The historic vote by employees of a Maryland Apple store to unionize — a first for the technology giant — is a significant step in a lengthy process that labor experts say is heavily stacked against workers in favor of their employers.
It's not yet clear whether the recent wave of unionizations represent a broader shift in U.S. labor. But experts say the current shortage of workers for hourly and low-wage jobs means employees have more power than they had historically, especially when unemployment is low.“It's not that big a deal to lose one of these jobs because you can get another crummy job,” said Ruth Milkman, labor scholar at the City University of New York.
Labor experts say it’s common for employers to drag out the bargaining process in an effort to take the momentum out of union campaigns. It's also possible that Apple — or any other company — restructures its business so the unionized workers are reclassified as independent contractors and not employees, in which case the union vote is moot, Duff said.Apple declined to comment on Saturday’s development, company spokesperson Josh Lipton told The Associated Press by phone.
Despite U.S. labor law being stacked against workers, Duff said he thinks that “if there is going to be a reawakened labor movement in the United States it will happen in just this way.”Union organizing in a variety of fields has gained momentum recently after decades of decline in U.S. union membership. Organizers have worked to establish unions at companies including Amazon, Starbucks, Google parent company Alphabet and outdoors retailer REI.
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