The Apple Store in Atlanta is the first to run

The Apple Store in Atlanta is the first to run for union elections

An employee arranges Apple iPhones as a customer shop at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue shortly after new products go on sale in Manhattan on March 18, 2022 in New York City.

Mike Segar | Reuters

An Apple retail store at Cumberland Mall in Atlanta, Georgia has filed for a union election, the Communication Workers of America said Wednesday. The National Labor Relations Board acknowledged receipt of the petition.

It’s the first union ballot registered at an Apple Store and is seen as a milestone in workers’ efforts to unionize the tech giant’s retail workforce and negotiate for better wages and benefits.

According to a press release, over 70% of the store’s more than 100 eligible employees have expressed an interest in unionising.

Organizers are calling for base wages of $28 an hour, bigger pay rises to offset inflation and profit-sharing options for retail workers, according to Bloomberg Law, which first reported on the election proposal.

If over 50% of eligible workers vote for the union, the store would become Apple’s first unionized retail store.

A separate shop in New York City is seeking to represent Workers United and is currently collecting signatures.

Union organizing efforts at Apple are part of a rising wave of workplace activism across the country as employees seek better wages and working conditions amid labor shortages and rising inflation. Additionally, the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted frontline workers to reconsider the risks and benefits of their jobs.

Elsewhere, Amazon workers voted to form a union at a Staten Island warehouse earlier this month, and Starbucks locations across the country voted to form a union last month.

Salaries for Apple retail workers start at $20 an hour, a company spokesman told CNBC.

“We are pleased to offer full-time and part-time employees very strong compensation and benefits, including health care, tuition reimbursement, new parental leave, paid family leave, annual stock awards and many other benefits,” an Apple spokesman said in a statement.