While it's forbidden for Apple to snoop into its iPhone users' phones, there is no definite proof that Apple cannot do that, if it must.
This is why Apple Store employees in the U.S. have used Android phones to eliminate any possibility that their employers could catch them as they try to unionize.
Mobile operating system Android is Google's competitor to Apple's iOS.
To avoid detection, employees who wish to unionize have also held meetings and communicate using third-party apps downloaded from the App Store, like encrypted messaging apps Signal or Telegram.
The employees are coming together because they are seeing raises in salary that are not enough in some cases.
It's worth noting that Apple employs more than 65,000 retail workers in the U.S.
With the company's 270 stores across the U.S. Apple made 36% of its total $365.82 billion net sales in fiscal 2021 through its retail stores and website, according to a regulatory filing.
Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, earned 1,447 times that of the average employee at the tech giant, fueled by stock awards that helped him earn a total of nearly $100 million.
As a company with a market capitalization that is worth at least $3 trillion, employees start to think that their employer aren't fair to them.
If a corporation prospers, its employees have a right to prosper as well, yet Apple does not appear to follow this rule.
Retail employees surveyed by The Washington Post think they haven’t received the benefits of the company’s success.
Because hourly wages have remained stagnant while Apple’s profit margins soar, the unionization wants to change that.
The employees hope that they push the world’s most valuable company to share more of its record-setting profits with them, who are the ones who do the labors. These people are the ones who sell, repair and troubleshoot the products Apple sells. And these people are demanding their rights.
Apple's phones are supposed to be more secure, and more privacy-focused than Android. But here, its own employees resort to using Android because they don't trust Apple.
Employees said that the salary they received had not kept up with inflation.
Apple retail workers said that they are encouraged to unionize after seeing successful attempts by Starbucks employees.
And not just that, as reports stated that unionization efforts have gained momentum at other U.S corporations as well, including on Amazon.
While employees gathering together in a protest can sometimes be heard, in some cases, unionization may not be beneficial at all.
In the past, unions have hurt employees, as employers start taking away employees' benefits.