A group of Apple employees plan to walk out of their jobs on Christmas Eve, urging customers to boycott the company during the last-minute shopping rush.
On Thursday, worker advocacy group ‘Apple Together’ called for a walkout on Twitter.
Their demands include wanting a more respectful workplace, paid sick leave and proper mental healthcare, among other demands.
They were also asking customers not to shop at Apple stores in person or online on Friday. The tweet encouraged customers to ‘demand that Apple upholds its image with your wallet’.
The Apple Together group is composed of employees in the company’s retail, corporate, and AppleCare divisions.
The group appears to be an extension of the #AppleToo movement, which was formed to collect stories from employees at all levels at Apple who claim they have experienced harassment or discrimination.
‘We are Apple. We deserve a respectful workplace. We deserve paid sick time. We deserve protection on the frontlines. We deserve proper mental healthcare,’ wrote the workers.
Most Apple stores in the US are open until 6pm on Christmas Eve and will be closed on Christmas Day, according to its website.
The organisers said strike funds were available for participants of the walkout via the Coworker Solidarity Fund, a nonprofit. However, the emergency fund linked in the tweet only seems to be accepting waitlist applications for stipends of up to $5,000.
Friday’s walkout is another example of workers protesting alleged unfair working conditions that have been the topic of conversation among Silicon Valley companies in the past year.
In January, hundreds of Google employees unionized, starting a wave of activism in the firmly anti-union Silicon Valley.
In June, about 80 Apple employees pushed back after the company announced that it expected its employees to return to its physical offices by September.
In an open letter to CEO Tim Cook asking them to support those who want to continue to work remotely, the employees pointed out that since moving to a remote system due to the pandemic, Apple has achieved a record-breaking year of sales, pushed out new versions of its biggest operating systems and released a slew of new products.
Apple essentially denied that request and proceeded with plans to launch a hybrid return to the office in February 2022.
Last week, the company was forced to push back its return-to-office indefinitely due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. According to an internal email, Apple will continue to let staff work remotely until February of next year.
It’s unclear how many employees will be participating in Friday’s walkout but the timing for the strike coincides with the last day when customers can buy presents before Christmas day when all Apple retail stores will be closed.
Metro has reached out to Apple for comment.
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