- Workers at an Apple store in Towson, Maryland, have authorized a strike.
- Concerns include work-life balance, unpredictable schedules and salaries below the cost of living.
- This Apple Store was the first to unionize in the United States in June 2022.
Workers at an Apple store in Towson, Maryland – the first US store to unionize – have authorized a strike.
Employees voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of authorizing a strike, their retail union said in a statement Saturday.
The issues “include concerns about work-life balance, unpredictable scheduling practices disrupting personal lives, and salaries that do not match the cost of living in the area,” the statement said.
Workers voted to unionize in June 2022 and have been negotiating with Apple management since January 2023. Their previous proposals for Apple included more leave and the introduction of a tipping system. Saturday’s statement did not include information on the details the union is currently negotiating with Apple.
No date has been set for the strike, the union said.
Employees at the Towson store organized into the Organized Retail Employees Coalition in 2022 when they voted to be represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
About 100 employees at Apple’s Towson stores are members of the union, which also represents 600,000 workers at companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and United Airlines.
Apple did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment sent outside of normal business hours.
In a statement to The Associated Press, the tech giant said: “We deeply value our team members and are proud to offer them industry-leading compensation and exceptional benefits. »
The tech company faces labor issues at the Maryland store and elsewhere.
Last year, the National Labor Relations Board filed a lawsuit on behalf of Towson workers, alleging that Apple denied benefits to workers at the store.
Apple’s Towson store is one of two stores in the United States to successfully unionize. An Oklahoma City store joined the Communications Workers of America union in October 2022. An Apple store in New Jersey voted against unionization on Saturday.
Last week, the National Labor Review Board found that Apple illegally questioned workers about pro-union activities at a New York City facility. In December 2022, the NLRB said Apple violated labor laws at its Atlanta facility, where it interrogated workers and forced them to attend anti-union meetings, according to the NLRB.
Staff at other U.S. retail giants at various stores have also unionized in recent years, including Starbucks and Amazon. Employees of both companies have already gone on strike to protest unfair working conditions.
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