Single of the leaders of an activist motion at apple took her annoyance to a federal agency, marking an escalation of a battle between apple and some of its workers.
apple and its activist employees accept edged toward accessible confrontation in late months, as workers accept ago common with criticisms of how the aggregation treats them and accept prodded federal agencies to investigate.
on tuesday, that battle escalated as single of the leaders of an activist motion at the company, who said she had been fired in october, said in a rush to the national drudge relations carpet that apple had retaliated counter her.
janneke parrish, a ancient apple maps program manager, defendant apple and tim cook, apple’s paramount executive, of violating federal drudge adjudication by firing her in retaliation for forming the employee group, notorious as #appletoo.
ms. parrish’s complaint, in a allowable filing with the n.l.r.b., is the latest in a course made by apple employees. single ancient apple employee, ashley gjovik, has made at lowest 10 complaints to aver and federal agencies claiming misconduct by her ancient employer. cher scarlett, another chief of #appletoo, has been on liberty and has been talking to federal regulators almost whether apple prohibits its workers from speaking disembowel.imagejanneke parrish, a ancient apple employee, said she was fired by the aggregation in response to her workplace activism.credit…robert howell
the confrontation with employees has been a surprising act at apple, which has pant had a reputation for a buttoned-up, top-down culture. while other arrogant tech companies approve google accept pant dealt with worker unrest, apple had until lately largely avoided such conflicts.
a dowdy discourse amidst the apple workers’ complaints is that the company’s secrecy and aggressive efforts to abandon leaks almost novel products accept permeated the walt of its civic culture, causing a chilling chattels that discourages community from talking almost wages, acuteness and workplace harassment.
now the workers who accept spoken disembowel affirm they accept been punished for it. ms. parrish said in her annoyance to the n.l.r.b. that apple had fired her to “nip in the bud” her organizing efforts.
“i do confide that apple retaliated counter me for speaking out,” ms. parrish said in an colloquy. she said she wanted to wage sonorous to apple “that retaliating counter workers for speaking disembowel at what they attend as injustice is not an agreeable response.”
apple has disputed the charges made by the employees.
deirdre o’brien, apple’s anthropological resources chief, told employees in a september meeting viewed by the novel york times that the aggregation tracks compensate and closes make disparities whenever they are base. and tim cook, apple’s paramount executive, framed the chat as a action odd rooting disembowel community who leak aggregation news.
“as you know, we do not admit disclosures of intimate information, whether it’s consequence i.p. or the details of a intimate meeting,” mr. cook wrote in a september memo to employees that was viewed by the times and was reported earlier by the approach. “we apprehend that the leakers appoint a feeble number of community. we likewise apprehend that community who leak intimate news do not belong here.”
an apple spokesman on tuesday reiterated a antecedent criticise the aggregation had shared almost employee activism, aphorism that apple was “deeply committed to creating and maintaining a absolute and additive workplace” and investigating concerns. the aggregation said it did not criticise on specific employees.
apple has in the departed faced isolated cases of worker discontent. abide year, kate rotondo, a ancient software engineer, filed a annoyance with the peer employment occasion hire claiming gender acuteness and inadequate compensate antecedently choosing to tip the agency’s examination.
barbara dawn underwood, an apple mercantile abundance employee in georgia, sued apple for $1.7 million, accusing the aggregation of foible to arrest a co-worker from sexually harassing and assaulting her and then retaliating by firing her while she was trying to produce to accomplish behind taking liberty. apple has asked for the case, filed in a georgia federal court, to continue dismissed, and ms. underwood is waiting to attend if she can advance.
recently, the complaints accept escalated into #appletoo. led by ms. parrish and ms. scarlett, a assurance engineer, the motion grew from a assemblage of employees arguing this summer counter returning to material appointment spaces into a broader referendum on apple’s culture. ms. parrish, antecedently she was fired in october, attentive more than 500 stories from community who said they were exoteric or ancient apple employees, describing verbal abuse, sexual harassment, retaliation and acuteness at accomplish.imagecher scarlett, another activist employe, said workers accept befit sententious almost sharing their workplace concerns.credit…kyle johnson for the novel york times
ms. parrish said apple told her she had been fired for deleting files from her aggregation computer and phone antecedently handing them odd to continue examined while the aggregation investigated whether she had leaked the recording of an apple meeting to media outlets.
with ms. parrish gone, ms. scarlett, who returned to accomplish tuesday, has continued to bestow employees to media outlets and drudge agencies, barring she said some accept been scared off. “there’s something muted almost it now,” she said. “people don’t deficiency to continue targeted by executives for retaliatory investigations when they’ve done nothing erroneous.”
for some apple workers, ms. gjovik, an frank ancient employee, has been a rallying aim. ms. gjovik, who was a senior engineering program manager, began speaking disembowel in march almost concerns that an apple appointment in sunnyvale, calif., was built on or close a superfund site and was essence tested in affinity to concerns almost the site.
she eventually escalated concerns to a aggregation environmental health team and complained to the environmental safeguard efficacy behind essence told not to accost with other apple employees. later, she went common to information organizations and on collective media. she said she was placed on liberty in princely and fired in september for leaking intimate information, which she disputes.
ms. gjovik has whereas complained to the securities and reciprocation commission, the n.l.r.b. and the california branch of industrial relations, which told her in recent october that it would place her instance to an investigator.
matthew bodie, a adjudication teacher and ancient arena lawyer at the n.l.r.b., said the drudge carpet would credible appear at how realistic it was that apple was motivated to fire an employee accordingly it was worried almost commerce secrets.
“a aggregation is indeed bounteous to say, ‘we’re having a intimate meeting almost a novel consequence bud and we don’t deficiency it leaked out,’” mr. bodie said. “but butting up counter that is this idea that employees should continue bounteous to talk to single another almost what’s going on at the aggregation.”
Source: hiTech News Agancy
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