Since this Saturday, Apple already has a store in the United States where the workers are part of a union. The Towson, Maryland store is the first store where employees voted to join a union, joining the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers (IAM), a union representing more than 600,000 workers from more than 200 industries, mainly in the United States and Canada.
According to the union’s statement, the vote count was carried out this Saturday, with workers from “vote overwhelmingly to join the IAM. Of approximately 110 workers who could participate in this vote, 65 gave the green light to this unionization, while 33 were against the proposal, says the North American network CNBC, specifying the figures.
The result of the vote represents a blow to Apple, which, like other large technology companies, such as Amazon, has opposed the desire to unionize workers, especially in stores.
However, approval from the National Labor Relations Board is still required to certify these votes, which could take about a week.
According to a letter from Townson workers who organized this vote to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Townson employees have joined the union to “gain access to rights they don’t currently have.”
Although Townson’s store is part of a mall, unlike the company’s other flagship stores, which are often larger and in prominent locations, it is not the only case of this unionization movement. At least the workers in the shops of Grand Central Terminal and the World Trade Center in New York have already indicated their willingness to organize a vote to join a union.
In Atlanta, there will also be news of a vote to join the communication workers’ union, scheduled for earlier this month, which may have been postponed because Apple allegedly intimidated workers. NBC is also advancing that the Louisville and Nashville stores will also be in the process of hosting gender surveys.
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Source: Observadora
