U.S. officials are claiming that Apple broke the law with its anti-union efforts at an Apple Store in Atlanta Georgia in the United States.
As reported by Bloomberg, the National Labor Relations Board’s Atlanta regional director said that the company interrogated and coerced employees at the store as it was undergoing an organization effort.
Kayla Blado, the agency's press secretary, said accused Apple of holding "mandatory anti-union meetings during which management made coercive statements and will issue a complaint if the company doesn’t settle."
In a statement Monday, the Communications Workers of America, who had tried but withdrew the store's effort to organize, said that “Apple executives think the rules don’t apply to them. Holding an illegal forced captive audience meeting is not only union-busting, but an example of psychological warfare. We commend the NLRB for recognizing captive audience meetings for exactly what they are: a direct violation of labor rights.”
Another store said that the union was the problem
While Apple is facing allegations from the union and the government over its conduct in Atlanta, a different Apple Store's employees are placing the blame on the union.
Earlier today, employees at an Apple Store in St. Louis, which recently underwent a failed unionization effort, said that the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, the union that was attempting to represent the store, was partly to blame for the lack of organization.
In a statement, the group said that "we determined if we took on a union as a partner, the IAM would not be a good fit for our team. In their haste to represent us, the IAM disregarded the wishes of our organizing employees."
The IAM had a different story as to what happened in St. Louis, claiming that it was forced to withdraw the effort over Apple engaging in "anti-union practices and increased hostility towards workers."
