St. Louis Apple Store staff has filed a petition at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in support of Apple against claims made by the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM), a labor group that filed a petition to unionize the store.
IAM which also represents the unionized store in Towson, Maryland, filed a petition to vote for a union with NLRB on behalf of 82 staff members at the Apple St. Louis Store in Missouri.
However, a few days after, the union organization announced that it had withdrawn the petition and blamed the company’s anti-union tactics for scaring the employees from unionizing; “Apple has chosen the route of disenfranchising its workers and their right to enjoy the benefits of having a union”.
IAM lied about the staff’s interest in unionizing at the St. Louis Apple Store
According to Bloomberg, IAM had been dishonest about the majority of the staff’s willingness to unionize at the store. Workers’ petition detailed that 66 out of 90 employees at the St. Louis store had rejected IAM saying that they did not want to join the union and did not support the union in any manner.
The group started to collect signatures opposing the union on November 22. After the majority of employees opposed the union representation, they told the NLRB to consider previous union cards null and void.
When it canceled plans to push for a union election, the IAM blamed “anti-union practices and increased hostility toward workers.” But in a statement Monday, employees said the group “preemptively” scrapped the effort after learning of the petition against the union.
“The reality is much simpler: The majority of employees at this Apple Store do not wish to work with the IAM,” the employees said in Monday’s statement. “The majority of workers at the St. Louis Galleria Apple Store do not believe a union is required at this time, nor do they wish to work with the IAM in the future.”
In its defense, IAM said that there was a sufficient showing of interest to file for the union election and it filed the unfair labor practice complaint when an employee at the store reported “management intimidation” during the course of the union campaign.
This support for the tech giant comes at a time when Apple has been facing strong criticism for using anti-union efforts. Recently, the NLRB ruled that the company’s anti-union tactics in Atlanta were “coercive and illegal”. and its Atlanta regional director would issue a complaint if the tech giant does not settle.
