Apple Store in Glasgow Makes History as First UK Store to Unionize

[Xiaojohn]

So basically the only thing from unionizing is that they get to choose how much their workers get paid?

Anything else?

Not really, union is a very old stingy things. Old business like Airlines is a hood example, they can’t changed, they can’t accept new things, new culture etc…..you will know. Because their staffs are all unions.

They will not grow or improve; what they looking for is the long terms benefits….after 10years service then the company need to continue pay the worker until the end of his/her life….or maybe to their childrens….

 

[Xiaojohn]

Apple makes Billions, they can pay a fair wage. **** them.

Are you saying Apple should pay all apple store workers the same salary? Which this will be fair to each of different stores workers in different country.

 

[VulchR]

As somebody who actually lives in pinko communist Scotland, these are my thoughts:

Now they can all just strike and demand a pay rise not cool

Not true. The UK has very specific laws about when strike action is allowed. If workers strike without fulfilling those requirements, they can be fired.

...
You're a retail employee, not a machinist. You could be replaced at the drop of a hat and it wouldn't make a hill of difference.

Actually, the expertise, work ethic, and attitude of the retail personnel are probably the biggest determinant of profits at a given store.

To unionize you need skills. Retail employees could be replaced by a trained mouse. No leverage. Let them go on strike and just replace them. That'll teach them to expect CEO pay with elementary school skills.

In the UK if a strike ballot is called by a union, and the vote passes certain criteria (independently scrutinised postal ballot; specific wording of action to be taken; >50% of returned ballots voting yes; and in some instances a threshold return rate), the workers are protected from retaliatory action if they strike. What you suggest would be illegal, and for good reason.

Are you willing to pay more for Apple products as a result of Apple paying staff higher wages?

Yes.

Just one anecdote about Apple Store staff (in Northern Virginia in the US) from many years ago: When my father passed away we wanted to play a digital slide show of his life synchronised with his favourite music. We had only a day to put this together and the funeral home in which the memorial was held required a weird file format (and CD format) that I hadn't heard of before. We went to the Microsoft store in the local mall, but when I asked about the format the staff looked at me like I was a martian and they were utterly clueless. Exasperated, we went to the Apple Store. The staff there spent 30 minutes with us patiently mapping out how we could do this, including showing us each stage in the process on a computer in the store, and making sure we understood. They directed us to other stores in the mall for anything that we needed that wasn't sold in the Apple Store. The memorial service went of without a hitch as a result. IMO Apple store staff are worth their weight in gold, and all my US side of the family bought Apple computers, printers and phones for the next decade as a result of the help we got. So that 30 minutes of consideration and expertise from Apple Store employees translated into thousands of dollars of profit for Apple. That's productivity. Productive workers should get paid well.

 

[Xiaojohn]

What is the proper wage (pick a number)?

And are you willing to pay more for Apple products as a result?

I’m afraid now the apple devices has the best pricing because of the most optimized productions plan from the starting to the hand of consumers.

In near future, nobody can offer the same price/performance. Unless they purposely discount the price to increase their market share. This will hurt the company own finance.

 

[Xiaojohn]

As somebody who actually lives in pinko communist Scotland, these are my thoughts:



Not true. The UK has very specific laws about when strike action is allowed. If workers strike without fulfilling those requirements, they can be fired.



Actually, the expertise, work ethic, and attitude of the retail personnel are probably the biggest determinant of profits at a given store.



In the UK if a strike ballot is called by a union, and the vote passes certain criteria (independently scrutinised postal ballot; specific wording of action to be taken; >50% of returned ballots voting yes; and in some instances a threshold return rate), the workers are protected from retaliatory action if they strike. What you suggest would be illegal, and for good reason.



Yes.

Just one anecdote about Apple Store staff (in Northern Virginia in the US) from many years ago: When my father passed away we wanted to play a digital slide show of his life synchronised with his favourite music. We had only a day to put this together and the funeral home in which the memorial was held required a weird file format (and CD format) that I hadn't heard of before. We went to the Microsoft store in the local mall, but when I asked about the format the staff looked at me like I was a martian and they were utterly clueless. Exasperated, we went to the Apple Store. The staff there spent 30 minutes with us patiently mapping out how we could do this, including showing us each stage in the process on a computer in the store, and making sure we understood. They directed us to other stores in the mall for anything that we needed that wasn't sold in the Apple Store. The memorial service went of without a hitch as a result. IMO Apple store staff are worth their weight in gold, and all my US side of the family bought Apple computers, printers and phones for the next decade as a result of the help we got. So that 30 minutes of consideration and expertise from Apple Store employees translated into thousands of dollars of profit for Apple. That's productivity. Productive workers should get paid well.

