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All Aboard: Grand Central Station Apple Retail Workers Move to Unionize


Workers at an Apple retail location in Grand Central Station in New York City are taking steps to become the first Apple retail location to form a union.

These Apple workers have already voted to affiliate with Workers United, the labor union that has been assisting workers at Starbucks with their unionization efforts.  At present, efforts are underway to collect enough signatures from workers at the Grand Central Station location to hold an election.  Aligning with Workers United is seen as a step toward using the momentum of unionization at Starbucks to successfully unionize Apple retail locations.

It is worth noting that these Apple workers at Grand Central Station join a few other Apple retail locations that are also undergoing a unionization push.  As with many retail workers, Apple retail workers are fighting for increased pay ($30/hour) and better benefits (including tuition reimbursement, increased vacation time, and higher match rates for 401(k) plans).  It has been suggested that the surge in business for Apple during the coronavirus pandemic has led to its workers experiencing burnout amidst stagnant pay while the company continues to rake in record profits.

Will workers at this Grand Central Station retail location obtain enough signatures to hold an election?  I think it is quite likely.  If/when that happens, will these workers actually vote to unionize?  As we have seen with the successful unionizations at Starbucks and the Staten Island Amazon warehouse, anything is possible.


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