More than 100 protestors — consisting of unionized security guards from San Francisco, fast-food workers and members of other unions — gathered at Apple’s 1 Infinite Loop headquarters yesterday to protest working conditions for service workers in Silicon Valley, where tech workers can strike it big, but other people struggle to get by.
The demonstrators brought with them a petition signed by 20,000 people, calling for Apple to lead a charge better working conditions not just at Apple, but in the Bay Area as a whole. They carried a sign reading, “Apple dodges taxes, we pay the price.”
At one point, the protestors entered an Apple building, although they were quickly ejected.
The protest was organized by United Service Workers West and Reverend Jesse Jackson, the latter of whom recently met with Tim Cook. “I am impressed with him and the conversation,” Jackson said following the interview. “He has a real vision for Apple and he sees the value in inclusiveness.”
Jackson asked protestors to repeat, “We marvel at the growth of high tech and biotech, but we are the foundation.”
This isn’t the first time Apple has been targeted for protests by workers. In September this year, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) staged protests at more than 20 different Apple Stores in the U.S., to try and persuade the company to provide full-time work benefits for for its security officers.
Prior to that, a demonstration involving around 50 people blocked customers from entering the main doors of Apple’s flagship San Francisco Union Square retail store, ending when the San Francisco Police Department removed around 12 protestors.
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
5 responses to “Occupy Cupertino: Worker’s rights protestors storm Apple HQ”
Protest all you want as long as it doesn’t delay the delivery on my new iPhone 6+ 128gb!
what does fast food employees have to do with Apple? as for the Security guards, i am sure there are 4 in line waiting for that job once the ones protesting are fired. Once again, nothing to do with Apple.
The liberal mantra, distribution of wealth at it’s finest. These people have little marketable skill, but because a company has big profits, they believe they are entitled to that profit. You want to earn a high salary, be more marketable.
Right, we should just wait for trickle down economics to work. Oh thats right, it doesn’t work, in fact it does the opposite. So please, take your conservative bullshit elsewhere. In fact, why not go hang out with Putin, you would have a lot in common.
Jessie Jackson is the ring leader.. mean while his son is in jail for stealing from the tax payer LOL