"One of the biggest things that we're fighting for is going to be for fair pay and a livable wage, because with Atlanta being such a huge city, it's just getting more and more expensive to live here," Daniels told Engadget. "Everybody deserves the opportunity to be able to not worry about whether they can afford food or pay their bills. Everybody deserves to be able to afford to live in the city that they work in."
Daniels, a product zone specialist, was clear however, that her and her coworkers' desire for better pay isn't borne out of grievance. By all indications a sincere devotee of Apple's products, she specified that "we want to do this because we love this company, not because we want to turn our back on them."
Similarly to the Google Fiber retail workers who recently unionized in Kansas City, Missouri, Apple has been completely silent on the issues, according to Daniels. "We haven't heard anything from Apple corporate at all." Consequently, the workers and CWA opted to file for both voluntary recognition and a union election simultaneously. Apple's silence seems to indicate the company intends to let things go to a vote, though we've reached out to them for confirmation.
"We love Apple no matter what," Daniels stressed, "I think it's all just making sure that we all can put our heads together and really make Cumberland the best place that it can be for all of us — both for us that are here now, as well as people that are that are here in the future."
