Apple is increasing its Apple retail store salaries in a bid to discourage unionization efforts

Apple is increasing its Apple retail store salaries in a bid to discourage unionization efforts, according to the Wall Street Journal.

From the WSJ (a subscription is required to read the article): The iPhone maker on Wednesday told employees in an email that the company is increasing its overall compensation budget. Starting pay for hourly workers in the U.S. will rise to $22 an hour, or higher based upon the market, a 45% increase from 2018. Starting salaries in the U.S. are also expected to increase.

“Supporting and retaining the best team members in the world enables us to deliver the best, most innovative, products and services for our customers,” an Apple spokesman said in a statement. “This year as part of our annual performance review process, we’re increasing our overall compensation budget.”

A fourth group of Apple retail store workers — this time at the Oxmoore Center Mall in Louisville, Kentucky — plan to form a union. Workers at the flagship Grand Central Terminal store in New York City have been gathering signatures. The Cumberland Mall store near Atlanta became the first to file paperwork with the NLRB. And a group of Apple employees at the Towson Mall in Towson, Maryland launched a union drive earlier this month.