Workers at Apple’s Towson, Maryland, retail store will go on strike

Workers at Apple’s retail store in Towson, Maryland, have voted in favor of authorizing a strike, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (AIM) said in a statement late on Saturday — as noted by CNBC. The date for work stoppage hasn’t been set.

“The issues at the forefront of this action include concerns over work-life balance, unpredictable scheduling practices disrupting personal lives, and wages failing to align with the area’s cost of living”, IAM said in the statement.

The strike will address unresolved issues with management, reports AppleInsider. The article says that, despite over a year of negotiations, critical issues such as work-life balance, erratic scheduling, and wages remain unresolved. The workforce at the Towson, Maryland store, which unionized in June 2022, is increasingly disheartened by what they perceive as Apple’s insufficient responses to their concerns.

Apple may not be negotiating its contract with unionized employees in Towson, Maryland, in good faith. Jay Wadleigh, who is leading contract negotiations on behalf of the International Association of Machinists union, told The Baltimore Banner in April 2023 that contract talks with Apple have been “very, very slow.”

The Towson store became the first in the nation to organize, with workers voting to form a union in June 2022. Wadleigh said the union was prepared to begin bargaining in November 2023, but agreed with the company to postpone until January 2024 to get through the holiday season, according to The Baltimore Banner.

The Towson, Maryland retail store filed a complaint in November 2022 with the National Labor Relations Board after it was excluded from some benefits, reports Bloomberg.