Apple has recently taken a very serious step to prevent its staff from joining unions. Bloomberg reported that at all of Apple’s 270 stores in the United States, there were meetings held to explain the potential risks of joining unions. At the meetings the same messages were given out: firstly, they shared a message from corporate management and then they focused on union activities taking place at their first-ever union store in Towson, Maryland.
Apple managers warned the staff at Towson to be careful when it comes to forming a union. They mentioned that paying dues and signing up for a union can be tricky, like getting authorization cards from everyone involved. Bloomberg shared that Apple was sending its message of caution – if a shop is unionized, it might put them at a disadvantage.
Apple didn’t give a reply when BuyTechBlog sent them a request for information. A union called the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which looks after the workers in Apple’s store located in Townson Town Center, Maryland, claims that they will release an announcement on Monday.
Some of Apple Store’s employees thought the company was trying to discourage them from forming a union. Last year, there were some complaints about this in Atlanta. For many years, companies could hold such talks before a union vote started but recently, a law called the National Labor Relations Act said it’s no longer allowed.
An official called Abruzzo said that it is not allowed to make employees listen to the company’s speech if they don’t want to, because it would put them in a dangerous situation where they feel like they have to do something even though they do not want to. At the end of last year, Apple was found guilty for trying to stop their workers at a mall store near Atlanta from joining together and forming one group.