Apple Workers At Maryland Store Vote To Unionize

Apple Inc. employees in Maryland voted on Saturday (Sunday, June 19, 2022, in Manila) to join a union, becoming the tech giant's first retail employees to unionize in the United States, Reuters reported.

Photo Insert: This is the first union of retail employees of the tech giant.

According to the union's website, more than 100 workers in Towson, near Baltimore, "overwhelmingly voted to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers."

In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the local workers, known as the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees, stated that they "have the support of a solid majority of our coworkers."

"This is something we do not to go against or create conflict with our management," they wrote. In an email response to Reuters' request for comment, an Apple spokesperson stated that the company had "nothing to add at this time."

Unionization efforts are gaining traction at a number of major US corporations, including Amazon.com Inc. and Starbucks Corp. Apple employees in Atlanta who wanted to unionize backed down last month, citing intimidation. Last year, some current and former Apple employees began criticizing the company's working conditions online under the hashtag #AppleToo.

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