Store workers in Maryland vote to establish first US Apple union

SAN FRANCISCO, United States— A majority of employees at a US Apple store have voted to form the tech giant’s first union, in the wake of similar unionization drives at Starbucks and Amazon locations.

Of the 110 employees at the Towson, Maryland shop, 65 voted in favor and 33 against, according to a live count broadcast 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.

Saturday’s vote result follows several symbolic victories—including among workers for giants such as Amazon and Starbucks—by the country’s unions, on the decline for decades, to which President Joe Biden has lent his support.

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.