While Apple Delays at the Bargaining Table, CWA-represented Workers in Oklahoma City Vote to Strike

(Oklahoma City, Okla.)—Retail workers represented by Communications Workers of America at the Penn Square Apple Store in Oklahoma City, Okla., yesterday voted to authorize a strike as bargaining over their first collectively-bargained contract has stalled. A majority of the workers voted in favor of the strike and are ready to withhold their essential labor if Apple continues its pattern of delays at the bargaining table during scheduled sessions today and in early September.

“We are approaching two years since my coworkers and I formed a union, and since then we have been met with union-busting and foot-dragging from Apple. Enough is enough. We are inspired by the example set last month by our colleagues at the Towson, Maryland, store, who secured the first collective contract in Apple Store history. We know Apple is capable of providing us with the pay and benefits we deserve, and we call on the company to stop stalling and bargain with us in good faith,” said Darren Griffis, Apple Store Business Expert and member of Apple Retail Union-CWA.

The Apple Retail Union-CWA was formed in October 2022 and, since that time, has faced down an onslaught of anti-union attacks and labor violations. Apple has retained the notorious union-busting firm Littler Mendelson and engaged in an ongoing pattern of stalls and delays over bargaining. On July 26, 2024, Apple retail workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in Towson, MD, ratified the first collectively bargained contract covering Apple Store workers.

“Our members have shown up and worked incredibly hard to deliver top-quality service to Apple customers at the Penn Square store in Oklahoma City. Since voting to form a union, these workers have earned an Ovation Award from Apple, demonstrating that unionizing can be beneficial for employee morale and customer care. However, Apple has been slow to make progress at the bargaining table. We hope that the company is changing course and, going forward, will engage in negotiations in good faith,” said Derrick Osobase, CWA District 6 Vice President.

The Penn Square workers are hopeful that bargaining meetings today and in early September will demonstrate that Apple has abandoned its strategy of resistance and is ready to comply with the law and bargain with its workers in good faith.

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The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) is a network of worker-organizers and their staff working every single day to build the voice and power necessary to ensure the future of the tech, game, and digital industries in the United States and Canada. CODE-CWA is a project of the Communications Workers of America which represents hundreds of thousands of workers throughout tech, media, telecom, and other industries who stand together to fight for justice on the job and in our communities.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion