In June 2022, an Apple Store in Towson, Maryland became the first retail location to unionize. Now, after over a year of discussions with the tech giant, the union is set to strike.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE) has recently “overwhelmingly voted in favor of authorizing a strike” according to a press release put out by the coalition. In this, it says “Following over a year of negotiations with Apple management that yielded unsatisfactory outcomes, IAM CORE members took a significant step by voting in favor of a strike”.
According to that same press release, IAM CORE “represents approximately 100 employees at Apple’s retail store in Towson”. IAM, the wider union group claims to represent around 600,000 members in North America.
Why is the Maryland Apple Store going to strike?
As highlighted in the union’s literature, it claims “Apple is not bargaining in good faith, and we have multiple Unfair Labor Practice charges against Apple for their illegal behavior”. It is trying to argue in favor of changes to wages, overtime pay, time away benefits, and better working conditions. Employees in the union have “concerns over work-life balance, unpredictable scheduling practices” and claim wages fail to “align with the area’s cost of living”.
Another piece of the union’s literature claims the union is partly responsible for the nationwide wage increase in US Apple Stores, and its “Pulse Survey”, a questionnaire of desires from members, has been used by Apple to structure future decisions. It also claims that changes to job classifications made off the back of its efforts have benefited all members, and that greater union representation “reduces Apple’s ability to act with impunity”.
No strike date has been set just yet but IAM CORE is set to receive its final offer from Apple and will strike if not given a deal deemed acceptable by its members.
