Apple Store employees in the US are quietly trying to unionize

There are other workers who are hoping to organize. Sources speaking to The Washington Post claim that workers at six or more US Apple Store locations are quietly planning to unionize, with two stores already getting the support of national unions and preparing submissions to the National Labor Relations Board.

The central issue is pay. Employees told The Post that their pay was not keeping up with the rising costs of living. The staffers said that Apple's success hasn't translated to better wages.

The pro-union workers have been using secret methods to keep their communications private in order to avoid being surveilled by Apple. In the event of a union vote, the employees have informally canvassed coworkers to gauge support.

We asked Apple about it. The company previously said it took all employee concerns seriously and investigated issues when they came up, but didn't discuss particular employee issues as a matter of respect for the privacy of those involved Apple is aware of the unionization efforts. Apple is using managers to issue anti-union warnings, similar to what Amazon is doing.

Apple has dealt with unhappy team members before. Hundreds of stories of toxic workplaces were gathered by the #AppleToo campaign. Apple has not shown clear signs of addressing those concerns, and has allegedly pushed out and fired #AppleToo organizers. It is not certain that unions will improve conditions, but it is clear that staffers want better treatment.