Apple Towson MallSource: Apple

What you need to know

  • More Apple store employees are trying to unionize.
  • A bid has been launched by staff at the Towson Mall store in Baltimore, Maryland.
  • More than 65% of employees have reportedly signed on.

A third group of Apple store employees has launched a bid to form a union, according to a new report.

From The Washington Post:

A group of Apple employees in Maryland launched a union drive Tuesday, becoming the third store to make a run at organizing the world's most valuable company.

The report says that employees at the Towson Mall store near Baltimore have spent nearly a year coordinating with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and gathering support. Apparently, 65% of employees have reportedly signed up to create a "supermajority" the report says " would be difficult for the company to overcome."

A letter sent to CEO Tim Cook Tuesday "notified Apple chief executive Tim Cook of their intention to organize as the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees" or AppleCore for short. Paperwork is to be filed with the National Labor Relations Board "in the coming days" according to the report.

Previously it has been reported that other workers in stores across the United States are preparing to unionize, and that two have previously received national backing and were preparing to file paperwork.

Apple relies on its retail staff as the frontline for many customers seeking to buy devices like its best iPhone, the iPhone 13, as well as other products such as Apple Watch, iPad, and the Mac. Apple invests heavily in its retail store locations and buildings, and former SVP of retail Angela Ahrendts often told employees internally at the company that it believed retail stores were Apple's most important product.

Apple has enlisted the services of a law firm renowned for fighting against workers that are trying to form unions, previously working with Starbucks and McDonalds.