The first-ever Apple Store strike took place in Australia on Tuesday, with additional working restrictions imposed by staff yesterday.
The strike lasted for just one hour in what was clearly intended to be a signal to Apple that union members are ready to take further action if their call for higher pay and improved working conditions goes unheeded …
Apple unionization background
We first learned of retail staff plans to unionize back in February. Things progressed in April, with a formal start to the process at Apple’s flagship Grand Central Terminal store in New York, seeking a number of improvements for staff. This was followed by similar moves in Atlanta and Maryland, before expanding internationally to the UK and Australia.
Apple has so far reacted aggressively, hiring the same union-busting lawyers employed by Starbucks. The company is now facing multiple accusations of using illegal union-busting techniques. Employment experts have warned that these techniques can work, but may have long-lasting negative consequences.
Last week saw the unionization of the second US Apple Store, in Oklahoma. Staff there had stated that they had been fully prepared for union-busting tactics. The latest of these has been offering new benefits to staff, while excluding union members. Apple argues that this is a consequence of collective bargaining, but others have pointed out that there is nothing to stop the company offering the same benefits to union members.
Apple Store strike
In Australia, around 150 of the 400 Apple Store employees in the country went on strike for an hour on Tuesday. The staff were members of the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU), which had announced the planned industrial action last week.
Despite its brevity, the strike made history as not only the first-ever strike by Apple Store employees, but also the first nationally coordinated strike by retail workers in Australia.
Union members followed up with more than a dozen working restrictions yesterday, including refusing AirPod repairs and stock deliveries.
Engadget reports that Apple has offered to increase the minimum wage to AUS $27.64 (US $17.35), but staff argue with with the current inflation rate, this amounts to a pay-cut in real terms. They are instead asking for AUS $31 (US $19.53), which would be roughly in line with pay for US Apple Store employees.
Additionally, they want improvements to working conditions, including the ability to take two consecutive days off per week. Current rostering means that staff are often offered two non-consecutive days, for example working Saturday to Tuesday, getting Wednesday off, working Thursday, and then getting Friday off. They say it’s particularly difficult to get actual weekends off.
Apple told the New York Times that it is among the highest-paying companies in Australia, and has made many improvements to benefits.
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