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Protesters blocked customers from entering Apple's flagship San Francisco store (updated)

Image Credit: Business Insider

Correction Sept. 1: Protestors did not shut down the store, as an earlier version of this story said.

A group of about 50 protesters representing service employees who they allege are underpaid, blocked people from entering the main doors of the flagship Apple Store in San Francisco’s Union Square Thursday.

Protesters with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) staged a sit-in for nearly an hour, according to SEIU organizer Jacob Hay.

The SEIU alleges that companies like Apple contract with firms that underpay service employees like security guards.


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Hay told Business Insider that these firms also hire employees for part-time jobs to avoid paying them benefits.

“We will not be intimidated,” said one protester.

“Officers have no job protection,” said another protester who claimed to be an Apple security guard. “If they miss a day of work, they don’t know if they’ll have the job the next day.”

Hay said he was surprised protesters were able to sit inside the Apple Store for nearly and hour.

Here are protesters inside the store:

Some protesters were arrested during the sit-in:

Despite the arrests, protesters successfully shut down the Apple store indefinitely, leaving retail employees standing awkwardly inside with nothing to do.

Apple Store Protest San Francisco

Paul Szoldra contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared on Business Insider. Copyright 2014