OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Apple [APPL] store in Penn Square mall, represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), just won their first tentative agreement with the corporation. It’s only the second store in the U.S. to do so.
Negotiations stretched on for one and one-half years.
The CWA-backed labor union still needs to ratify the agreement, and is set to vote on it by September 22nd. If ratified, the agreement will be good for three years.
Here are some of the main concessions won by the workers:
- Wage increases of up to 11.5% over the next three years.
- Worker involvement in scheduling.
- Guaranteed paid time off to vote.
- A more democratic workplace with a grievance and arbitration process.
- The establishment of joint Safety and Health and Working Relations committees.
- Job protection in the event of a store closure or relocation and severance pay.
- Guaranteed paid time off, health and other benefits.
The APPL Retail Union-CWA was formed in October 2022 and has since faced union-busting efforts from APPL including some unfair labor practices (ULPs). Bargaining began in May of 2023. Workers voted for a strike in August if negotiations did not move forward.
‘Benefits we deserve’
”Today, my 80 coworkers and I have just secured a tentative agreement with the world’s most profitable corporation,” said Kirsten Matson, member of the APPL Retail store-CWA. “For more than a year we stood strong at the bargaining table because we knew that by standing together we could secure the pay raises, protections and benefits we deserve.”
Matson said that it’s because of the workers that APPL has been so profitable.
“It’s thanks to our work that APPL retail stores are the most profitable retail stores per square foot across any industry – and we finally have an agreement that will ensure we earn our fair share for our work”, she said.
Derrick Osobase, CWA District 6 Vice President, also issued a statement on this new development.
“Today is a historic day for our members who have now secured a contract at the world’s most profitable company,” said Osobase. “We know that it is thanks to these APPL retail workers that APPL is such a successful tech and retail giant. But for too long workers were denied a real voice at the table – and discouraged from exercising their right to organize. This tentative agreement makes clear that when workers stand together they win.”
This tentative agreement makes clear that when workers stand together they win.
— Derrick Osobase, CWA District 6 Vice President
Recently, before APPL agreed to the tentative agreement, the APPL store workers put pressure on the company to negotiate in good faith, including authorizing a strike in August, and organizing an informational picket on September 3rd with a large turnout.
‘It’s economics’
Free Press spoke to Michael Forsythe, genius administrator and APPL Retail Union-CWA member Tuesday during the informational picket on the public sidewalk by Penn Square Mall where the store is located.
Asked about what has been holding up the agreement, he said, “I think it’s economics. Its pay, obviously like wages. We want what we consider fair wage increases for the work that we provide. And bilingual pay.”
Forsythe explained why bilingual pay is so important as well.
“There’s a very significant portion of Spanish speakers in Oklahoma City,” Forsythe told Free Press. “They come to our store because we’re the closest store to places like Amarillo, Texas, so there’s a very wide area where people have to come to us if they want to come to an APPL store.”
“We believe that when people come in that need assistance that they shouldn’t have to rely on something like an app,” Forsythe continued. “APPL really prides itself on human connection. The ability to genuinely celebrate a moment when someone gets a new product that’s going to improve their life. We want to be able to have a genuine human celebration with them, and a translator app can’t do that.”
Performance based
Matson also talked with Free Press during the picket on Tuesday. She explained why performance-based pay at their APPL store might not be the best option.
“It’s performance-based in a way, but it’s subjective to whoever your manager is and how they interpret or see your work,” said Matson. “And the other thing too, that’s a misconception, we’re not commission-based. We’re paid hourly.”
Forsythe also told Free Press what “performance-based” really means in the APPL workplace as well.
“The things that we’re judged on as far as performance…one of the things they said we’re judged on is ‘our ability to be innovative’. That’s not something you can quantify with a metric. How good you are at ‘innovating’ is just determined by your manager,” he said.
‘Inherently adversarial’
Forsythe added his perspective on the dynamic between labor and management:
“When you think about the dynamic between labor and entrepreneur, CEO, or whatever you want to call it. It is inherently adversarial. Your boss is always going to want to get as much value as possible while paying you as little as possible”, he said.
“The laborer with bills to pay always wants to make as much money as possible,” Forsythe continued. “And I think that everyone understands that the real power that makes the world go ‘round is money. And companies that want to extract as much money as possible, they have all the money. People making an hourly wage, you don’t have that luxury. So instead, you kinda have to look to your peers and leverage the solidarity you have.”
Alex Gatley covers labor activities in the state of Oklahoma.
