Welcome to the Tech Meme Right Home for Thursday, May 26, 2022. I'm Brian McCullough today.

Apple is attempting to fend off a unionization movement by paying people more.

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You can now pay close to $1,000 for a Gucci aura ring.

After a decade of decline, EV battery prices are going up and the last payphone in

New York City is no more. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech.

Apple pay is going up.

See what I did there. I don't know how much we've talked about this,

but the movement to unionize tech workers

has spread to Apple, at least to their retail employees.

And I guess to get ahead of that, Apple says it will raise the hourly pay for U.S. workers to $22, up 45% from 2018 amid inflation and the unionization push.

US starting salaries are also expected to rise, quoting the Wall Street Journal.

In recent months, Apple has been facing unusual labor unrest.

That discontent has spanned from frontline store retail workers agitating for unionization

to salaried engineers unhappy with the company's plans to return to the office.

Some workers, including those hourly workers in its stores and Applecare, were told their annual reviews would be moved up three months and that their pay increases would take effect in early July,

according to a memo reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. The normal review process coincides

with the end of Apple's fiscal year in the fall. Those workers were told the company's

increased compensation budget would be in addition to pay increase. the helping matters on the PR front is the video that Vice got a hold of that shows

Apple SVP of retail and people, Deirdre O'Brien telling employees that

joining a union would make it harder for Apple to improve working

conditions quoting motherboard slash vice we have a relationship that's based on an

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