What you need to know
- Apple TV+ employees are joining the Communications Workers of America.
- Only a handful of Apple Studios employees were involved in the vote to unionize in New York.
- Future Apple Studios employees will benefit from the move.
A group of freelance post-production coordinators working in New York have voted to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA) with some of those working for Apple Studios.
Apple is in the middle of a number of union-related situations across the United States, with the CWA also involved in helping Apple Store employees unionize in New York. Now, Deadline reports that the union has confirmed that workers at eight companies have voted to join. The companies include Apple Studios, Netflix, and more.
According to the union, it's the first time that post-production coordinators in New York's film and TV industry have won formal union representation, and the first time that workers employed by any Apple subsidiary have ever won an NLRB election for union representation.
Only three of the post-production workers from Apple Studios reportedly took part in the vote, but the decision to join the CWA will mean that anyone employed by the outfit from here on out will be covered by any contract negotiated with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.
The workers, who are now members of CWA Local 1101, "have lacked union benefits and protections in an industry where an overwhelming majority of their colleagues have collective bargaining agreements," the union said, vowing that "the post-production coordinators will continue to be fully supported by their new union family as they negotiate a fair contract."
Apple has so far drawn criticism for its handling of workers' attempts to unionize, with Apple Store staffers saying that the company has employed various tactics to make it difficult for them to do so. However, Apple has already agreed to five workers improved hours and working patterns as well as an increase in minimum pay from $20 to $22 per hour.
While Apple has a history of dealing with attempts to unionize, this is the first time we have heard of the saga spilling over into Apple Studios, although there appears to be no suggestion that any union-busting tactics were employed in New York.
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