In January, Apple agreed to let its board oversee an independent audit of its US labor practices after five investors with $7 billion in company stock raised concerns about the unfair treatment of workers trying to unionize. Today, workers at two Apple Stores wrote to the company’s board claiming that Apple may be unfairly skewing the audit, by excluding workers at stores that have unionized. A report on the audit is due to be published by the end of the year.
Workers at a string of US Apple Stores have begun unionizing in recent years, citing issues ranging from wages and overwork to leaking sewage. In a letter sent to Apple board member and BlackRock cofounder Sue Wagner today, workers at the two unionized retail stores in Oklahoma City and Towson, Maryland, say that none of them have been contacted by the auditor. They are demanding to be included in the report, fearing that it will present an overly rosy view of life at Apple.
The investors who originally called for the audit argued it was needed because of reports that Apple was trampling on workers’ right to organize. “We continue to endure a vicious anti-union campaign from Apple,” the letter sent today says.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which represent the employees, say that they are not aware of any outreach to workers at stores in the process of organizing unions either. Apple did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
Shareholder-driven corporate audits over issues like civil rights and racial equity have become more common in recent years, as a way to force accountability from large companies. Earlier this year, Google released the results of a civil rights audit after pressure from civil rights advocates and investors. The findings came with recommendations to address problems with staff diversity, although some activists say the assessment lacked teeth.”
An audit focused on workers’ rights to organize appears to be novel, says John Logan, chair of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University. Some of the same investors that forced Apple’s audit, which include the New York City pension fund, filed a shareholder proposal calling for a similar assessment at Starbucks this year, which is also accused of waging a fierce anti-union campaign. Shareholders approved that assessment, which is also due out this year.
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