Apple Workers at Maryland Store Vote to Unionize

The Towson Town Center location is the first of Apple's US retail locations to form a union.

Apple workers in Maryland on Saturday became the company's first US retail employees to unionize.

More than 100 workers in Towson, who recently formed the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE), "overwhelmingly" voted to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), according to the union website(Opens in a new window).

"I applaud the courage displayed by CORE members at the Apple store in Towson for achieving this historic victory," IAM International president Robert Martinez Jr. said in a statement. "They made a huge sacrifice for thousands of Apple employees across the nation who had all eyes on this election.

CORE last month wrote to CEO Tim Cook(Opens in a new window), informing him of their move to unionize—"not to go against or create conflict with our management," but "because of a deep love of our role as workers within the company and out of care for the company itself."

Approaching its 20th anniversary, the store (located about eight miles north of Baltimore) cited "gaining access to rights that we do not currently have" as a driving force for unionization.

"I ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to respect the election results and fast-track a first contract for the dedicated IAM CORE Apple employees in Towson," Martinez Jr. said. "This victory shows the growing demand for unions at Apple stores and different industries across our nation."

Apple did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment. A spokesperson told Reuters(Opens in a new window), however, that the firm had "nothing to add at this time."

Last month, a leaked memo suggested Apple is coaching US retail store managers on how to talk employees out of incorporating; the Communications Workers of America (CWA) recently accused the company of intimidation and interference with an Atlanta-based store's effort to form a union.

Source