Photo courtesy of Well Kept Wallet
A group of Apple employees walked off of the job during Christmas Eve as they urged customers to boycott the company as many hurried to purchase last-minute Christmas gifts, according to Business Insider.
The worker’s advocacy group, Apple Together, prompted a walkout on Thursday. Its demands cited a more respectful workplace and paid sick time. Additionally, HuffPost reported 50 employees from several states had also engaged in the strike.
Apple Together also called for customers to boycott the company during the walkout period. “Don’t shop in stores. Don’t shop online,” the organization tweeted. While retail store hours were subjected to change due to the holiday, Apple’s website indicated that most stores in the US would be open until 6 p.m. local time on Christmas Eve and closed on Christmas Day.
“In a follow-up tweet, the group outlined requests that included protections from abusive customers, COVID-19 safety measures, and hazard pay.”
On Friday, a worker from an Apple Store in Jacksonville, Florida, told Insider that 15 people walked out of his store after the company responded to recent customer aggression, Insider reported.
“Last week, a customer came in and spit on one of our team members,” this person said, adding that the store’s leadership then serviced the customer despite the incident. These types of events have continued, despite calls to leadership for new policies, he said. “There needs to be a different protocol.”
An Apple spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Over the past year, Apple workers have called on the company to change certain working conditions for corporate and retail employees. The walkout is the latest act of activism from workers across the country.
The company has faced employee pushback during the pandemic after implementing a mandatory return-to-office policy, which has been delayed several times this year and was most recently planned for January. Last week, the company delayed its return-to-office plan due to the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Apple workers have expressed the most pressing issue they have faced all year — unsafe work conditions. Several employees told NBC News that workers who felt sick were forced to work Black Friday, despite COVID-19 prevention policies.
Employees at the trillion-dollar establishment have also publicly organized additional working conditions. This summer, 15 Apple corporate and retail employees launched #AppleToo, a website for employees to share their stories of mistreatment with the company. Apple then fired two of the employees involved in those efforts. In October, it reportedly fired Janneke Parrish, a leader of the #AppleToo movement. In September, it fired Ashley Gjovik, who had spoken out about harassment and sexism at Apple, per Insider.