Apple’s New Jersey store workers file petition for unionization

(Reuters) – Workers at Apple’s store in Short Hills, New Jersey, have filed for union representation, a staff member who is part of the organizing committee said on Wednesday amid a push for unionization across sectors in corporate America.

Companies including coffee-chain Starbucks, ecommerce firm Amazon.com and software giant Microsoft are facing unionization efforts from employees who want better working conditions.

Apple retail staff at New Jersey store filed for union representation with Communications Workers of America on April 8, according to John Nagy, who is the operations lead at the Short Hill store and a member of the organizing committee.

“We are inspired by colleagues in Oklahoma City and Towson, Md. who won their unions, and know that our power will grow with every new store that forms a union,” Nagy said.

Apple said in an emailed statement that it has “always paid our retail teams in the top tier of the market and we provide exceptional and comprehensive benefits for all full- and part-time employees.”

In June 2022, a store near Baltimore, Maryland had become the first Apple location to unionize.

The tech giant had also been accused previously of interfering with union drive at its Manhattan retail store, which the company later denied.

(Reporting by Granth Vanaik and Priyanka G in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)