Apple Store Employees Join Union

An Apple store in Maryland is now making corporate history — because the staff there voted for the official union organization. After years of thwarting such efforts, Apple may just be the beginning. That reports that News magazine CNBC according to this, employees of the Apple Store in Towson, Maryland, voted 65 yes and 33 no to join the Machinists Union. This union has more than 600,000 members.

Most important requirement: employee participation

110 Towson store employees were allowed to vote. Workers hope the new move will convince Apple to offer better wages and benefits. They demand, among other things, participation in hourly wages, working hours, and safety measures. As CNBC reports, the National Labor Relations Board must first review votes before Apple can begin negotiations with the union — this is the official process of joining a union. Apple Store employees in Maryland made history by voting to officially join a union. They are the first Apple retail location in the US to do this.

Is development not positive?

In a video released in May, Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s director of retail human resources, reiterated that employees have the right to join or not to join a union, as they choose. Those responsible for human resources in the group do not see the development as positive. “We have a relationship built on open, collaborative, and direct engagement, which I believe can be radically changed when a union represents an industry under a collective agreement,” explains O’Brien.