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Janneke Parrish

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Janneke Parrish
Parrish in 2021
Born1991 or 1992 (age 32–33)
[1]
Pennsylvania
Alma mater
OccupationProgram manager
Known forWorkers' rights advocacy
Notable work#AppleToo movement
Websitejannekeparrish.com

Janneke Parrish (born 1990 or 1991) is an American program manager and workers' rights activist living in the Netherlands known for being a leader of the #AppleToo movement. Parrish was fired in 2021 for interfering with an investigation into a leak; in 2024, the National Labor Relations Board charged Apple with illegally firing Parrish for her advocacy.

Personal life and education

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Parrish was born in Pennsylvania to an American father and Dutch mother, a nurse practitioner,[2] who immigrated to the United States.[3] Parrish lives in Sassenheim, in the Netherlands, to attend law school at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.[4][5]

Parrish attended Rosewood High School[6] and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.[7] She then went on to attend North Carolina State University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and religious studies with a minor in Middle East studies. She also holds a Master of Science in Human Rights and International Politics from the University of Glasgow.[8][9][1]

Parrish became an advocate for abortion rights after having an abortion at 19 in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 2022, a chain of tweets she wrote about her experiences with a miscarriage while on contraceptives in Texas went viral.[2][4]

Career at Apple and organizing

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See also: AppleToo and Apple and unions

Parrish worked in Austin, Texas[10] on the Apple Maps team for five years, first as a data analyst in 2015,[1] and then as a program manager.[11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Parrish participated in distributing multiple open letters asking Apple leadership to address various issues: remote work beyond the pandemic, allegations in the #AppleToo movement, and Apple's stance on restrictive abortion laws, namely the Texas Heartbeat Act.[12][13][14] The #AppleToo movement gathered and shared stories of alleged discrimination, racism, sexism, and sexual misconduct at the company.[15][16][17] Parrish helped Cher Scarlett organize the movement and together they published some of the stories on Medium, which gained national attention.[18][13][11][17] Parrish performed analysis of the stories to create statistics that could track what the stories were about.[19] She said that 40% of the stories described unequal treatment of people based on their gender.[20] Some corporate workers involved in the organizing of #AppleToo, including Parrish, founded Apple Together, a solidarity union within Apple.[21]

Suspension and firing

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At an all-hands meeting in September 2021, Parrish and other #AppleToo organizers asked leadership to address questions about pay equity, remote work, vaccination rules, and options for employees in states with restrictive abortion laws. A recording from a company-wide meeting was leaked to the press on September 17, 2021 containing details about the answers to the activists' questions.[22][23][18]

Parrish was placed under investigation for the leak and suspended.[24] She was questioned over video conference, and shortly afterward, she said a courier arrived at her home to collect her company-owned devices.[25] Prior to turning them over to the courier, Parrish deleted apps from the phone such as Pokémon Go, Robinhood, and Google Drive, which she said she was embarrassed about. She also deleted screenshots off of the computer she said were of innocuous things like programming bugs she was working on.[11][10] She told The Verge in an interview that Apple encourages employees to use their work phones as their personal phones.[12] Other employees, including program manager Ashley Gjøvik, also said this.[26] Her personal phone was not confiscated.[25] Parrish continued to post the digests after she was placed under investigation by Apple.[27] Parrish was fired on October 14, 2021. Apple said she was terminated for "interfering with an investigation by deleting files on your company provided equipment after being specifically instructed not to do so."[10][24] Parrish filed an unfair labor practice charge against Apple in November 2021, alleging that her firing was in response to her organizing.[28][25] The charge alleged that the investigation and subsequent suspension and termination were "based upon false and pretextual reasons." Parrish said she did not leak any information.[29]

