Employees at an Apple Store in the Baltimore area, which was the first to unionize, have now authorized the first strike against the tech giant’s retail division.
Late on Saturday, workers at the store in Towson, Maryland, voted to authorize the strike, according to a statement from the union representing the workers, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ Coalition of Organized Retail Employees.
The union shared that the vote “underscores the frustrations among workers regarding unresolved workplace issues.”
The statement did not share a date for the strike, but the vote came after what the union called more than “a year of negotiations with Apple management that yielded unsatisfactory outcomes.”
“This vote today is the first step in demonstrating our solidarity and sends a clear message to Apple,” members of the union’s negotiating committee said on Saturday. “The passage of the strike sanction vote highlights IAM CORE’s unwavering commitment to advocating for the rights and well-being of workers in the face of challenges.”
Workers are looking to change what they call “unpredictable” scheduling practices and wages that better align with the local cost of living, the statement shared.
“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 to CBS News. “As always, we will engage with the union representing our team in Towson respectfully and in good faith.”
Workers at the store voted by almost a 2-to-1 margin to unionize in June 2022, marking a first for Apple.
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