not a major scandal involving large/national unions that comes at the expense of their members. I would suggest using a different strategy to make your case, because this is the stuff a lot of people hark back to when someone says "unions." No clichés. Fact based explanations will work better to convince people you have a case.

There have been plenty of positives that unions brought about, most of which happened back in the historical period that I noted. Not so much in recent times.

I am not making a blanket statement that unions are bad, but I will say that in most cases, if a company can keep unions out by being fair with their employees and treating them well, the company and the employees are better off.

And yes, I think it's a good thing. Just my opinion.

 

[4743913]

Or, how much do you appreciate the fact that it’s illegal for your workplace to have doors locked such that those inside cannot leave?

apple store doors and front walls are glass..