Tim Cook gets letter from Apple employees demanding changes
Apple workers voiced concerns over diversity and privacy issues at the workplace
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A group of Apple employees sent an open letter to CEO Tim Cook and the rest of the company's senior leadership team on Friday, presenting a litany of grievances along with demands for addressing the issues.
"Apple prides itself on its commitment to diversity, equity, and an environment where every person is able to do their best work; however, in practice, this is far from the case," the letter begins. "Our experiences with the People team in dealing with harassment and discrimination have left many of us more vulnerable."
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Tim Cook Apple Keynote (Photo courtesy of Apple)
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The letter was published on the website #AppleToo, which was formed by Apple employees just a few weeks ago for the purpose of collecting accounts of workplace discrimination and harassment at the tech behemoth. But the demands spelled out in the letter extended beyond those topics.
The workers began by protesting Apple's purported policy of encouraging employees to link their personal iClouds to work devices, calling it "an unacceptable violation" of their privacy. "Workers who require devices should have a dedicated number and be allowed a personal device unlinked from Apple’s corporate ecosystem, including not publishing personal phone numbers in Apple Directory," the petition argues, saying that "employees have been harassed on their personal phone numbers as a result of this policy."
The second demand calls for the company to "provide transparent livable, equitable, and fair compensation across all of Apple," in part by auditing "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." The workers further asked that Apple "provide a transparent feedback loop into how these issues will be addressed long-term within the scope of Inclusion & Diversity."
Another demand was for Apple to audit all its third-party relationships. The employees declared that "Apple contract workers often feel like second-class citizens, and are afforded fewer worker protections than full-time, salaried workers." As a remedy, the letter called for "more in-depth supplier responsibility reports, especially for agencies in administrative and corporate roles, and that Apple ensure all contract providers are paying above the living wage calculated for their geographic location, and providing benefits such as healthcare, paid leave, and other wellness benefits designed to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of all workers."
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It went on to call for "an unbiased third-party audit of Apple's reporting structure, People and Employee Relations teams, Business Conduct, and all executive leadership," along with asking for the company to "provide a process for group concerns to be heard with a transparent feedback loop."
Meanwhile, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is investigating two complaints made by Apple employees against the company recently for alleged harassment, stopping employee discussions about wages, and other charges.
Apple did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment on the letter, but in reaction to the investigation from the NLRB the firm told Reuters last month, "We take all concerns seriously and we thoroughly investigate whenever a concern is raised."