Nearly 1,000 other Google workers have also signed cards to join the AWU, but because the employees haven't officially held an NLRB election, their group is known as a minority union. In March, Google Fiber contractors in Kansas City held an NLRB election, becoming the first to officially unionize under what's known as the Alphabet Workers Union. That same month, a memo was leaked showing Apple's anti-union talking points, instructing store managers to tell workers they could lose benefits and career opportunities if they organized.Ĭommunications Workers of America, which has about 700,000 members, helped organize the Atlanta Apple store, as well as workers at Google. Three other stores have taken steps to unionize, although one in Atlanta withdrew its election petition in May. stores happened on June 18, when workers in Towson, Maryland, voted 65 to 33 to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The first union win among Apple's 270-plus U.S. The union movement at Apple stores is progressing at a slower pace. First-ever unions have also formed at an Apple store in Maryland, a Google Fiber contractor, REI, Trader Joe's, Kickstarter and Activision Blizzard. As of Wednesday, 209 Starbucks stores have officially voted to unionize according to the National Labor Relations Board. But activity is picking up elsewhere in retail and tech at big companies that are generally viewed as progressive, with no history of labor unions. About two-thirds of Americans now say they support unions, reports CNBC, "the highest approval rating since 1965." And suddenly in the last few months, "workers have been organizing at a pace this country hasn't seen since the Great Depression."Īmazon has captured headlines for union drives at its warehouses, including a successful effort on New York's Staten Island.