The elitism of Apple–the head of which, Tim Cook, has already ripped into the supposed rednecks of Indiana for their desire to protect religious freedom–extends to its employment practices.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Apple is now drawing fire from unions and labor leaders for its policy prohibiting the employment of ex-felons in the construction of its campus in Cupertino.
Michael Theriault, president of Iron Workers Local Union 377, said, “The worry, of course, is that if Apple gets away with it, we will see it propagate to other projects, and a real possibility for rehabilitation becomes much more constricted.” The union has gone so far as to petition Cook directly, as well as to attempt to involve California Attorney General and senatorial candidate Kamala Harris. They may even sue Apple.
Apple is apparently unique in its restrictions against ex-felons in construction. Neither Google nor Facebook have such restrictions, according to Theriault.
The situation escalated on Monday when DPR, the contractor for Apple, actually fired several ex-felons and told them to leave the Apple Campus 2 construction site. One of those ex-felons saw his pay drop from $1,500 per week to $450 per week via unemployment. Theriault said any excuses about the possibility of security breaches were unacceptable: “Our folks put the wire in the reinforcing bar (of the building). It makes no sense to me.”
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