Glasgow Apple store retail workers first in UK to sign formal unionization agreement with Apple

Workers in a Scottish Apple store have now officially become the first in the UK to unionize after signing a formal agreement with the American tech giant, according to the Scotland Herald.

Last November the staff at Apple’s Buchanan Street branch voted for union recognition in a call for fairer pay and workplace practices. That vote has now persuaded Apple management to sign a collective bargaining agreement to recognize GMB Scotland membership in the Glasgow city center computer shop.

“This agreement is historic and our members in the Glasgow store are a beacon of hope across the world to show that you can organize to make work better,” GMB organizer John Slaven told The Herald. “We look to build a good relationship with Apple while being passionate advocates for members’ interests.” 

The Herald says apparently staff at other branches around the UK are now seeking to take similar action with employees elsewhere in Scotland also signing up to the union. In the U.S., the Cumberland Mall store near Atlanta became the first to file unionization paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board early last year. In May 2022, a group of Apple employees at the Towson Mall in Towson, Maryland launched a union drive.