Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s San Francisco store was closed after 50 service employees protested for not getting paid well enough, says a report from Business Insider. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) organizer Jacob Hay said that all of the employees who were protesting with the SEIU staged a a sit-in for approximately one hour.
Many Apple employees arrested
According to the SEIU, companies such as Apple enter into an agreement with firms that pay less than what is deserving to service employees like security guards. Also these firms employ on a part-time basis to keep from paying benefits. One of the protesters said that they “will not be intimidated,” while another one said that officers do not get any job protection. The security guard at the Apple store said that their job the next day is not guaranteed if they miss one day.
During the protest at the Apple Store, many of them held signboards reading, “Invisible No More.” One former security guard with Security Industry Specialists Inc (SIS), Kayla Gordon, said that she had few hours at SIS, which provides security personnel to many tech companies, and also very few benefits. Gordon said that employees are shouting “invisible” because they safeguard the retail stuff of the company, and it feels like people don’t even see them. She added that these companies make a lot of money but hardly involve them in sharing.
Hay was amazed to see that protesters were able to stage the sit–in in the Apple Store for an hour. In the process, many of them were arrested. According to Hay, these companies earn revenue in the billions, but leave security workers abandoned.
Rising wage discrimination
Recently, Working Partnership USA published a report named “Tech’s diversity Problem: More than Meets the Eye,” in which it underscores the neglect of the service workers that’s growing in Silicon Valley.
The report read that due to a lack of high-end tech jobs and lesser wages in contract service jobs, there are communities in Silicon Valley that are left behind. It also said that the gap between the wealthy class in the region and everyone else is increasing. SIS denied the allegations and blamed the SEIU for a “vicious corporate campaign.”
