President Biden Praises Apple Employees in Maryland for Unionizing

U.S. President Joe Biden this morning said that he was "proud" of Apple employees in Maryland who voted to unionize over the weekend, reports Reuters. Though other Apple retail locations have been discussing unionization, the Maryland employees are the first Apple retail workers to unionize in the United States.

towson maryland apple store
"Workers have a right to determine under what condition they are going to work or not work," Biden told reporters. He went on to say that "everyone is better off, including the final product is better off," in reference to the unionization.

Over 100 employees at the Apple Store in Towson, Maryland participated in a unionization vote, which took place from last Wednesday to last Saturday. 65 employees voted to join the Machinists Union, while 33 voted against joining. The National Labor Relations Board will need to verify the votes, a process that might take around a week, and then Apple will begin negotiations with the union.

The Maryland ‌Apple Store‌ employees are aiming for improved pay and working conditions. "The decision to form a union is about us as workers gaining access to rights that we do not currently have," Towson organizers said in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Apple has opposed unionization efforts, but the Maryland store's unionization vote could encourage other stores that have been discussing unionization to proceed. Back in May, Apple's head of retail Deirdre O'Brien aimed to thwart employee unionization efforts through a video that was sent out to retail stores.

O'Brien said that a union would make it more difficult for Apple to implement "immediate, widespread changes," and it could "make it harder for [Apple] to act swiftly to address things" that employees bring up.

Amid the unionization efforts, Apple said that it would improve working conditions for retail employees. Apple plans to make sure that there are at least 12 hours between each shift an employee must take on, up from the current 10 hour minimum. Employees will not have to work past 8:00 p.m. for more than three days a week unless they choose to work late shifts, and they will no longer be scheduled to work more than five days in a row except during holidays and major product launches.

Apple in February also bumped up the number of available paid sick days, began offering more vacation days, and upped parental leave time. Apple retail locations in Washington State, New York, and Atlanta have also taken steps toward unionization, with employees asking for higher pay, better retirement options, and more vacation time.

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

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

'New' iPhone SE Product Listing Appears on French Website

Wednesday February 12, 2025 6:49 am PST by
As the wait continues for Apple's long-rumored, fourth-generation iPhone SE, French electronics retailer Boulanger has prematurely published a product listing for a "new" model of the iPhone SE. The placeholder page says the device is "coming soon," but it offers no further information, and the price shown is obviously not real. The listing was spotted by a reader of the French technology...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
M4 Mac mini Apple Video

Apple's Refurbished Mac Mini Pricing Has a Problem

Thursday February 13, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple this week began selling refurbished Mac mini models with the M4 chip for the first time, but this has led to a pricing conundrum. In the United States, Apple is offering a refurbished Mac mini with the base M4 chip, 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and Gigabit Ethernet for $509, down from $599 new. This is the standard 15% discount that Apple offers on refurbished Macs. The issue is...
M4 mini Glowing Blue

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished M4 Macs

Wednesday February 12, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today added MacBook Pro and Mac mini models with M4 series chips to its certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland for the first time since the computers were introduced in October 2024. Some refurbished MacBook Pro models with M4 chips are also available in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and select other European countries. ...
iPhone 16 Apple Store

iPhone 17 in New Sizes This Year: What to Know

Thursday February 13, 2025 2:45 am PST by
Last year, Apple tweaked iPhone 16 Pro screen sizes to make them bigger than 2023's iPhone 15 Pro models, and this year we are also expecting a change in the size of the displays in the iPhone 17 lineup. Here's what we know. Standard iPhone 17 Apple could introduce a new display size for the standard iPhone 17 model in 2025. The iPhone 17 could measure in at 6.3 inches, up from 6.1 inches,...
Apple Ad on X

Apple Resumes Advertising on X

Wednesday February 12, 2025 2:18 pm PST by
Apple this month started advertising on X for the first time in more than a year. The company had stopped advertising on the social media platform in November 2023 following controversial remarks made by its owner Elon Musk. For example, the @Apple account is running an ad promoting Safari's privacy features. The ad was spotted by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The @AppleTV account has a...

Top Rated Comments

Realityck Avatar
35 months ago

"Workers have a right to determine under what condition they are going to work or not work," Biden told reporters. He went on to say that "everyone is better off, including the final product is better off," in reference to the unionization.
I wish Biden would worry less about political grabs of attention and worry about inflation and price of goods.
Score: 85 Votes (Like | Disagree)
levitynyc Avatar
35 months ago
More money for workers and less money for trillion-dollar companies is always a good thing.
Score: 81 Votes (Like | Disagree)
larrylaffer Avatar
35 months ago
BRB, getting my popcorn ready for the upcoming comment flamewars
Score: 71 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
35 months ago
If the employees felt the need to unionize, I'm sure they had good reasons to. They voted on a 2-1 margin. It's hard to get 66% of people to agree on anything.
Score: 71 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sudo-sandwich Avatar
35 months ago
Unions own Biden. There's a reason he praises GM instead of Tesla for selling EVs.
Score: 64 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pastrychef Avatar
35 months ago
Why wouldn't he praise them? He wants their votes.
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)