Apple Store employees in the United States are voting for a union

Employees of the Apple Store in Maryland in the United States voted to join a union, marking a landmark victory for organized labor.

Sixty-five of the 110 workers at the store in Towson, Maryland, voted in favor of the proposal, while 33 voted against. Approximately a dozen workers abstained.

Voting began on Wednesday and lasted until Saturday night.

The vote took place after a group of workers runs a syndication campaign called AppleCORE (Coalition of Organized Retail Employees of Apple).

After announcing the result, the group tweeted: “We did it, Towson! We won our union vote! Thanks to everyone who worked so hard and to everyone who supported! Now we celebrate… Tomorrow we continue to organize.

We did it, Towson! We won the union vote! Thanks to everyone who worked so hard and to everyone who supported! Now we celebrate with @machinistsunion. Tomorrow we continue to organize.

#unionizeapple # 1u

– acoreunion (@acoreunion) June 19, 2022

Robert Martinez, president of the International Association of Drivers and Aerospace Workers (IAM), said: “I applaud the courage shown by Core members at the Apple store in Towson to achieve this historic victory.

The votes still need to be certified by the National Labor Relations Council (NLRB), which can take about a week or more.

NLRB said that once the results of the survey are officially confirmed, Apple will be forced to negotiate with the union on working conditions.

AppleCORE will become a member of IAM, an industrial union of more than 300,000 workers.

It wasn’t the first time Apple store workers had tried to form a union, but it was the first time their efforts had culminated in a vote.

Apple stores in Atlanta and New York have also begun the process of uniting their employees.

Last month, IAM and Apple officials informed Apple CEO Tim Cook of their intention to form an alliance in a letter listing “access to rights we don’t currently have” and demanding that the company commit to not using your resources. to take part in an anti-union campaign. “

AppleCORE has said it does not want to oppose or confront the company‘management of.

Apple workers involved in the Towson Mall union campaign said they wanted more feedback on issues such as coronavirus safety, working hours and pay, work-life balance and benefits that are in line with the mandate.

Trade unions are legally protected in the United States, despite the fact that their prevalence is lower than in many European countries.

Apple has reportedly hired a law firm that specializes in labor law and has prepared a list of “talk points” for its management teams to discourage workers from joining a union.

Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s head of retail and human resources, visited the facility in May to address staff. After the unionization campaigns went public, a recorded message from O’Brien was sent to employees, discouraging retail workers from joining unions, arguing that this would make it harder for Apple to respond to employee complaints.

“I want to start by saying that‘It is your right to join a union, but it is‘It is also your right not to join a union. “‘That’s what Brian said, according to audio published by Deputy.

The union at the Towson store is the latest in a series of high-profile union initiatives taking place in the country.

Following the formation of a union in December at two Starbucks cafes in Buffalo, New York, workers in more than 160 of the chain’s locations have applied for similar ballots in an attempt to join the union.

In April, the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) was declared the winner of the NLRB election held in Staten Island, New York, in one of the most significant labor victories in modern US labor history.

The election results marked the first time a majority of Amazon employees voted to join a union.