Apple retail union organizers want to be paid at least $30 per hour

Customers walk past an Apple logo inside of an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York.

Fruit Stand Workers United updated their website on Monday to say that they want to be paid a minimum of $30 per hour.

The Apple store in New York City started to take steps to unionize earlier this year, with the first public-facing website announcing their effort over the weekend.

Wage workers at Apple believe they are more valuable in a tight labor market.

The organizers said on their website that they wanted a minimum of $30 for all workers. We look to conduct research into security protocols with customer interactions, and track dust, health effects from building materials, and noise pollution at Grand Central.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Apple employees can make between $17 and $30 per hour. The minimum wage at a retail store that sells phones will be raised to $20 per hour.

An Apple spokesman said in a statement that they are pleased to offer strong compensation and benefits for full time and part time employees.

The level of unionization support at the store will be determined by the authorization cards that are collected by the organizing committee. The union needs 30% of eligible employees at the Grand Central location in order to file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board.

More than 50% of employees have to vote to certify the union if organizers get 30% of eligible employees to sign cards.

It is the latest sign that workplace activism is rising across the country during an inflationary environment and as frontline workers are forced to re-examine the risks and benefits of their jobs.

Workers at a Staten Island warehouse voted to form a union. Starbucks locations across the country voted to unionize. The Service Employees International Union, which has overseen some successful Starbucks unionization drives, is helping Apple's Grand Central store employees with their representation.

Workers United said in a statement that hourly wage workers across the country have come to the realization that without organizing for a collective voice, employers will ignore their concerns in the workplace.

According to a financial filing, Apple has 154,000 employees around the world. In its fiscal 2021, Apple sold over $365 billion around the world.