Apple punishes workers for expressing Palestinian identity, solidarity

Current and former employees launch Apples4Ceasfire campaign

Update: A collective of organizations protested outside of the Apple retail store’s Lincoln Park location on April 6.

The protesters aimed to disrupt Apple’s business because of “discriminatory firing” of black, brown and Palestinian workers, as well as its “active role” in the genocides in Palestine and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The action caused the Lincoln Park location to shut down operations for the rest of the day. Tech Workers for Palestine, Apples4Ceasefire, Friends of Congo and Party for Socialism and Liberation sponsored the protest.

Courtesy Tech Workers for Palestine Chicago

Madly Laaibah Espinoza, a Palestinian, says she was fired from Apple’s Lincoln Park, Chicago location for being outwardly Palestinian on March 6.

After the events of October 7, Espinoza wore her Keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian headdress, to work. She says she spoke with a team leader about wearing one prior to coming in, to ensure she is not going against Apple Store’s policies. She was assured she wasn't, but soon after, the harassment and surveillance began, according to her and corroborated by former co-workers. 

According to Espinoza, if her cultural scarf “didn't cover her Apple logo, or anything that would [imply] she’s not an Apple employee,” she was told she would not be in violation of the store’s uniform policy.  But a month into Israel’s most recent bombardment of Gaza, she says a manager at the Chicago location began to harass her for wearing Palestinian garments, like the Keffiyeh, “save Gaza'' and watermelon bracelets.

“After they told me to stop wearing [the Keffiyeh], I stopped wearing it. But then I went, ‘Hey, can I wear jewelry? Is that okay?’ And [the manager says], ‘Yes.’ But I guess she saw that we had strength in numbers; she saw that more than 40 people at a time were wearing these bracelets that said ‘save Gaza’ on them.”

Apple has told employees that wearing the Palestinian scarf is too “political” and creates a “harmful environment,” according to several of their current and former employees. The employees also said the tech giant claims Espinoza “broke business conduct,” but Espinoza, along with a press release from Apples4Ceasefire, says she was terminated without any written warnings.  She was put on “retaliatory” documented coaching for wearing the scarf, but Espinoza said Apple continually refused to present her with the policies she was violating. Going as far as to say those policies did not have to be in writing to be enforced.

Despite not being the only one to wear Palestinian presenting items, as of press, Espinoza says she is the only employee at the Lincoln Park location who was fired. 

According to employees, the show of solidarity from a large number of Espinoza’s coworkers caused one of the store leaders to call a team meeting on one of the busiest retail days of the year—“Black Friday,” to scold employees and inform them that wearing the bracelets could lead to “disciplinary action.” 

“A lot of people were upset because we had people wearing the Ukraine pin the Ukrainian flag, we had people wearing the Pan African flag, obviously, because when [Black Lives Matter] peaks, BLM was a movement before but when it peaked…[Apple’s CEO] Tim Cook himself wrote a whole email to every Apple employee addressing racism,” Espinoza said.

But an Apple manager in California who requested to stay anonymous for fear of retaliation, says the company and its CEO have taken the side of the oppressor this time. Since Israel’s increased aggression against Palestinians began last October, the company has taken down a Muslim Slack channel and Tim Cook sent out a biased email with the subject line “Israel” and he did not mention Palestine or its indigenous population, according to several former and current employees.

Instead, Apple employees in leadership roles across the United States have come down hard on other workers who show any amount of solidarity with Palestinians, according to the anonymous Apple manager.

“I was wearing my Kuffiyeh and I was told by my Market Leader and our Human Resources that I was not allowed to wear my cultural garment at all, and it was unsafe to wear it due to the political stance and climate that it addresses,” the anonymous Apple manager told Palestine in America. “And I was told that I could only wear it to and from work. Not allowed to wear it on breaks and lunches, after calling a case at work I have been able to work with a pro-Palestinian HR employee within Apple to help push our focus and resolve the work environment.”

But according to the California manager, his case is a rare example of empathy being shown towards Palestinians or people that support their cause.  He says there are too many examples of people being written up, threatened with termination, or even being fired, like Espinoza was.

Andres Guzman, an Operations Specialist at the Apple store in Lincoln Park, who also wore a keffiyeh and Palestinian jewelry, has not been fired, but said he has witnessed an increased amount of surveillance and scrutiny for being outspoken about Palestinian human rights. 

Which is why more than 200 current and former Apple employees signed an open letter requesting Tim Cook and executive leadership “end their silence on the violence happening in Gaza.” The campaign, Apples4Ceasefire, says it wants to create “mass global attention,” to Apple’s anti-Palestinian rhetoric and behavior, even before October 7th. 

“I'm very upfront with the language that people use, and I just confront them about it. I basically said that if Apple wants to talk about both sides, why is the word Palestine not in there? Why didn't our CEO Tim Cook say the word Palestine? Why can't I find Palestine? Why when I type in Palestine, I can't find it on Apple Maps?” Guzman said.

Guzman said he felt comfortable taking a stand because he had already been on Apple’s radar as a “troublemaker” for his attempts to organize a union at the retail tech giant. He said he has been pulled aside by Apple’s management 31 times since 2022, so speaking up for Palestine came naturally, and without fear of retribution.

Another current Apple employee, located in Seattle, who also requested to be anonymous, told Palestine in America he was forced to remove a Palestinian flag pin last year. He complied, but has worn his Kuffiyeh to work every day since. He has not been reprimanded for doing so. 

The current and former Apple employees that Palestine in America spoke with came to similar conclusions about the tech company: it is complicit in the occupation of Palestine and thats why they are outwardly pro-Israel. 

Apple has its second largest Research & Development center in occupied Palestine (Herzliya, Israel). The company has also invested millions of dollars into the Israeli-economy and  propped up Zionists by inviting the Anti-Defamation League to speak to its employees, according to the Apples4Ceasfire campaign. 

Palestine in America reached out to Apple for comment, but have not received a response.

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