Last Updated on May 16, 2023, 7:25 AM | Published: May 16, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — Workers at the Apple [AAPL] Retail store in Penn Square Mall start negotiating their first labor contract with the trillion-dollar corporation Tuesday, May 16th.
Workers are fighting for transparency regarding:
- Hiring.
- Pay.
- Job assignments.
According to a press release, “Workers hope to secure seniority-based language regarding pay raises, improved vacation policies and commitments from Apple [AAPL] to address job vacancies.”
Michael Forsythe, genius admin, and union organizer, gave a prepared statement in the press release.
“This is an incredibly exciting day for us, as we are finally exercising our right as a union to bring [AAPL] to the bargaining table,” said Forsythe. “My colleagues and I deserve clear policies regarding pay raises and more and we’re ready to help [AAPL] improve and better reflect our shared values.”
“We as workers contribute so much to the success of this company, and we are hopeful that [AAPL] will negotiate in good faith so that we can secure our union contract and continue to strengthen [AAPL] for all workers.”
“It is incredibly inspiring to see the [AAPL] Retail Workers Union successfully win their union election and force [AAPL] to the negotiating table after sustaining a relentless and illegal union-busting campaign,” said Jay Albertson, president of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 6016. “Workers have a right to freely organize and we are proud to see our members finally get the opportunity to meet the trillion-dollar tech titan at the negotiating table and secure their fair share.”
The OKC [AAPL] store workers, also known as Penn Square Labor, won their union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on October 14th 2022. Since winning their union election, they’ve won an “Ovation Award” from Apple. Read more about that here:
The OKC store’s Penn Square Labor represents nearly 80 employees and is the second [AAPL] store to unionize in the country. The first store to unionize was a store based in Towson, Maryland. About 40% of [AAPL]’s entire workforce is [AAPL] retail workers.
Penn Square Labor is representing OKC in a much broader labor movement occurring in the United States. Not only Apple, but Starbucks and Amazon workers are also pushing successful unionization campaigns. More recently, the Writers’ Guild of America is currently on strike now fighting for workers’ rights as well.
Alex Gatley covers labor activities in the state of Oklahoma.
