Apple Employees in Oklahoma City Petition to Unionize Store

Josh Eidelson
3 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. workers in Oklahoma City petitioned Thursday to unionize their store, extending a wave of organizing within the company and the broader retail industry.

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Employees filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking a vote on joining the Communications Workers of America union. The location, inside the city’s Penn Square Mall, is one of about 270 US retail stores operated by the iPhone maker.

The Oklahoma petition comes about two months after workers at a Maryland Apple store voted to unionize with the International Association of Machinists, adding to recent landmark labor wins at major US companies. Unions have established footholds at Amazon.com Inc., Starbucks Corp., Trader Joe’s and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

“This is a really great time to bring back the labor movement,” said Oklahoma City employee Michael Forsythe, one of the leaders of the campaign there. Roughly 70% of the store’s eligible workers have signed up with the union, according to the CWA, which represents a swath of industries including technology, airlines and media.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

When the labor board determines that a union has signed up at least 30% of an appropriate potential bargaining unit at a workplace -- if the company hasn’t voluntarily agreed to recognize the group -- the agency holds an election. If the union then wins a majority of the votes, the company is legally required to collectively bargain over working conditions. Reaching a contract for the first time can be a long and arduous process, though, especially when a company wants to avoid encouraging additional organizing at other sites.

The Oklahoma City workers could be the first from Apple to vote on joining CWA. The union, which won elections this year among Verizon Communications Inc. retail employees, Activision Blizzard Inc. quality-assurance testers and subcontracted Google Fiber staff, has said it’s been hearing from numerous Apple workers around the country. It petitioned in April to represent Apple store employees in Atlanta, but withdrew that request the week before a planned vote, citing alleged illegal union busting by Apple, as well as Covid-19 safety concerns about in-person voting.

The company has previously said when asked about union efforts and union-busting allegations that it is “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.”

In a video message to workers earlier this year, Apple retail chief Deirdre O’Brien said she was worried about “what it would mean to put another organization in the middle of our relationship.” The company also announced in May that it would hike the minimum pay for its retail staff to $22 an hour.

The Oklahoma City workers said they were inspired by the Atlanta campaign, and have consulted with employees behind it to know what pushback to expect from the company and how to withstand it.

Employees want more transparency and input on issues like safety, scheduling and pay, said Forsythe, who’s worked at Apple for nine years.

“I do really love the company,” he said. “There are changes that I do know need to happen, but I don’t believe it’s necessarily with our direct managers. I see this as a thing between the workers and Big Apple.”

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