Workers at the first Apple Store to unionize have also authorized a first strike against the tech giant’s retail operations. The employees at the Apple Store in Towson, Maryland, voted late Saturday to authorize a strike, as stated by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ Coalition of Organized Retail Employees, the union representing the workers.
No specific date was set for the strike
No specific date was set for the strike. The decision to authorize the strike came after what the union described as “over a year of negotiations with Apple management that yielded unsatisfactory outcomes.” The workers are advocating for changes in what they perceive as “unpredictable” scheduling practices and wages that are more in line with the local cost of living.
In response, Apple provided a statement through a spokesperson, stating,
“We deeply value our team members, and we’re proud to provide them with industry-leading compensation and exceptional benefits,” Apple said in a statement provided by a spokesperson. “As always, we will engage with the union representing our team in Towson respectfully and in good faith.”
Workers at the store in the Baltimore suburbs voted by a nearly 2-to-1 margin to unionize in June 2022, joining a growing push across U.S. retail, service, and tech industries to organize for greater workplace protections.