Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s head of retail and human relations, told employees in a video this week that joining a union has downsides, and that Apple believes that unions are not committed to its employees.
Apple hasn’t publicly said that it opposes the recent union drives in multiple retail stores across the U.S., but the message to employees shows it’s discouraging employees from entering into collective bargaining agreements.
“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.”
In the remarks, O’Brien says she believes that Apple is responsive to employee concerns and that a union would make it harder for corporate officials to address issues raised by workers.
