Apple employees write an open letter to CEO Tim Cook complaining about how they are being treated by the company
Apple CEO Tim Cook
Apple employees are hoping that by sharing their stories, it will bring more attention to their plight. In the open letter, it says, “Hundreds of us have documented our stories of abuse, discrimination, and harassment. Hundreds of us have documented reporting our stories through internal channels, and receiving no relief. In sharing our stories, we are calling attention to our experiences working at Apple, and how much better we can do.”
The letter asks for “Increased separation between Apple-owned and worker-owned digital and physical property in all Apple policies.” In order to keep workers’ personal data private, the letter suggests that Apple provide employees with an iCloud account using corporate email accounts. This will keep personal data private for employees wanting to opt-out of iCloud @ Apple and anything outside of the Apple work folder would remain off-limits to Apple.
“Workers who require devices should have a dedicated number and be allowed a personal device unlinked from Apple’s corporate ecosystem,” according to the missive. This would include Apple refraining from publishing personal phone numbers in the Apple Directory. “Employees have been harassed on their personal phone numbers as a result of this policy,” the open letter notes.
Apple employees want to be able to report problems to management without fear of retribution
Additionally, the workers request that Apple “Audit all promotions and performance reviews for gender, racial, disability, and heteronormative biases that may lead to wage gaps and a lack of opportunity and compensation within the company in each part of it.” Speaking of audits, the letter recommends that all third-party relationships be audited including vendors and staffing agencies.
Employees want to be able to report issues to management without fear of retribution. The letter says that Apple “workers should feel psychologically safe to report issues, request accommodation, and get information in a way that upholds employment law, respects privacy, and protects them from suppression of rights, retaliation and discrimination.”
At the end of the letter, it asks, “Will you sign the letter and stand together with us?” You can choose to respond Yes or No. Even if you have never worked for Apple a day in your life, you can still respond in the affirmative and sign the letter.
