A look at the Apple Together solidarity movement that emerged from #AppleToo to provide support for Apple employees organizing in retail, AppleCare, and more
#AppleToo began in August 2021 as a disclosure campaign fronted by engineer Cher Scarlett, collecting stories of harassment, retaliation, and pay inequity inside Apple. By September the group had escalated to an open letter to Tim Cook demanding transparent compensation and reinvestigation of discrimination cases, and by October coverage was tracking broader dissent over return-to-office mandates and leaks.
The December collapse of Scarlett's settlement attempt — she resumed her NLRB complaint against Apple after calling the company's good faith into question — marked the moment the hashtag needed more durable structure. Apple Together is that structure: a solidarity organization extending support beyond corporate engineers to retail and AppleCare workers, where organizing had been thinnest.
First-order effects
Retail and AppleCare employees now have a named support network for organizing efforts, rather than relying on ad-hoc hashtag coordination that depended on individual figures like Scarlett.
Second-order effects
With Scarlett's NLRB case still live and a formal group backing frontline workers, Apple faces coordinated pressure across both corporate and hourly workforces — raising the cost of its case-by-case handling of complaints.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds, tech worker activism is shifting from episodic disclosure campaigns toward standing organizations with legal channels like the NLRB, making workplace disputes at large tech firms a persistent structural feature rather than a news cycle.
The trend: Tech employee activism is institutionalizing — moving from hashtag-driven storytelling to permanent solidarity organizations backed by formal labor-law complaints.
NEW: Apple Store workers in Maryland are attempting to form the company's first US union. While CEO Tim Cook made $98 million last year, workers face threats from customers and are barely scraping by. “There's a revolution coming and it's gonna be one retail store at a time.” htt…
Apple VP of retail Deirdre O'Brien made a surprise appearance today at the store in Maryland that recently filed for a union election. She told employees she was there to “listen.” 1/
In only a month, 12 people quit at my ex-stand: at least 4 geniuses and 2 admins... When will the Fruit start to ask themselves some serious questions?!? https://twitter.com/...
So last year a New York Times union busting consultant accidentally sent their playbook to CWA organizers and this year Apple's (ridiculous) anti-union talking points have leaked. Can companies please learn some basic discipline and at least make organizing a challenge? https://t…
Kudos to the employees with the courage to speak out. This is an impeccable example of why it's time to unionize at #Apple. Godspeed. https://twitter.com/...
AppleTogether is a solidarity union made up of workers from all parts of Apple: Retail, RCC (Retail Contact Center), AppleCare, and Corporate. All of us, whether already unionized or just starting to learn about the process, are actively organizing. #AppleTogether #AppleUnion
Every voice makes a difference. It doesn't matter who you are or where you are - you can make a difference in the lives of those around you. Speak up for what's right. Be there for those around you. Never stop advocating. #AppleTogether https://twitter.com/...
More than 1,400 Apple employees signed an open letter to the company asking to reconsider the office-return policy (3 days at the office) “Stop treating us like school kids who need to be told when to be where and what homework to do,” the letter reads https://www.wsj.com/...
“My access to top talent has gone through the roof. It takes me half the time to recruit great people when I tell them they can work anywhere.” I'm skeptical that a softening in demand will reset this. Remote is cheaper for employers than a raise. https://www.wsj.com/...
Here's the tea. The Apple Retail Employee Experience has been declining for years and complaints often fall on deaf ears. The prioritization of numbers and forcing sales is detrimental to the customer and employee experience.
Welcome to the “I moved during the pandemic and am now getting called back to the office” power struggle! Story from me plus a🧵https://www.wsj.com/ ...
Some of the economy's most in-demand employees are about to find out how much power they have over where and how they work. https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
At @Salesforce, we've started tagging job listings to a time zone instead of an office. I love this, and I can't think of a more 2022 “work anywhere” move. https://twitter.com/...
“She took the role at the startup, SwayPay, which makes an app for consumers to earn cash for posting TikTok videos featuring recent purchases. The new job didn't require a move or any commitment to come into the office.” https://www.wsj.com/...
Now that offices have reopened I'm definitely more of a hybrid than fully remote fan. I realized I've really missed having conversations with people in an unstructured way at lunch or just grabbing a few minutes. Scheduling meetings in Zoom isn't the same https://www.wsj.com/...
“Increasingly [union efforts at Apple Stores] found support from current and former employees at Apple's corporate offices, thanks in part to a solidarity union @AppleLaborers, which @cherthedev helped found and which emerged from the #AppleToo campaign.” https://www.wired.com/..…
Apple's corporate employees are supporting retail employees unionizing. @acoreunion at the Towson store just filed for election to join our union! Organizer Kevin Gallagher comments ... #acoreunion #Apple https://www.wired.com/...
“I tried to incorporate what I learned from Sunrise into how I helped organize @AppleLaborers, keeping in mind all of those solidarity ideals, the importance of storytelling in how you build a movement”- @JannekeParrish from Sunrise Texas https://www.wired.com/...
“The campaign is one of several unionization efforts taking place at Apple Stores across the country, both public and underground,” via @WIRED https://www.wired.com/... #1u
The Apple retail union efforts are getting an assist from employees across the company, through the solidarity group @AppleLaborers https://www.wired.com/...