Apple VP Discourages Retail Employees From Joining A Union: Reports

(RTTNews) - Tech giant Apple Inc. (AAPL) is reportedly discouraging its retail employees from joining unions.

In a leaked video sent to employees this week, Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's head of retail and human relations, told employees about the cons of joining a union.

"I want to start out by saying it's your right to join a union, but it's equally your right not to join a union," O'Brien said, according to audio published by Vice. "If you're faced with that decision, I want to encourage you to consult a wide range of people and sources to understand what it could be like to work at Apple under a collective bargaining agreement."

O'Brien added that Apple is responsive to employee concerns and that a union would make it harder for corporate officials to address issues raised by workers.

Although Apple hasn't publicly opposed the recent union drives in multiple retail stores across the U.S., it seems the company is discouraging its employees from organizing.

Last week, the Communications Workers of America alleged that the iPhone-maker violated federal labor laws at its World Trade Center store in New York City by questioning and monitoring the store employees, stopped them from posting union fliers and made them join mandatory anti-union speeches.

Currently, three of Apple's 270 stores are set to be unionized, with one store in the Cumberland Mall in Atlanta will vote to unionize with Communications Workers of America on June 2, one in Towson, Maryland will vote later in June to be organized with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Employees at the New York City store are currently collecting signatures to officially show interest in unionization.