21 June, 2022Over 100 employees at one of Apple’s stores in Maryland, USA, have voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining a union, IndustriALL affiliate International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
With the assistance of IAM, the Apple employees have formed a union, the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE). The store in Towson, Maryland, will be the first unionized Apple store in the country.
“To be clear, the decision to form a union is about us as workers gaining access to rights that we do not currently have,” Towson organizers wrote in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
The workers want Apple to follow the neutrality requirement from its Supplier Code of Conduct under the section “Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining”, so that they can enjoy their rights to information and collective bargaining.
IAM president Robert Martinez says:
“I applaud the courage displayed by Core members at the Apple store in Towson for achieving this historic victory. They made a huge sacrifice for thousands of Apple employees across the nation who had all eyes on this election. This victory shows the growing demand for unions at Apple stores and different industries across our nation.”
Christine Olivier, IndustriALL assistant general sectary, says:
“We extend our wholehearted congratulations on this important victory. It is a crucial step in achieving decent working conditions and respect for the workers creating the wealth of this major tech company. We hope workers of other Apple stores in the US will follow this path."