Apple Store Managers Being Trained On "Union Awareness"

[MacRumors]

Apple Retail Store managers are participating in "union awareness" training after a part-time San Francisco retail store employee attempted to start a union of Apple Store employees, according to CNET.

This course is intended to provide managers with a practical understanding of how unions affect the workplace, how and why employees organize, and the legal do's and don'ts of dealing with unions. This is a mandatory class for all new managers, and is required biannually for all managers."

Apple's retail employees partake a wide variety of training, on products, services, and best practices, via an exclusive iPad app called RetailMe.

This training is presumably in an effort to avoid entanglements surrounding what corporations can and cannot legally do to discourage the formation of unions.

Article Link: Apple Store Managers Being Trained On "Union Awareness"

 

[jayhawk11]

Meetings like this are *********. Every company does them, and all they do is force feed a bunch of BS about how negative a union can be, without letting them know the potential benefits.

A union is far from perfect, but if it's needed then it's needed.

 

[cambox]

Unions Onions

Why would Apple be scared of a Union? They surely give good service to their employees? I mean if your one of the chosen few you get over a million shares! Nothing like share the wealth eh!

 

[LastLine]

Why would Apple be scared of a Union? They surely give good service to their employees? I mean if your one of the chosen few you get over a million shares! Nothing like share the wealth eh!

I seem to be confused by unionizing in the states - it seems to be very negatively viewed over there, whereas in the UK it's generally viewed as a must have in certain work sectors.

 

[ChromeAce]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

It's "dos" not "do's."

 

[JDB1983]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

It's "dos" not "do's."

This is a mac forum. Unfortunatly nothing is 'dos'.

 

[NeverhadaPC]

Should be interesting if Apple employees begin to feel left behind as the Apple success-train speeds down profit boulevard. I guess giving 8 top execs a couple million shares (in total) is not considered trickle-down?

Too bad I know nothing about Apple's pay and promotion structure.

 

[jwhitnah]

Unions

I seem to be confused by unionizing in the states - it seems to be very negatively viewed over there, whereas in the UK it's generally viewed as a must have in certain work sectors.

Here in the US, they are blood sucking bullies that raise the cost of doing business. Good luck trying to fire incompetent workers.

 

[jayhawk11]

Should be interesting if Apple employees begin to feel left behind as the Apple success-train speeds down profit boulevard. I guess giving 8 top execs a couple million shares (in total) is not considered trickle-down?

Too bad I know nothing about Apple's pay and promotion structure.

If you've ever worked at a major retailer, it's similar. Yearly reviews with a raise. Not a ton of opportunities for promotion due to the small number of stores.

Remember, Apple isn't a huge company.

 

[Dcr2k]

ignorance

Here in the US, they are blood sucking bullies that raise the cost of doing business. Good luck trying to fire incompetent workers.

You have health benefits at your job? You have personal days or sick days? Protection on getting fired if as a female you become pregnant or bedridden while pregnant? Vacation time? All of those things do not exist without unions. Know your history, get educated before you spout off.

Just because a good thing can be abused does not void its existence.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

You have health benefits at your job? You have personal days or sick days? Protection on getting fired if as a female you become pregnant or bedridden while pregnant? Vacation time? All of those things do not exist without unions. Know your history, get educated before you spout off.

Just because a good thing can be abused does not void its existence.

Yes, it is actually possible for these things to exist without a union. Unions are for when management becomes so complex that the people at the top only see what their balance is and can't see the employees at the bottom. The employees have to form a union to be able to get management's ear. With Steve Jobs being such a perfectionist and micro manger (and encouraging the same traits in the rest of his management,) I'd imagine the bottom employees tend to be heard at the top without needing to form unions.

Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Kid A]

You have health benefits at your job? You have personal days or sick days? Protection on getting fired if as a female you become pregnant or bedridden while pregnant? Vacation time? All of those things do not exist without unions. Know your history, get educated before you spout off.

Just because a good thing can be abused does not void its existence.

Shocked that this would be voted down into the negative. All you did is lay out some basic historical truths, then humbly acknowledge that unions can be flawed (as can any institution), but that flaws do not make something worthy of complete abandonment.

My goodness, what a commie! /sarcasm

Sadly I suspect macrumors, like much of teh internets, is overcrowded with "conservative" parental basement dwellers.

When we get rid of all the bosses' unions (chambers of commerce, the National Restaurant and Pizzaman Sexual Predator Association, etc.), then we can get rid of the workers' unions. Not before.


============
EDIT: Pleased to see that the post I was quoting is no longer "in the negative". Not that I have time to keep score, but I hope it stays that way. Maybe macrumors isn't as bad as some corners of the intertubes after all! I saw this story on cnet, and it was just one hateful, vicious union-bashing comment after another. Glad to see this forum hasn't degenerated to that level.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

It's "dos" not "do's."

Every style guide I have says the phrase is "do's and don'ts". The apostrophe is put in there to prevent confusion. (Although in a few, "dos and don'ts" is considered an acceptable alternate spelling, in most, there is no such approval.)

 

[Ironduke]

Yes, it is actually possible for these things to exist without a union. Unions are for when management becomes so complex that the people at the top only see what their balance is and can't see the employees at the bottom. The employees have to form a union to be able to get management's ear. With Steve Jobs being such a perfectionist and micro manger (and encouraging the same traits in the rest of his management,) I'd imagine the bottom employees tend to be heard at the top without needing to form unions.

