Apple employees at the Apple Store in Short Hills, New Jersey have petitioned to unionize, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
There are 104 workers at the Apple Short Hills store. Communication Workers of America (CWA) filed a unionization petition with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of employees earlier this week.
The CWA released a statement that forming a union would be the best way to “ensure all Apple workers receive the respect, pay, benefits and working conditions” that they deserve. The group has requested that Apple “not to interfere in our ongoing organizing efforts and, instead, allow workers to freely determine for themselves whether to form a union.”
An Apple spokesperson told Bloomberg that it offers “exceptional” benefits and competitive pay to its employees.
We have 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 as a part of the overall support we provide to our valued team members.
Workers at the store will need to vote on whether to join the union. If a majority says yes to unionization, the store will unionize. Union employees are able to negotiate as a group with Apple for improved working conditions and benefits.
Unionization efforts have been hit or miss for union officials targeting Apple Stores. While two stores have voted to unionize, a St. Louis Apple retail location voted not to unionize and an Atlanta location withdrew its request to unionize after allegedly facing interference from Apple.