Negotiations between Apple and the union representing the Apple Store in Oklahoma City have led to a tentative agreement that introduces new benefits and protections for the staff.
The Penn Square Mall Apple Store in Oklahoma City has announced the “tentative labor agreement” reached with Apple and the Communication Workers of America (CWA), as stated in their release.
While the terms are still under negotiation, the agreement promises substantial benefits for the store’s employees. The proposed three-year contract would provide a wage increase of up to 11.5 percent.
According to an Apple spokesperson, if the contract is ratified, employees will receive a 4 percent raise in the first year of the agreement, followed by a 3 percent increase in each of the second and third years, contingent on performance.
The agreement also includes guaranteed paid time off, health benefits, and other perks. It would give employees input on scheduling and aim to create a “safer and more democratic workplace” through a grievance submission process, with committees overseeing safety, health, and working conditions.
Apple Store (Photo: Getty Images)
Additionally, the spokesperson noted that scheduling options were extended to all other US stores in 2022.
The Oklahoma City Apple Store, which began organizing to form a union in 2022, became the second Apple Store in the US to unionize.
Employees authorized a strike in August with unanimous support and conducted a picket in front of the store before the early September bargaining sessions. Workers are scheduled to vote on the tentative agreement on September 22.
CWA District 6 Vice President Derrick Osobase hailed the agreement as a “historic day for our members who have now secured a contract at the world’s most profitable company.”
The Towson Town Center Apple Store in Towson, Maryland, was the first to unionize, with members approving the union in 2022 under the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
In contrast, efforts to unionize the Cumberland Mall store in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2022 with the CWA were halted after workers accused Apple of “repeated violations of the National Labor Relations Act.”
