Apple Accused of Illegally Keeping Benefits From Union Workers

Parker Purifoy, Bloomberg News

The Apple Inc. logo at the new Apple store in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook officially opened Apple Inc.’s first company-owned store in India, betting the iPhone maker’s retail outlets will help accelerate sales growth. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg Law) -- Apple Inc. is facing charges from the federal labor board after it excluded unionized retail workers from a benefits boost last year.

A National Labor Relations Board regional director lodged a complaint Tuesday based on charges that the tech giant violated federal labor laws by refusing to give unionized workers at an Apple store in Towson, Md., enhanced benefits in 2022.

The company announced the new suite of perks for US retail and corporate employees in October 2022, including new medical benefits, prepaying a portion of tuition for outside education, and free access to a premium Coursera Inc. subscription. The International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, representing the workers, filed unfair labor practice charges over the benefits changes in November 2022.

An agency spokesperson said Tuesday the complaint alleges that Apple discriminated against the Towson workers and used the benefits to discourage staff at other locations from unionizing.

The Towson location was the first Apple store to unionize in 2022, followed by a second store in Oklahoma City shortly after. The tech company has been the subject of increasing litigation before the NLRB, with IAM accusing Apple of failing to bargain in good faith.

A board judge also ruled in June that Apple managers illegally interrogated workers at its World Trade Center store in New York City.

The complaint comes weeks after an NLRB judge ruled that Starbucks Corp. illegally excluded unionized baristas from its nationwide wage and benefits increases in 2022.

Apple wasn’t immediately available to comment.

The case is Apple, Inc., N.L.R.B. Reg’l Dir., No. 05-CA-306442, complaint filed 11/21/23.

To contact the reporters on this story: Parker Purifoy in Washington at ppurifoy@bloombergindustry.com; Josh Eidelson (Bloomberg News) in Palo Alto, California at jeidelson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jay-Anne B. Casuga at jcasuga@bloomberglaw.com