Apple Store employees in Maryland vote to authorize a first strike over working conditions

TOWSON, Md. (AP) — Workers at the first Apple Store to unionize have now also authorized a first strike against the tech giant’s retail operations.

Apple Store workers in Towson, Maryland, voted late Saturday to authorize a strike, according to a statement from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ Coalition of Organized Retail Employees, which represents the workers.

No date was set for the strike. The vote followed what the union called “over a year of negotiations with Apple management that yielded unsatisfactory outcomes.”

According to the statement, the workers are seeking changes in what they call “unpredictable” scheduling practices and wages that align with the local cost of living.

“We deeply value our team members and we’re proud to provide them with industry leading compensation and exceptional benefits,” Apple said in a statement provided by a spokesperson. “As always, we will engage with the union representing our team in Towson respectfully and in good faith.”

Workers at the store in the Baltimore suburbs voted by a nearly 2-to-1 margin to unionize in June 2022, joining a growing push across U.S. retail, service and tech industries to organize for greater workplace protections.