#AppleToo Leader Refuses to Withdraw Labor Board Complaint Against Woke Tech Giant

Lucas NolanDecember 10, 2021

The lead organizer of the #AppleToo movement has reportedly refused to withdraw her complaint to the National Labor Relations Board over how Apple executed the terms of a settlement that they agreed to.

Engadget reports that former Apple engineer Cher Scarlett, who left the firm in November, was one of the lead organizers behind the #AppleToo movement which protested various employee grievances against the woke tech giant. Scarlett filed a complaint against Apple with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging that the company suppressed workers’ organizing efforts and interfered with surveys relating to gender pay equity.

Tim Cook prays for good fortune (Stephanie Keith /Getty)

Since then, Scarlett and Apple reached a settlement, part of which included stipulations that Scarlett withdraw her complaint with the NLRB. Scarlett has since stated that she no longer plans to withdraw her complaint due to the way Apple chose to execute the terms of the settlement that it agreed to.

The settlement stated that Scarlett would receive a one-year severance package if she withdrew her complaint with the NLRB. Apple also agreed to publicly acknowledge that its workers had the right to talk about their salaries and workplace conditions. Scarlett told Forbes: “One of the requests I made was for there to be a very public, visible affirmation that employees are allowed to discuss their workplace conditions and compensation, both internally and externally.”

Apple has acknowledged that workers have the right to discuss pay, but the company only posted this information on its internal human resources page. The post was also made on November 19, the weekend before employees’ Thanksgiving vacation when many were not focused on work. The company removed the post by Monday after the holidays when workers were just beginning to return to the office.

Scarlett also added that Apple refused to make the 22 changes requested by the NLRB in the settlement document. One of the changes involved a part in the settlement which requested that Scarlett not “solicit, encourage or incite anyone to file any charge or complaint with any administrative agency or Court against Apple” for a year following the settlement. The NLRB requested that the words “encourage or incite” be removed from the paragraph.

Scarlett has only received less than half of the settlement that was promised and it seems unlikely that she will receive the rest after refusing to withdraw her NLRB complaint.

Apple has faced backlash over its treatment of employee rights activists in the past. Breitbart News reported that on October 18, 2021, Apple made a number of statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) including claims that the company does not attempt to silence former employees or whistleblowers in relation to the company’s working conditions.

Breitbart News reported in September 2021 that following a number of complaints from current and former employees who alleged that they were subject to harassment, sexism, and retaliation at the company, tech giant Apple is facing an investigation from the NLRB.

Breitbart News previously reported that a senior employee at Apple named Ashley Gjøvik alleged that she was placed on indefinite leave after tweeting allegations about a culture of sexism at the company. She alleged that she was given feedback for being “too hard on the white men” in a diversity training seminar, and also claimed that her managers engaged in “tone policing.”

Gjøvik has since filed a “Charge against Employer” complaint alleging 13 instances of alleged retaliation against her. These include workplace harassment, reassignment of her responsibilities to colleagues, and giving her undesirable tasks.

I also filed a Retaliation Complaint with the @CA_DIR Dept of Industrial Relations Labor Commissioner’s Office.

Q: “How did your employer (#Apple) know about the protected right you exercised?”

A: “I kept saying, ‘Stop it, you guys. There’s Labor laws about this.'” pic.twitter.com/qq8deyUOsX

— Ashley M. Gjøvik (@ashleygjovik) September 2, 2021

On September 1 a second complaint against Apple was filed by Scarlett, on behalf of both herself and fellow employees. Scarlett is a security engineer and face of the #AppleToo movement that consists of current and former employees that aims to make the company’s workplace culture publicly known.

75% of the stories we’ve received involved some form of discrimination, and nearly half involved reports of sexism, retaliation, and HR reports that were dismissed. 1/4 involved racism or ableism. More than a third involved harassment or assault, the majority of which was sexual.

— Apple Together (@AppleLaborers) August 30, 2021

The labor board investigates all complaints that it receives and only prosecutes those that it believes have merit, meaning that Apple is not yet facing another lawsuit. Apple released a statement on the situation saying:

We are and have always been deeply committed to creating and maintaining a positive and inclusive workplace. We take all concerns seriously and we thoroughly investigate whenever a concern is raised and, out of respect for the privacy of any individuals involved, we do not discuss specific employee matters.