Towson Apple store workers will vote Saturday on strike authorization
Towson Apple store workers, who became the first of the tech giant’s U.S. employees to unionize nearly two years ago, will decide Saturday whether to prepare to go on strike.
The union representing about 100 of the store’s workers said it scheduled a strike sanction vote after negotiations with management failed to resolve concerns over wages, scheduling and other issues. A sanction vote authorizes strike pay in the event workers later vote to strike.
Workers at the Towson Town Center store have been negotiating with Apple for more than a year through the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
“Despite persistent efforts to engage in constructive and meaningful dialogue, Apple has unfortunately not addressed our core concerns,” such as work-life balance, unpredictable scheduling practices and wages below the area’s cost of living, said Jay Wadleigh, directing business representative for the union’s District 4, in an announcement.
An Apple spokesperson did not respond immediately to a request for comment Friday.
Workers want Apple to recognize “the need for an equitable and respectful work environment for all its employees,” Wadleigh said.
Employees at the Towson Apple store voted 65-33 in June 2022 to join the Washington-based IAM through a newly formed Coalition of Organized Retail Employees. Workers have been negotiating with Apple management since January 2023.
In February, IAM CORE said an independent survey of Apple employees found discrepancies with a “Workers Rights Assessment” that the tech giant had commissioned to address shareholder concerns and employee activism. The union’s survey found a pattern of alleged illegal behavior by Apple such as unlawful terminations and punishment directed at workers looking to organize and join a union.
The union is expected to resume contract negotiations with Apple on May 21.
About 200 workers at Apple stores in France went on strike over wages last September, according to media reports, timing the action to coincide with the release of Apple’s iPhone 15.