Apple Store staff at a number of locations throughout the country are taking measures to organize, as the gap between hourly workers and executives at the tech giant continues to widen.
In a report published by the Washington Post, at least two stores are prepared to file paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the near future, with an additional half-dozen outlets in the early phases of labor organization negotiations.
As inflation climbs in the United States, retail workers are becoming dissatisfied with their wages, which has prompted many to unionize.
It also comes on the heels of reports that Apple CEO Tim Cook’s compensation for 2021 jumped by 569 percent last year, reaching $98.7 million, which includes a $3 million yearly salary, $82.3 million in stock awards, and a $12 million cash bonus, among other things. That equates to 1,400 times the annual salary of the average Apple employee.
Speculation about the possibility of unionization at Apple Stores comes just after Starbucks employees in a number of locations successfully organized the first union in the company’s history, something that Starbucks has actively opposed for years.
Amazon, too, is not finished with its bitter labor dispute, as workers in Alabama will have the opportunity to vote again after a judge ruled that the company “created a strong impression that it controlled the process” by arranging for the installation of a mail collection box at the warehouse.
Amazon, like many other companies, has been embroiled in a bitter labor dispute for years.
Apple has 270 Apple Store locations in the United States and more than 500 worldwide. The corporation posted revenues of $378 billion last year, and its market capitalization surpassed $3 trillion in January, making it the first company in history to achieve this feat.