Tim Cook
Choppy waters might lie ahead for Apple as CEO Tim Cook, who’s facing a sudden increase in unrest that presents a stark contrast to the company’s notoriously secretive culture. Those tight-lipped ways are a boon for ongoing product security efforts, but the tech titan’s actions are now facing NLRB scrutiny following charges brought by multiple employees including the following:
(1) One charge that alleges unfavorable working conditions and reduction of responsibilities for an employee who filed a harassment complaint;
(2) Another claim that details how Apple banned a Slack messaging channel in which employees discussed pay equity. On this subject, Reuters quotes associated documents that accuse Apple of “engag[ing] in coercive and suppressive activity that has enabled abuse and harassment of organizers of protected concerted activity.”
At least partially in response to these complaints, Cook held a company-wide meeting, although it remains to be seen how the NLRB probe will shake out or whether organizing efforts will intensify, after a group of Apple employees built an organizing website called #AppleToo, which the workers say is an attempt to “press for accountability and redress to the persistent injustices we witness or experience in our workplace.”
Meanwhile, news outlets also continue to see collective bargaining efforts increase, including MSNBC staffers voting to unionize amid a record-breaking run of organizing in recent months.
