Apple workers at Maryland store vote to unify, for the first time for the US According to Reuters
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen in this illustration taken March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
(Reuters) – Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) workers in Maryland on Saturday voted to join the union, becoming the first retail employees of the unifying tech giant in the United States.
More than 100 workers in Towson near Baltimore “voted overwhelmingly to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers,” the union said on its website.
The local workers, who formed the Organized Retail Employees Coalition, “have the support of the majority of our colleagues,” they wrote in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
“This is something that we do not go against or create conflict with with our management,” they wrote.
An Apple spokesperson, responding to Reuters’ request for comment, said by email that the company “has nothing to add at this time.”
Consolidation efforts are gaining momentum at several major US corporations, including Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:) and Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:).
Apple workers in Atlanta, who were seeking to unite, withdrew their demands last month, claiming intimidation.
Some current and former Apple workers last year began criticizing the company’s working conditions online, using the hashtag #AppleToo.
