Deal reached by Apple with Maryland Apple Store employees who are unionized

Apple workers celebrate tentative agreement. Credit: IAMAW
On August 6, 2024, 85 employees at the first unionized Apple Store located in Towson Maryland will vote to approve the first union-negotiated contract with Apple that will improve working conditions. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ Coalition of Organized Retail Employees’ (IAM CORE) negotiated a tentative agreement between Apple and the retail workers. The new agreement would last for three years and include better work-life balance, scheduling, and pay increases. The Towson Store workers had complained about both areas. Other improvements include rules for transparency, a termination clause, and limitations on contracted employees. The union stated in a press release that all current benefits were preserved and that there was an agreement to negotiate any future additions. David Sullivan, IAM Eastern Territory Vice President General, said: “We are extremely proud to have been the first union to fight for Apple employees.” “This historic moment has been made possible by the true partnership between IAM CORE, Apple workers and IAM.” Workers at the Towson, Maryland Apple Store voted in June 2022 to join the union. Apple, the 85 workers and the union began formal negotiations in May 2023. After a year’s worth of what the union called stalling tactic by the store management, workers voted in June 2024 to authorize a sanction for a strike against the company. Only a few Apple retail stores have unionized employees. In a secret video recorded during negotiations, the staff at Reston, Virginia’s Apple store documented Apple management’s stalling tactics. The US National Labor Relations Board ruled twice that Apple had broken the law in regards to labor relations. Apple was found guilty by the NLRB of denying unionized shops the same benefits as non-unionized shops, and of illegally interrogating union staff in its World Trade Center Store in New York City.