Apple Store in Maryland Makes History by Voting to Unionize

Apple Store employees in Maryland have made history by voting to officially unionize, becoming the first Apple retail location to do so in the U.S. after efforts by Apple to calm down unionization efforts.

applestoresantamonica
As reported by CNBC, employees at the ‌Apple Store‌ in Towson, Maryland voted 65 for and 33 against a call to join the Machinists Union. 110 employees were eligible to vote Wednesday through Saturday evening. The employees are hopeful the new move will encourage Apple to provide better pay and working condition, both of which the company has already pledged to do.

As noted by CNBC, the National Labor Relations Board still needs to verify the votes before Apple must begin negotiations with the union.

In a video shared in May, Apple's head of retail and people, Deirdre O'Brien, said that employees have a "right to join a union" but added that it's also employees right to "not join a union." "We have a relationship that is based on an open and collaborative and direct engagement, which I feel could fundamentally change if a store is represented by a union under a collective bargaining agreement," O'Brien added.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...
General Apple Invites Feature

Apple Launches New 'Invites' App

Tuesday February 4, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple today announced the launch of a new app called "Invites," which is designed to allow users to plan events like birthday parties, graduations, vacations, baby showers, and more. "With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together," said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple's senior director of...
App Store vs EU Feature 2

Apple Says It Doesn't Approve of EU Porn App

Monday February 3, 2025 1:15 pm PST by
Apple does not approve of the "Hot Tub" pornography app that was released for the iPhone in the EU using alternative app distribution, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. Further, Apple is concerned about the potential user safety risks with a pornography app, and says that it undermines consumer trust in the Apple ecosystem. We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore...
maxresdefault

An Apple TV Refresh is Coming in 2025 - Here's What You Should Know

Wednesday February 5, 2025 10:17 am PST by
Apple hasn't refreshed the Apple TV since 2022, but rumors suggest that we're finally going to get an update in 2025. We don't have a full picture of what to expect yet, but we have some hints on what's coming. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Updated A-Series Chip The current Apple TV 4K uses the A15 Bionic chip that was in the iPhone 13 lineup, and it's time for...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb

iPhone SE 4 Launching as Soon as Next Week

Thursday February 6, 2025 3:30 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone SE could debut as soon as next week with a launch to follow later in February, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple isn't expected to hold an event for the iPhone SE 4, and will instead unveil the device through a press release. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to have an iPhone 14-style design, with Apple eliminating the thick bezels and Touch ID Home button of...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive an All-New Perk

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:21 am PST by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. iCloud+ is the official name for Apple's paid iCloud storage plans, which range from 50GB for $0.99 per month to 12TB for $59.99 per month in the United States. iCloud+ plans already come with multiple perks for free, such as Hide My Email and HomeKit Secure Video, and now there is another one...
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Thursday February 6, 2025 7:31 am PST by
Apple is internally testing iOS 18.3.1 for iPhones, according to our website's analytics logs, which have been a consistently reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released within the next few weeks. iOS 18.3.1 should be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Apple Intelligence notification summaries for news and...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Raises Monthly AppleCare+ Subscription Price for All iPhones

Tuesday February 4, 2025 9:35 am PST by
Apple this week increased the prices for its monthly AppleCare+ subscription prices for the iPhone, raising the cost by 50 cents for all models in the United States. Standard AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 models is now priced at $10.49 per month, for example, up from the prior $9.99 per month price. The 50 cent price increase applies to all available AppleCare+ plans for Apple's current...

Top Rated Comments

ww2_1943 Avatar
35 months ago

Unionization makes little sense for retail employees. These are high turnover entry-level positions.
Grocery stores in my state are union. I used to work in them during college and a few years after. While there was high turnover, there were people who made it a career. I was part of a meat cutters union , even though I worked in deli and seafood. I didn't appreciate it at the time, but as a part time worker I was actually eligible for no cost health insurance. It was a pretty decent plan too. They still have the same no employee cost plan today.

In another store I watched the union get a co-workers job back. They fired him after he couldn't show up for work because his kid was in the hospital! Insane stuff. That store was a nightmare.
Score: 54 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bLackjackj Avatar
35 months ago

More Apple stores may follow this. I wouldn’t be surprised but this seems like a bad move. Since Apple can easily close down this store and move its location. Thus, not having to deal with a union.
Actually its fantastic move for all the staff and offers greater protections. Apple will not close down the store, as they would face multiple lawsuits and bad publicity. They are a Public company at the end of the day.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vipergts2207 Avatar
35 months ago

Unionization makes little sense for retail employees. These are high turnover entry-level positions.
Apparently the actual employees disagree with you.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
swingerofbirch Avatar
35 months ago
I don't know a lot about unions, but I know Apple has left them out there like canon fodder in the middle of a pandemic while their corporate employees are only just starting to go back in person.

I worked for Apple as a contractor where I was a de facto Apple employee but not technically one (so that Apple could avoid labor laws and paying their share of social security payroll tax). In our training we were told we were the face of Apple and that to the customer we *were* Apple (and to that point, we had to lie and say we worked in an Apple call center). We were not paid like we were Apple or the face of it.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fabian90 Avatar
35 months ago
Lots of people with Stockholm syndrome here.
Big corporations are not your friend nor care about you. Unions balance the power structure a bit between workers and corporations.
There are only few countries where the working conditions are as as bad in the USA. Almost no paid time off, almost no social security… have a look at Europe.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zilchfox Avatar
35 months ago

Shut it down.
Labor unions built America.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)