Catherwood LibraryILR School

Workers at an Apple store in Towson, Maryland, will hold an in-person union election on June 15th, and if successful, will be the first store to unionize at Apple. The Towson location employees, who have named themselves the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (AppleCore) have partnered with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). Employees decided to unionize due to increased stress, poor morale, and an inability to affect work policies and procedures during Covid, as well as compensation issues with new workers being paid more than those training them, and extra duties that put their work above other forms of retail work. Previously there have been union election attempts in Atlanta, Kentucky, and New York stores, with the Atlanta location ending its petition before voting began due to apparent anti-union campaigning from Apple. The Towson employees have been on the watch for signs of similar activity from Apple, which includes anti-union presentations and Apple hiring the same union-busting law firm that Starbucks has retained. Apple recently raised its starting wages to $22/hour after unionization attempts at three stores went public.