On October 10, 2024, the NLRB charged Apple with illegally firing Parrish for advocating for workplace changes and for restricting its employees' use of social media and Slack in violation of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935.[30][31] The prosecutor also charged Apple with constructive dismissal of Scarlett, and for unlawfully surveilling organizing workers, suppressing discussions of pay equity, and enforcing other unlawful rules.[32][33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Woodruff, Emily (January 13, 2017). "Egg Donors May Face Uncertain Long-Term Risks". Scientific American. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Boodman, Eric. "In a doctor's suspicion after a miscarriage, a glimpse of expanding medical mistrust". STAT. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "About Me". Janneke Parrish. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Tsapovsky, Flora. "A Firing, a Miscarriage and a Flight From America". The Information. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  5. ^ "Law students write open letter about Gaza". Ad Valvas. December 18, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  6. ^ "Goldsboro News-Argus | News: Rosewood survives the Battle of the Books". savannah.newsargus.com. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  7. ^ "NC School of Science and Mathematics Enrollment". The Wilson Times. October 10, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  8. ^ "Meet Janneke — Janneke for Round Rock". Janneke for Round Rock. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  9. ^ Macias, Rebeccah. "Janneke Parrish challenges Matthew Baker for Place 3 seat on Round Rock council". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Browning, Kellen (October 15, 2021). "Leader of Apple activism movement says she was fired". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c Anguiano, Dani (October 15, 2021). "Apple fires employee Janneke Parrish, leader of #AppleToo movement". The Guardian. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Schiffer, Zoe (October 16, 2021). "A brief chat with the fired #AppleToo organizer". The Verge. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Ghaffary, Shirin (September 24, 2021). "The real stakes of Apple's battle over remote work". Vox. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  14. ^ Harrington, Caitlin. "Why Big Tech Companies Have Been Quiet on Texas' Abortion Law". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  15. ^ Anguiano, Dani (September 3, 2021). "#AppleToo: employees organize and allege harassment and discrimination". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  16. ^ Nicas, Jack; Browning, Kellen (September 17, 2021). "Tim Cook Faces Surprising Employee Unrest at Apple". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Albergotti, Reed (November 10, 2021). "She pulled herself from addiction by learning to code. Now she's leading a worker uprising at Apple". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Mak, Aaron (November 23, 2021). "In the Summer, Three Workplace Activists Were Making Waves at Apple. All Three Are Now Gone". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  19. ^ Herrera, Sonya (October 20, 2021). "#AppleToo organizer didn't expect to be fired, but isn't sorry about speaking out". San Antonio Business Journal. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  20. ^ Alaimo, Kara (March 5, 2024). Over the Influence: Why Social Media is Toxic for Women and Girls - And How We Can Take it Back. Crooked Lane Books. ISBN 978-1-63910-669-1.
  21. ^ Harrington, Caitlin. "Apple's Corporate Workers Help the Mounting Union Effort". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  22. ^ Jenkins, Cameron (October 16, 2021). "Apple employee says she was fired for speaking out about workplace conditions". The Hill. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  23. ^ Nicas, Jack; Browning, Kellen (September 17, 2021). "Tim Cook Faces Surprising Employee Unrest at Apple". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  24. ^ a b Allyn, Bobby (October 15, 2021). "Apple fires #AppleToo leader as part of leak probe. She says it's retaliation". NPR. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  25. ^ a b c Albergotti, Reed (November 3, 2021). "Employee fired by Apple files NLRB charge alleging retaliation by iPhone maker". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  26. ^ Schiffer, Zoe (August 30, 2021). "Apple cares about privacy, unless you work at Apple". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  27. ^ Love, Julia (October 15, 2021). "Apple worker says she was fired after leading movement against harassment". Reuters. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  28. ^ Duffy, Clare (November 3, 2021). "Former Apple employee who claims she was fired for #AppleToo organizing files NLRB complaint". CNN. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022.
  29. ^ Hamilton, Isobel Asher. "Another fired Apple employee has filed a complaint to the NLRB, saying the company retaliated after she tried to highlight problems of discrimination and harassment, reports say". Business Insider. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  30. ^ Shapero, Julia (October 14, 2024). "National labor board alleges Apple restricting workers' Slack, social media use". The Hill. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  31. ^ Wiessner, Daniel (October 11, 2024). "US labor board accuses Apple of restricting workers' Slack, social media use". Reuters.
  32. ^ Wiessner, Daniel (November 1, 2024). "Apple accused by NLRB of deterring employees from discussing pay equity". Reuters.
  33. ^ Dalloo, Rachel (October 10, 2024). "Apple is being accused of 'illegally' violating workers rights by the U.S. labor board". Quartz Magazine.
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