Apple Employees Vote to Unionize in Oklahoma, Becomes the Second Store to Form a Union in the US

After facing a union from workers in Maryland last June, another set of Apple employees from a different retail location have also voted to unionize.

(Photo : Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 18: An Apple Store employee speaks with customers at an Apple Store on February 18, 2022 in Houston, Texas. According to a recent report, Apple Store employees around the United States are planning to unionize, calling for an increase in pay rates to keep up with inflation.

Apple Employees in Oklahoma City

Based on a report from The Verge, 56 yeses and 32 nos were the result of the voting to unionize by the employees from Apple's Pen Square store in Oklahoma City. All of the votes were from regular full-time and part-time employees at the store, which resulted in 95 votes in total. Out of 270 stores, this was the second election carried out by an Apple store in the United States.

The result was announced by the National Labor Relations Boards and its states, the initial victory of the employees to form a union. The Communications Workers of America will accommodate the workers, representing the tech-industry workers in recent years, such as members from AT&T, Mobility, Verizon, and more.

Union Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens stated that workers who voted to form a union experienced an aggressive anti-union campaign. She added, "Apple retail workers across the country will continue to organize, especially after this momentous victory."

The New York Times reported that the talks about unionization started when a store in Atlanta filed a petition for a union election last April. However, the Atlanta store withdrew later as the company announced a raise and presented benefits.

Despite the withdrawal, the Oklahoma City store continued organizing the election and already formed a committee. This also resulted in other employees gaining interest in joining the union. The store filed its petition last September.

An employee named Patrick Hart said that several employees have researched how joining a union would affect them and their work. He stated, "We are all extremely educated people - Apple hires a certain kind of person, and we know how to look into things."

Apple's Response

In a tweet via Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple responded that the company provides "strong compensation and exceptional benefits" as they value their members the best way they can to have an excellent experience working with them.

"Since 2018, we've increased our starting rates in the US by 45% and we've made many significant enhancements to our industry-leading benefits, including new educational and family support programs," Apple added.

The company announced its plans to provide retail employees additional education benefits and improved coverage for their healthcare. But as per MacRumors' report, workers who were part of the union at the Towson store in Maryland will not be receiving these benefits.

Instead, they will need to negotiate with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, as this was a part of their agreement with Apple.