Apple Organising Drive Spreads to England in Face of Union-Busting ‘Playbook’

No ads, no distractions – just quality journalism. Our supporters make this possible. Join them today and give one hour’s wage per month to back independent media.

Workers at an Apple store in Cambridge are fighting to become the first in England to gain trade union recognition, amid allegations of union-busting by the American corporate giant.

Workers organising with the United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW) filed for statutory recognition – which could see Apple forced to accept the union – after discussions over voluntary recognition broke down in early May.

In an open letter sent by a union member to the store’s leadership team, workers have accused Apple of a “coordinated effort to dissuade and discourage union interest,” by using one to one conversations and mandatory store meetings to spread anti-union messages.

Following the meeting at Acas, workers say that the store leader has been taking staff aside in small groups, to relay what had happened between the union and Apple.

Workers accuse the store leader of misrepresenting the meeting to workers, by labelling the union as “uncooperative,” and describing its conduct as “shocking and disappointing.”

Tom, a retail worker who chose not to give his real name for fear of retaliation, said that Apple’s approach to the union had been “very hostile” and “cloak and dagger.”

It’s an accusation echoed in the open letter: “Apple has publicly expressed a desire to ‘open the table for conversation,’” with “messaging often wrapped in language about care and respect.” 

“While this might be positioned as concern,” the letter states, “in reality Apple’s actions resemble classic union avoidance tactics, including coercion, incentivisation, intimidation, and surveillance.”

Workers say that morning all staff briefings, known internally as “downloads,” have been repurposed by management to counter unionisation within the store, with managers saying things like Apple doesn’t “need a union to get between us.”

Managers have also suggested that unionisation could result in the loss of pay and benefits, implying that they could be “limited” were a union to come in.

Other talking points include the idea that workers don’t need a union as they already have the Employee Resource Team (ERT), a workplace body that’s supposed to represent workers’ views to management, for support with their concerns.

“Every step of ERT is controlled by Apple,” said Tom. “It’s a false facade that pretends to be a union, and while it gives some of us a route to communicating with higher ups, it doesn’t allow us to hold collective bargaining power.”

One worker Novara Media spoke to reported being pulled aside by management for a one to one meeting, where they were questioned about their views on unionisation and asked if they’ve been approached by the union. The open letter reports that several workers report having been “subtly threatened, discouraged, or even monitored” once they have revealed their views on the union.

Apple’s opposition to unions is well documented, leaving workers at the East Anglian store well prepared for the tech company’s offensive. In the US, Apple hired renowned anti-union employment law firm Littler Mendelson, who also worked on the Starbucks’ anti-union campaign.

In 2022, in response to a union push across US Apple stores, the company’s vice president of people and retail Deirdre O’Brien recorded and sent a video to the company’s retail employees that sought to dissuade them from joining a union. “I worry about what it would mean to put another organisation in the middle of our relationship,” she said.

The same year, Apple circulated a series of anti-union talking points to its store leaders, instructing them to inform workers that unionisation could mean “fewer opportunities,” “less flexibility,” and the company being made to pay “less attention to merit.”

The script includes talking points such as: “What makes a store great is having a team that works together well. That can’t always happen when a union represents a store’s team members.” 

“Apple has a playbook,” said Marie, an Apple retail worker. “And it is going page by page right now as to what we expect.”

Marie has worked in retail for most of her adult life. But until a few years ago, she didn’t think unions applied to workers like her. “I didn’t know that unions existed outside of the railway,” she said. It wasn’t until 2022, when Glasgow became the first store in the UK to secure union recognition with the GMB, that she began to look at her own store. 

“I thought, ‘Oh, now I look into it, the conditions aren’t that great, and the pay we get is not relative to profits that the company makes.’”

Energised by the win in Glasgow, and by an unfolding organising push at Apple stores across America, Marie and Tom joined the union, with the hope that they’d be able to get a greater voice on issues around pay, scheduling, and procedures. They also think that Apple – the world’s wealthiest company – should share more of its extreme wealth with its retail workers.

A sudden uptick in the number of disciplinaries that were being handed out to workers over sickness, time, and attendance also spurred workers on to unionise.

“People are afraid of having policies thrown at them and being quietly let out the door out of nowhere,” said Tom. “There’s a culture of fear, of being intimidated by our managers.” 

“The reduction of the headcount through this attrition process is a cost cutting measure,” said Tom. “We’ve got people who’ve been working in our store since it opened. We’re talking about people who’ve been here 16, 17 years, who are worried that at any point they could be pulled up on something.”

When workers are fired, colleagues say Apple doesn’t replace them, or the store hires instead for more junior positions.

“Our fight is one for fairness, transparency and protection; things that every worker deserves,” said Tom, “We’re proud to be taking on the richest company in the world & fighting their union-busting, and we’re confident we will win.”

An Apple spokesperson said: “We believe the open, direct and collaborative relationship we have with our valued team members is the best way to provide an excellent experience for our customers and our teams. We are proud to pay our retail teams in the top tier of the market and we provide exceptional benefits, including private health insurance, for our employees as a part of the overall support we provide to our team members.”