A protest involving around 50 people blocked customers from entering the main doors of Apple’s flagship San Francisco Union Square retail store yesterday.
The protest was related to service employees claiming to be underpaid. Organized by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), they staged a sit-in for nearly an hour. While the Apple Store remained opened during this time, customers had to enter through a side door.
One of the protestors, describing himself as an Apple security guard, decried the firm for its lack of job protection. “If [security officers] miss a day of work, they don’t know if they’ll have the job the next day,” he told Business Insider.
The protest ended when cops from the San Francisco Police Department turned up and took away around 12 protestors, who did not resist the arrest, on the basis that they had failed to follow police orders telling them to disband.
Tweets showing the progression of events were posted to social media by journalist Julia Carrie Wong.
A sit-in is underway at the San Francisco Apple Store protesting the working conditions of security officers pic.twitter.com/SdBpX2AcLt
— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) August 28, 2014
Zip-ties placed on protesters, who are not resisting. #techcandobetter pic.twitter.com/WQyvzAn2aq — Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) August 28, 2014
I believe 12 protesters were taken away by SFPD for failing to follow police order. #techcandobetter pic.twitter.com/OVmwcYsFYf — Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) August 28, 2014
This isn’t the first time the men and women who ensure Apple employee safety have demanded better pay and job security from Apple. Earlier this year, Apple’s security guards protested at a shareholder’s meeting, while Cupertino history shows a long line of relatedrallies and protests.
Given Tim Cook’s work in favor of human rights, it will be interesting to see if Apple issues any kind of formal statement, or takes action to resolve this ongoing conflict.
Source: Business Insider