Workers at NYC Grand Central Apple Store start moving to unionize

Unrest among some Apple Store employees in the United States over stagnating wages surfaced in February, with a number of stores preparing to file paperwork to create a union. In the case of one New York City outlet, it seems that the activity has progressed considerably.

The organizers of “Fruit Stand Workers United” has started to collect signatures at the flagship Grand Central Apple Store, the Washington Post reports. After a vote on February 21 to affiliate with Workers United, the organizers are now handing out signature cards to potential union members.

Workers United previously assisted another major unionizing effort concerning a multinational in supporting efforts by Starbucks employees across the United States.

The store has the potential to become the first Apple Store location to unionize, if enough votes are gathered to create the union, but it’s not the only one aiming to do so. Anonymous employees told the report that at least three other locations are working on making their own unions.

An update to a website run by the organizers states “Grand Central is an extraordinary store with unique working conditions that make a union necessary to ensure our team has the best possible standards of living in what have proven to be extraordinary times with the ongoing covid-19 pandemic and once-in-a-generation consumer price inflation.”

Apple declined to comment to the report about whether it supports or intends to combat he union, but said in a statement it was “fortunate to have incredible retail team members and we deeply value everything they bring to Apple. We are pleased to offer very strong compensation and benefits for full time and part time employees, including health care, tuition reimbursement, new parental leave, paid family leave, annual stock grants and many other benefits.”