OKLAHOMA CITY – The union-backed Apple Store workers at Penn Square Mall voted on Sunday to authorize a strike if the Apple Corporation continues to stall contract talks.
Free Press spoke to Michael Forsythe, Genius Admin and union organizer at the Penn Square APPL store, about the issues causing the most friction in negotiations.
“All of our remaining topics are economics with the exception of scheduling. The biggest things we’re hung up on are wage increases and bilingual pay,” said Forsythe.
“Retail workers represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) at the Penn Square Apple [APPL] store in Oklahoma City, OK, yesterday voted to authorize a strike as bargaining over their first collectively-bargained contract has stalled,” stated the press release from CWA.
“We are approaching two years since my coworkers and I formed a union, and since then we have been met with union-busting and foot-dragging from APPL,” said Darren Griffis, APPL store Business Expert, in the press release.
“We are inspired by the example set last month by our colleagues in Towson, Maryland store, who secured the first collective contract in APPL store history.”
“We know APPL is capable of providing us with pay and benefits we deserve and we call on the Company to stop stalling and bargain with us in good faith,” Griffis said.
CWA District 6 Vice President Derrick Osobase also spoke out on the matter. He said, “Our members have shown up and worked incredibly hard to deliver top-quality service to APPL customers at the Penn Square store in Oklahoma City.”
We have been met with union-busting and foot-dragging from APPL
— Darren Griffis, APPL store Business Expert, union member
“Since voting to form a union, these workers have earned an Ovation Award from APPL demonstrating that unionizing can be beneficial for employee morale and customer care,” continued Osobase. “However, APPL has been slow to make progress at the bargaining table. We hope the Company is changing course and going forward will engage in negotiations in good faith.”
The Penn Square labor union and APPL only meet twice a month, so negotiations have been stretched out and longstanding with the workers not having struck a deal for their first collective contract. They first elected CWA to represent them around two years ago in October 2022.
Since then, the workers have filed unfair labor practice (ULP) complaints with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), with APPL settling out of court.
Union-busting law firm Littler Mendelson has represented APPL in their campaign to stop or delay the union in achieving their first contract. UPDATE — The Jackson Lewis law firm is currently negotiating for the company.
Alex Gatley covers labor activities in the state of Oklahoma.