If the apple staff have so much patience on you and spend 30 min to a customer; would you think they will request union?

The fact is, Microsoft store workers see you will not be their customer and pay them, so they are not motivated to solved your problems.

For that apple staff, they are free to do that, even 30 min talk helping customers, because they are free to work on needs….not based on the tasks or customer invoice

 

[Xiaojohn]

As somebody who actually lives in pinko communist Scotland, these are my thoughts:



Not true. The UK has very specific laws about when strike action is allowed. If workers strike without fulfilling those requirements, they can be fired.



Actually, the expertise, work ethic, and attitude of the retail personnel are probably the biggest determinant of profits at a given store.



In the UK if a strike ballot is called by a union, and the vote passes certain criteria (independently scrutinised postal ballot; specific wording of action to be taken; >50% of returned ballots voting yes; and in some instances a threshold return rate), the workers are protected from retaliatory action if they strike. What you suggest would be illegal, and for good reason.



Yes.

Just one anecdote about Apple Store staff (in Northern Virginia in the US) from many years ago: When my father passed away we wanted to play a digital slide show of his life synchronised with his favourite music. We had only a day to put this together and the funeral home in which the memorial was held required a weird file format (and CD format) that I hadn't heard of before. We went to the Microsoft store in the local mall, but when I asked about the format the staff looked at me like I was a martian and they were utterly clueless. Exasperated, we went to the Apple Store. The staff there spent 30 minutes with us patiently mapping out how we could do this, including showing us each stage in the process on a computer in the store, and making sure we understood. They directed us to other stores in the mall for anything that we needed that wasn't sold in the Apple Store. The memorial service went of without a hitch as a result. IMO Apple store staff are worth their weight in gold, and all my US side of the family bought Apple computers, printers and phones for the next decade as a result of the help we got. So that 30 minutes of consideration and expertise from Apple Store employees translated into thousands of dollars of profit for Apple. That's productivity. Productive workers should get paid well.

If you go China, you will feel the efficiency of retail workers….

But with one terms and condition:

You need to buy something in their store, then they will give you good service.

Or else, they will not entertain you.

BTW, China Apple/other retail worker have much lower wages….how?

 

[VulchR]

If the apple staff have so much patience on you and spend 30 min to a customer; would you think they will request union?

The fact is, Microsoft store workers see you will not be their customer and pay them, so they are not motivated to solved your problems.

For that apple staff, they are free to do that, even 30 min talk helping customers, because they are free to work on needs….not based on the tasks or customer invoice

All I can say is that my family insisted on going to the MS Store because all of their computers ran Windows - I was the only one who had a Mac laptop. My family were appalled at the lack of consideration and professionalism in the MS Store (do these even still exist in the US?). They were so impressed with the Apple Store they switched. My point is that workers who create that kind of customer loyalty should be paid well. The people who suggest retail workers should be paid low wages seem to know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

 

[Xiaojohn]

To be fair;
Since most of the Apple products are manufactured in China/Asia,

Apple should sell very cheap price to China/Asia customers; 40-50% discount to match the cost price;

Then,

Apple should sell original price in USA.
Then Apple should sell 20% more expansive to EU and UK

This is Fair play
Asians are the true slave not the one who works in Apple Retails

 

[VulchR]

...
Then Apple should sell 20% more expansive to EU and UK
...

🤣 Believe me, they do.

 

[Xiaojohn]

All I can say is that my family insisted on going to the MS Store because all of their computers ran Windows - I was the only one who had a Mac laptop. My family were appalled at the lack of consideration and professionalism in the MS Store (do these even still exist in the US?). They were so impressed with the Apple Store they switched. My point is that workers who create that kind of customer loyalty should be paid well. The people who suggest retail workers should be paid low wages seem to know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

You will get different treatment when you tell then you are going to buy a new computer;

Then based on the computer price; the workers will calculate how many minutes they should spend on you.

