Apple facing more employee efforts at unionization

Workers buoyed by efforts from Starbucks employees.
Apple Store

Tech giant Apple is reportedly facing a growing effort by employees to unionize, a move that may spur backlash from the famously controlling company amid a broader undercurrent of unionization efforts throughout the economy.

The Washington Post reported this week on low-key union efforts by employees at the company’s iconic retail locations, with “growing dissent among hourly workers threaten[ing] to disrupt one of the most stolid tech giants,” according to the paper.

The workers moving to begin union efforts remain nameless in the story, though they argued that they “believe their knowledge and passion for [Apple’s] products help drive sales and that they should share more fully in the company’s success.”

Apple has seen sky-high profits in recent years, earning hundreds of billions of dollars per year and becoming the most valuable company in the world by market cap at nearly $3 trillion. 

The company is also considering a $99 million compensation package for CEO Tim Cook, who took over running the company in 2011 shortly before the death of longtime company head Steve Jobs.