Maybe I'm wrong.

lol you get those things because their afraid of a Union, either way unions started it all because companies like apple, oh and don't give me that **** about jobs, there has been plenty made of his mistreatment of his staff, especially in the "before getting sacked" days

 

[JackHobbs]

Unions are a way of an individual having more power. It's a basic contract. You swap individual choice for the power of the union and collective choice. In the UK some jobs tend to be very unionised. For instance I am a teacher and most teachers tend to be in a union. My union as well as negotiating on pay and conditions also employ lawyers to protect members against legal claims by employers and students. They also arbitrate in complex situations where the relationship between employer and employee has broken down or become strained.

Businesses are in the game to make money. If they can get away with something, then they will. Some businesses think it is a good model to get as much work out of people as possible. Other businesses take a longer term view and may treat their employees better. It's good if good will is the modus operandi but when your employer or it's managers are bullies, it is good to have a strong union on your side.

 

[uraniumwilly]

Shocked that this would be voted down into the negative. All you did is lay out some basic historical truths, then humbly acknowledge that unions can be flawed (as can any institution), but that flaws do not make something worthy of complete abadonment.

My goodness, what a commie! /sarcasm

Sadly I suspect macrumors, like much of teh internets, is overcrowded with "conservative" parental basement dwellers.

When we get rid of all the bosses' unions (chambers of commerce, the National Restaurant and Pizzaman Sexual Predator Association, etc.), then we can get rid of the workers' unions. Not before.

(Flame away, dorks).

Amen, brother.

 

[Diode]

Above average pay, health insurance, and a company matching 401k - what else do they need? All for a position that is technically unskilled labor.....

 

[applesith]

You have health benefits at your job? You have personal days or sick days? Protection on getting fired if as a female you become pregnant or bedridden while pregnant? Vacation time? All of those things do not exist without unions. Know your history, get educated before you spout off.

Just because a good thing can be abused does not void its existence.

I have all of those benefits without a union at my job. Unions are not required for benefits and treating employees right. Know what you are talking about before you spout off.

 

[Mike Oxard]

Above average pay, health insurance, and a company matching 401k - what else do they need? All for a position that is technically unskilled labor.....

All of which makes it more worth them protecting by being in a union.

 

[applesith]

All of which makes it more worth them protecting by being in a union.

What?! Protected from what? A union will just cost the employees more money. I really can't understand why people say to put a union in just for the heck of it. Stuff like this is why the US is falling apart.

 

[reckless2k2]

public versus private

The negative connotation with respect to unions is typically toward public sector unions and not private. The public sector is funded by the private and you can see the disparities when the private sector is hurting yet the public still enjoys all their fruits. Ultimately, I could care less if Apple has a union. Their success or failure will depend on it. I personally have a problem with public sectors being further subsidized by the taxpayers in troubled economies to ensure that they get what is negotiated. If the tax base can not sustain it, the contract should be re-negotiated. I have the same problem with say any company that gets bailed out by taxpayers to ensure union negotiated funding and shareholders are disenfranchised.

And benefits are not directly linked to unions at all. Best practices in the workplace as well as labor laws have more to do with this. My business doesn't have a unions but enjoys sick and vacation time as well as other protections from Federal and State governments.

 

[Kid A]

I have all of those benefits without a union at my job. Unions are not required for benefits and treating employees right. Know what you are talking about before you spout off.

I have those things too, without a union at my job. But, knowing basic history, I am aware that, without unions, workers would have never had those things. Rights and benefits won by unions in the past are now seen as requirements in some industries/professions. The poster you are trying to one-up (epic fail, btw) was speaking historically, and I'm SURE is well aware that many people have benefits despite not being unionized.

Know what you are talking about before you spout off.

 

[vertgo]

You have health benefits at your job? You have personal days or sick days? Protection on getting fired if as a female you become pregnant or bedridden while pregnant? Vacation time? All of those things do not exist without unions. Know your history, get educated before you spout off.

Just because a good thing can be abused does not void its existence.

You're a black person who's not a slave in America? Thank the Republicans. Just because something was once good for you does not mean it will always be good.

Unions were once needed to prevent worker abuse, but now they prevent you from getting rid of bad teachers and bad employees, and underprivileged kids and the consumer are paying for it. They force a company to take the good with the bad, so it no longer pays to work hard.

Don't like the customer service you get at other companies? Check if they have an union. If Apple wants to maintain good customer service, they have to be able to get rid of bad employees.

 

[Mac21ND]

Most likely it's someone coming in from the outside (i.e. a union employee or contractor) trying to talk up the need for a union. This happens everywhere, in any company that doesn't already have a union established.

Don't forget - union's are businesses too. They target companies in efforts to grow their union membership and fee revenue first. It's been a long time since unions put their members first.

This is my own personal experience. I don't expect everyone to agree with it (which is fine). I personally have seen too many examples of the harm unions do to schools, small businesses and communities.

 

[Nicky G]

I have all of those benefits without a union at my job. Unions are not required for benefits and treating employees right. Know what you are talking about before you spout off.

I think what the poster meant was that these things NEVER would have existed as concepts, anywhere, if it hadn't been for the action of unions in the past. Which is basically true, thus the poster's suggestion to learn your history. While it is true that unions are not required in every job environment to have these benefits, there wouldn't have been a notion of "benefits" as something more or less offered as standard practice without the historical action of unions.