This is unions….

Unions workers do not do the tasks outside their jobscope

 

[Xiaojohn]

🤣 Believe me, they do.

Nope, that was tax issue. And they should sell it much higher!

 

[Xiaojohn]

🤣 Believe me, they do.

Then i wait Apple offer 50% discount or free devices to Asians….

Only this is fair

 

[aknabi]

They can also afford to shut the store down so other stores know not to try this.

Yup and the news of it can go viral, ruining Apple's "good citizen" rep, causing brand damage and boycotts... to let Apple and other companies know not to try this

 

[Xiaojohn]

Yup and the news of it can go viral, ruining Apple's "good citizen" rep, causing brand damage and boycotts... to let Apple and other companies know not to try this

Unfortunately tim cook is not Elon Musk.

I rather elon musk bought over Apple and fire all the union workers away….

 

[Gudi]

A decade ago in Munich.

Gestresste Apple-Verkäufer gründen ersten Betriebsrat

Apple habe bei der Gründung des Betriebsrates keine Schwierigkeiten gemacht, sagte der Gewerkschaftssprecher.

 

[Xiaojohn]

A decade ago in Munich.

Gestresste Apple-Verkäufer gründen ersten Betriebsrat

Apple habe bei der Gründung des Betriebsrates keine Schwierigkeiten gemacht, sagte der Gewerkschaftssprecher.

I think the stock/share investment shouldn’t exist;

The workers need to have the same table and seats like Tim cook and other executives.

And they should do profit sharing!!! And return all the money and earning to workers!!!

 

[Realityck]

Great news. Hope it spreads company-wide.

Actually it’s not the best time to negotiate. It looks like Apple is looking at the industry slowdown very carefully.

Apple has put hiring freezes in place for the next year, insiders say

Officially, Apple says it's "taking a very deliberate approach to hiring" amid the downturn. But sources told Insider there are hiring freezes across multiple divisions of the tech giant.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[Xiaojohn]

Actually it’s not the best time to negotiate.

Apple has put hiring freezes in place for the next year, insiders say

Officially, Apple says it's "taking a very deliberate approach to hiring" amid the downturn. But sources told Insider there are hiring freezes across multiple divisions of the tech giant.

www.businessinsider.com

Apple should fire thousands of them…no need be responsible to keep the hired workers

 

[anthdci]

So basically the only thing from unionizing is that they get to choose how much their workers get paid?

Anything else?

Well unions were responsible for far more than better pay. They got maternity and paternity pay, so in the UK you can’t fire a new mother purely because she has taken 12 months maternity pay. They protect members from unfair dismissal and plenty of other things.

 

[Xiaojohn]

Actually it’s not the best time to negotiate.

Apple has put hiring freezes in place for the next year, insiders say

Officially, Apple says it's "taking a very deliberate approach to hiring" amid the downturn. But sources told Insider there are hiring freezes across multiple divisions of the tech giant.

www.businessinsider.com

Apple product are very matured no need retails stores.

 

[Xiaojohn]

Well unions were responsible for far more than better pay. They got maternity and paternity pay, so in the UK you can’t fire a new mother purely because she has taken 12 months maternity pay. They protect members from unfair dismissal and plenty of other things.

Unions is vote reservoir

 

[anthdci]

Unfortunately tim cook is not Elon Musk.

I rather elon musk bought over Apple and fire all the union workers away….

That’s kind of the point of unions, they would mean the staff would collectively walk out and bring the business to a halt so to protect their jobs from unfair dismissal.

 

[Wildkraut]

Great, show 'em from where the wind blows! 🇬🇧👍

 

[Xiaojohn]

That’s kind of the point of unions, they would mean the staff would collectively walk out and bring the business to a halt so to protect their jobs from unfair dismissal.

Is okay, elon can sell iphone online….let them protest, this is not the first time.

UK people are selfish, they think about themselves only. They are not work for public interest. That’s why they can protest everyday. Let them be.

Elon have clear mind about UK. Better work with China and some US company, no UK. UK also alot patent hooper.

 

[Xiaojohn]

I think the stock/share investment shouldn’t exist;

The workers need to have the same table and seats like Tim cook and other executives.

And they should do profit sharing!!! And return all the money and earning to workers!!!

By the way, this is communism ideology. So now you understand China better.