TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Apple store workers vote to form their first US union
Change Size
Front line: The newly renovated Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York City is pictured on Sept. 19, 2019. A majority of employees at an Apple store in the state of Maryland voted on Saturday to form a union, though the tech giant has so far tried to discourage unionization attempts. (AFP/Johannes Eisele)
A
majority of employees at an Apple outlet in the United States has voted to form a union, a first for the tech giant that has so far tried to discourage unionization attempts.
Of the 110 employees at the shop in Towson, Maryland, 65 voted in favor and 33 against, according to a live count broadcast on Saturday by the federal agency overseeing the vote.
The vote comes after a group of employees called AppleCORE (Coalition of Organized Retail Employees) campaigned for unionization, demanding a say in deciding on wages, hours and safety measures.
"We did it, Towson! We won our union vote! Thanks to all who worked so hard and all who supported! Now we celebrate. [...] Tomorrow we keep organizing," AppleCORE tweeted.
Saturday's result means that the shop's employees, who have been voting since Wednesday, should form their own branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union once the agency has certified the results.
IAM International president Robert Martinez Jr said he applauded the workers' "courage”.
"They made a huge sacrifice for thousands of Apple employees across the nation who had all eyes on this election. I ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to respect the election results and fast-track a first contract for the dedicated IAM CORE Apple employees in Towson," he said in a statement.
"This victory shows the growing demand for unions at Apple stores and different industries across our nation."
It was not the first time employees at an Apple store have tried to unionize, but it was the first attempt that resulted in a vote.
Apple's director of distribution and human resources, Deirdre O'Brien, visited the shop in May to address employees. "I want to start out by saying it's your right to join a union, but it's equally your right not to join a union," O'Brien said, according to audio published by Vice.
"If you’re faced with that decision, I want to encourage you to consult a wide range of people and sources to understand what it could be like to work at Apple under a collective bargaining agreement." She also said that the presence of an intermediary would complicate relations between Apple and its employees.
The Silicon Valley giant told AFP it was "declining to comment" on the news.
Unions, on the decline for decades, have won several symbolic victories in the US in recent months, with President Joe Biden voicing his support.
After a union was formed in December at two Starbucks coffee shops in the northern city of Buffalo, employees at more than 160 of the chain's locations have filed for similar votes.
At Amazon, employees at a New York warehouse surprised everyone in early April by voting overwhelmingly to form a union, a first for the American online retail colossus.
But the company has asked for the result to be canceled and a second vote to be held.
