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The_Gream

macrumors regular
Jul 16, 2020
205
501
I keep thinking about these Unions popping up. I think I could get behind them if they addressed the major issues.

People want more pay because their cost of living and/or wants are near their income.

Now I make about $20 an hour and I have learned through the harshness of life to plan and budget. Now, I did have an aunt who allowed me to rent a room from her for a number of years while I worked my way into a better paying position and got to paying off my debts. My aunt provided a stepping stone into better financial management.

Now, to my point, if these Unions address the main issue (which isn’t pay rate) but the cost of living for their members and asked/contracted Apple and like companies to provide quality and affordable housing (not exceeding 25% of the employees income) and/or other options that allowed the employees earned money to last longer (no more pay check to pay check living), I could back these Unions. But as it stands I can’t. Apple’s base pay is more than I make working in a warehouse. At least I don’t have to deal with the cesspool of arrogant customers anymore. 🫢
 
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anthdci

macrumors 6502a
Jun 8, 2009
664
265
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.

damn them for thinking of protecting the jobs and income which feeds them and their family, how utterly terrible. Elon might struggle to sell them online if warehouse staff are also in the same union and go out on strike to prevent their colleagues losing their jobs unfairly.
 
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anthdci

macrumors 6502a
Jun 8, 2009
664
265
I keep thinking about these Unions popping up. I think I could get behind them if they addressed the major issues.

People want more pay because their cost of living and/or wants are near their income.

Now I make about $20 an hour and I have learned through the harshness of life to plan and budget. Now, I did have an aunt who allowed me to rent a room from her for a number of years while I worked my way into a better paying position and got to paying off my debts. My aunt provided a stepping stone into better financial management.

Now, to my point, if these Unions address the main issue (which isn’t pay rate) but the cost of living for their members and asked/contracted Apple and like companies to provide quality and affordable housing (not exceeding 25% of the employees income) and/or other options that allowed the employees earned money to last longer (no more pay check to pay check living), I could back these Unions. But as it stands I can’t. Apple’s base pay is more than I make working in a warehouse. At least I don’t have to deal with the cesspool of arrogant customers anymore. 🫢

I don't think they are new unions, the ones in the UK at least will be joining national pre-existing ones like Unite. The big difference between the UK and the USA which has unions that I keep repeating is maternity leave and holiday leave. A new mother can't be sacked for 12 months after giving birth here, in the USA even if they are physically unable to work they can be sacked, it's brutal. I get 30 days paid holiday and that's pretty standard, I bet it's considerably more than most americans get, that was fought for by the unions.
 

scubachap

macrumors 6502
Aug 30, 2016
493
807
UK
I don't think they are new unions, the ones in the UK at least will be joining national pre-existing ones like Unite. The big difference between the UK and the USA which has unions that I keep repeating is maternity leave and holiday leave. A new mother can't be sacked for 12 months after giving birth here, in the USA even if they are physically unable to work they can be sacked, it's brutal. I get 30 days paid holiday and that's pretty standard, I bet it's considerably more than most americans get, that was fought for by the unions.
I think it's the GMB in this case.
 
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Mr. Dee

macrumors 603
Dec 4, 2003
5,990
12,831
Jamaica
Well said. You’re at the bottom of the barrel when you’re a retail employee and Apple doesn’t give a sh#t about the well-being of their retail workers. They’re treated like modern slaves. It’s quite outrageous that one of the richest companies in the world chooses to underpay the very people that should be considered as their most valued employees. Apple serves the elite, shareholders and woke media. I love most of Apple’s products but there’s a huge smokescreen of gaslighting going on here.
Its just not convincing anymore when Tim comes on stage and act all holy and talk about making a difference. Making a difference starts in your own house and not just for the elite. Its not the presentations that sell these products, its the employees in the store every day. I witnessed one last Saturday, an old guy didn't know what he wanted and she went through every Mac notebook with him and she kept her composure every time he changed his mind.
 

Aoligei

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2020
896
976
Cool. I'll just hand over my money to some grifter for marginally better benefits even though my job entails little to deserve such benefits.

This is getting out of hand. Apple needs to squash these unionizing efforts immediately but of course Tim "I Don't Lke Confrontation" Cook will just roll on over like always.

