![]() ![]() Union organizing in a variety of fields has gained momentum recently after decades of decline in U.S. The current wave of unionizations comes after decades of declining union power labor law being stacked against workers, Duff said he thinks that "if there is going to be a reawakened labor movement in the United States it will happen in just this way." "Young workers learn union activism through this coverage, and some will likely be inspired to try to organize their own workplaces."ĭespite U.S. "The public has a very direct relationship with companies like Apple, so the first union victory will generate enormous traditional media and social media coverage," Logan said. "Workers are already organizing at other Apple stores, but this shows them the company is not invincible," he said.Īpple's well-known brand name is also likely to help. The successful vote serves to inspire workers around the country to organize, said John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University. ![]() Reached again Sunday, Apple did not comment. It's also possible that Apple - or any other company - restructures its business so the unionized workers are reclassified as independent contractors and not employees, in which case the union vote is moot, Duff said.Īpple declined to comment on Saturday's development, company spokesperson Josh Lipton told The Associated Press by phone. Labor experts say it's common for employers to drag out the bargaining process in an effort to take the momentum out of union campaigns. "If that happens, the whole thing goes to the courts and it could easily be a year or two before you even get the question of whether the employer is required to bargain with the union," Duff added. For instance, Apple could say it doesn't believe that the bargaining unit certified by the NLRB is an appropriate bargaining unit and refuse to bargain with the union. The employer can prove that it no longer supports a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit," Duff added.Įven after a union is certified, a company has a number of legal maneuvers at its disposal to fight it, Duff said. "The employer in the United States has an awful lot of rights to simply withdraw recognition at the end of the process. And we know in recent history that in many of these situations, parties are unable to come to terms on an initial contract," Michael Duff, a former NLRB lawyer and professor at University of Wyoming College of Law, said Sunday. And so the fact that a single store negotiates or elects a union doesn't mean that there's a negotiated contract in the workplace. "Labor law in the United States is a long process. Trying to unionize is a long process with many ways for employers to stop it Once the vote is certified, the union and Apple can begin negotiating a contract. ![]() The board did not immediately respond to an Associated Press message on Sunday. A spokesperson referred initial queries about the vote to the board's regional office, which was closed late Saturday. The National Labor Relations Board now has to certify the outcome. The Apple retail workers in Towson, Md., voted 65-33 to seek entry into the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union's announcement said. "It's not that big a deal to lose one of these jobs because you can get another crummy job," said Ruth Milkman, labor scholar at the City University of New York. But experts say the current shortage of workers for hourly and low-wage jobs means employees have more power than they had historically, especially when unemployment is low. It's not yet clear whether the recent wave of unionizations represent a broader shift in U.S. retail, service and tech industries to organize for greater workplace protections. The historic vote by employees of a Maryland Apple store to unionize - a first for the technology giant - is a significant step in a lengthy process that labor experts say is heavily stacked against workers in favor of their employers.Īpple store employees in a Baltimore suburb voted to unionize by a nearly 2-to-1 margin Saturday, joining a growing push across U.S. ![]()
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