Workers at an Apple store in the US state of Maryland voted to form a union, a first for the tech giant, which has previously resisted unionisation efforts.
According to AFP, 65 employees at the Apple store in Towson, Baltimore County, voted in favour of joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), while 33 voted against it.
With this, it became the first of Apple 270-odd US stores to unionise, a move described by the IAM as "one for history."
"I applaud CORE members' courage in achieving this historic victory," said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr in a statement obtained by NBC News. "I request that Apple CEO Tim Cook respect the election results and expedite the signing of a first contract for the dedicated IAM CORE Apple employees in Towson," he added.
According to the union, employees at the Towson store joined forces with the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees to send a letter to Tim Cook "informing him of the decision to organise" and urging him not to discourage or stymie their attempts to unionise.
Earlier, amid murmurs of a unionizing drive, Apple senior VP of retail Deirdre O'Brien issued a video warning employees that joining a union could harm the company business. In early 2022, the tech giant became the first US firm to reach a market valuation of $3 trillion.
After a successful vote to unionize, Tyra Reeder, a tech expert at the Apple Store in Towson, told The New York Times that she hoped a union would help workers get better pay, improve the store scheduling and COVID-19 policies. Will improve and make it easier. For workers to advance within the company.
In April, employees at an Apple Store in Atlanta announced their intention to hold union elections. But support for the unionizing drive waned after the company highlighted the pay raises and benefits it offers, while employees were reportedly indicated during contract negotiations if they unionized. Those benefits may be lost.
Apple has yet to issue a statement on the Towson Store bid to join a consortium.
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