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.

If the retail worker is this easily replaceable, then greedy corporate should already done so. You think these corporate *******s from top won’t do this if it is possible?

Now try to get ride of all Apple Store employees and replace with robots, and how will it turn out.

I cannot understand why people wants to defend a corporation that make billions and billions of dollars, and such their worker dry.
 

quatermass

macrumors 6502
Sep 19, 2009
331
530
Shut it down. Have to teach them it isn't happening and they'll only hurt themselves.
Seriously - you'd shut down the store to "teach them a lesson"? This may come as a shock to you, but Unionising is a perfectly legal thing to do, and it's an option open to anyone. Apple may or may not like it, but who cares? I care more about the workers and that they have organised themselves to get themselves a better deal is no bad thing.

What is it you care about?
 

msackey

macrumors 68030
Oct 8, 2020
2,511
2,933
It can be argued that C-level execs making millions is hardly justified. Along with having a wage disparity as high as 350:1
Totally agree. It is ridiculous that you can have managers, and upper management make that much more than so many employees. How can it make sense, for instance, that a worker can with their entire lives and make let’s say $3 million and upper management can make that on several years or even in less than a year? That kind of disparity is inhumane.
 

kenaustus

macrumors 6502
Jun 11, 2003
420
46
I don't know about Scotland, but retail workers in Australia get 30 days of vacation per year, with a "Loading: on top of pay so you can enjoy your holidays. Scotland is probably close, if not the same.

The challenge for the Apple unions will be negotiating the contract that improves the members financial situation after pulling out union dues. The assumption that a everything will improve is risky as negotiations will function under ceilings, so one benefit added will need funds from other benefits to pay for them.

Regardless of the initial outcome, the union members will need to deliver a profit to the company of the company will cut cost.
 

fat jez

macrumors 68020
Jun 24, 2010
2,084
615
Glasgow, UK
I don't know about Scotland, but retail workers in Australia get 30 days of vacation per year, with a "Loading: on top of pay so you can enjoy your holidays. Scotland is probably close, if not the same.
The law states 28 Days including public holiday, pro-rata if you're part time.

 
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interstella

macrumors 6502
Sep 29, 2013
284
166
Suffolk, England
I'm honestly shocked by the amount of anti-union sentiment here. To a certain extent I can understand it with USA citizens as employers there seem to be terrified of unions and the thought of employees having decent working conditions and actual employment rights and in the UK the populist right-wing press do a good job of making people anti-union. I am a Brit but used to work for the UK subsidiary of an American company (offshore oil services company) and they had to deal with my union. The US management were hopeless at any kind of negotiation and thought they could ride roughshod not only over UK employment law but also to refuse to pay into our pension scheme. Without a union they would quite possibly have succeeded.

Unions do far more than work for pay rises. They do valuable work with regard to employment rights and, very importantly, supporting employees if they have a dispute of any kind with their managers. A company like Apple will have lawyers ready to represent them in any dispute. If you are a union member then so will your union and it will all be covered by your union fee. My union will also provide free legal representation for compensation if I suffer an injury at work, have a deal for priority medical treatment for elective surgery. On a more trivial level, I get discounts on everything from home and car insurance to holidays and even certain Apple products by being a member of my union.

I'm not being anti-USA here (I genuinely love the country and the people) but your working conditions are positively Victorian and really need dragging into the 21st century.
 
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Octavius8

macrumors 6502a
Oct 25, 2016
850
1,239
Unions supposedly exist to defend workers rights against an abusive employer. In USA the labor laws are mostly pathetic and the employees are totally exposed to the employers. "Oh, this will increase the price of the phones", "oh, you will not get x benefit because you are unionized". That is abuse of power and totally misleading argument.
Sure, unions get money, sure.
Big companies and top execs are billionaires based on the exploitation of the workers, for sure!. Asking a fair treatment makes you a "cry-baby"?. So, now is wrong to demand just payment and benefits from a trillion dollar company?!. Wow, hope your kids work in a company without international common benefits (standarized vacations days at law level, standarized compensation for being fired, sick days with pay, etc. check other countries laws, please, then we can discuss the abuse or fairness of either part).
 
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