Apple reaches agreement with unionized Maryland Apple Store workers

AppleInsider

Some 85 employees of the first unionized Apple Store in Towson, Maryland will vote on the first union-negotiated agreement with Apple to improve working conditions on August 6th, 2024.

Apple workers celebrate tentative agreement with Apple. Credit: IAMAW

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM-CORE) negotiated the tentative agreement between the retail workers and Apple.

The new agreement, which would be good for three years, includes better work-life balance on scheduling and pay raises. Both areas had been a complaint amongst the workers at the Towson Store.

Other improvements include rules on transparency, a severance clause, and limits on contracted employees. All current benefits are preserved, and there is an agreement to bargain over any future additions, the union said in a statement.

"We're extremely proud to be the first union to take on this fight for Apple workers," said IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan. "The true partnership between the IAM, IAM CORE and Apple workers has led us to this historic moment."

The workers at the Towson Apple Store voted to join the union in June of 2022. The 85 workers, the union and Apple began negotiating a formal agreement in May of 2023. After a year of what the union called stalling tactics by the store's management, workers voted to authorize a strike sanction against the company in June 2024.

There are only a handful of Apple retail stores that have unionized staff. The staff at the store in Reston, Virginia documented Apple management's stalling tactics in a secret video taken during negotiations.

The US National Labor Relations Board has twice ruled that Apple has broken the law with regards to labor relations. The NLRB found Apple guilty of denying unionized stores the same benefits it gave non-unionized stores, and also conducted illegal interrogations of union staff at its World Trade Center store in New York City.



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red oak

They will be last to receive any new benefits or pay enhancements Apple Retail unilaterally rolls out to all the stores 

They will now need to transactionally ask and negotiate for every-single-thing  

They think they “won”

chasm

red oak said:

They will be last to receive any new benefits or pay enhancements Apple Retail unilaterally rolls out to all the stores 

They will now need to transactionally ask and negotiate for every-single-thing  

You should try reading the last paragraph of the article.

Such an action is illegal.

gatorguy

red oak said:

They will be last to receive any new benefits or pay enhancements Apple Retail unilaterally rolls out to all the stores 

They will now need to transactionally ask and negotiate for every-single-thing  

They think they “won”

Wrong.

blastdoor

Congratulations to these folks! What they did took courage and determination. I hope others can follow their example.

danox

red oak said:

They will be last to receive any new benefits or pay enhancements Apple Retail unilaterally rolls out to all the stores 

They will now need to transactionally ask and negotiate for every-single-thing  

They think they “won”

They won if you compare them those gig workers at Uber and Lyft in California or Walmart anywhere.

VictorMortimer

red oak said:

They will be last to receive any new benefits or pay enhancements Apple Retail unilaterally rolls out to all the stores 

They will now need to transactionally ask and negotiate for every-single-thing  

They think they “won”

They did, in fact, win.

And Apple would be breaking the law (and almost certainly violating their union contract) if they leave them out of any new benefits or raises.

Hopefully this win will prompt other Apple stores to unionize.  Unions are ALWAYS better for workers.

9secondkox2

chasm said:

red oak said:

They will be last to receive any new benefits or pay enhancements Apple Retail unilaterally rolls out to all the stores 

They will now need to transactionally ask and negotiate for every-single-thing  

You should try reading the last paragraph of the article.

Such an action is illegal.

No it’s not. 

You should reread the last paragraph  it mentions interrogations about certain matters are illegal. 

There is no rule that forces Apple to award everyone the same thing at the same time. 

Basically if a little bully group was put together to push for things, they’ll have to live by that new mantra. What they would have gotten automatically will now be a different story. Nothing official of course, but that’s how these things go. 

As stated many times before - unions suck. The only person usually winning out in the end is the organizer collecting the dues/protection fees, whatever the mob  boss wants to call it. 

blastdoor

9secondkox2 said:

chasm said:

red oak said:

They will be last to receive any new benefits or pay enhancements Apple Retail unilaterally rolls out to all the stores 

They will now need to transactionally ask and negotiate for every-single-thing  

You should try reading the last paragraph of the article.

Such an action is illegal.

No it’s not. 

You should reread the last paragraph  it mentions interrogations about certain matters are illegal. 

There is no rule that forces Apple to award everyone the same thing at the same time. 

Basically if a little bully group was put together to push for things, they’ll have to live by that new mantra. What they would have gotten automatically will now be a different story. Nothing official of course, but that’s how these things go. 

As stated many times before - unions suck. The only person usually winning out in the end is the organizer collecting the dues/protection fees, whatever the mob  boss wants to call it. 

From the last paragraph:

The NLRB found Apple guilty of denying unionized stores the same benefits it gave non-unionized store

mikethemartian

red oak said:

They will be last to receive any new benefits or pay enhancements Apple Retail unilaterally rolls out to all the stores 

They will now need to transactionally ask and negotiate for every-single-thing  

They think they “won”

You really expect Apple to throw good money after the bad solely out of spite?

red oak

At Will.  There are no guarantees of employment 

Either it will work out somehow, or it won’t.  There is no obligation by Apple to employ someone 

designguybrown

Unions are just refuges for the lazy, broken, and anarchistic. There is no need/want of them in a modern civilization with safety and health standards cheap and in place.  In a rich country, you truly can be and do anything though the route may be difficult, unpalatable, and even self-destructive - but the point is that the choice is there and its not difficult to be in the economic top 25% (or work less than 30 hours a week, if desired) on very obvious, non-exclusive, fair, and reasonable paths of focus, money (reasonable) and effort. People now have incredible powers of flexibility to quit, move, network, re-locate, know much in advance about a proposed work company, and develop their own skill set within a wide range of very different economic/ life cost regions. The reality is that out-dated fluff concepts such as full defined-benefit pensions, guaranteed work, arbitrary minimum wages, collective bargaining, work-life balance, rent-control, etc., just lead to a cost of living decline and opportunity reduction in a wider region for everyone. Hyper inflation, lack of product and job choice, poor productivity, and a climate of conflict and retribution naturally emerge and spread in such places - witness Detroit, France, the grocery sector, etc., and related garbage systems.  I get it - a lot of people have screwed up their lives and need to be sheltered as they weather family crises (likely chronic) and poor lifestyle decisions - but rip that band aid off and take control of your own life. A work environment of transparency, opportunity, and incentive will always be more satisfying in the long term to the dedicated than mob rule and chaos. 

chasm

blastdoor said:

From the last paragraph:

The NLRB found Apple guilty of denying unionized stores the same benefits it gave non-unionized store

Yes. In November of 2023, the NLRB found Apple guilty of denying unionized stores the same benefits as it gave non-unionized stores.

Read this slowly, because your comprehension skills appear to be poor: that is why Apple had to go back to the negotiating table and make a new offer that gave the unionized store equity. That is why they have now reached an agreement with the union.

This is a victory for the union. The NLRB is now watching Apple like a hawk. Further shenanigans by Apple will not be tolerated. This was a dumb thing for Apple to do, and it backfired badly.

Assuming the agreement is voted on successfully, the unionized store will now have BETTER pay and benefits than the non-union stores.

danox

designguybrown said:

Unions are just refuges for the lazy, broken, and anarchistic. There is no need/want of them in a modern civilization with safety and health standards cheap and in place.  In a rich country, you truly can be and do anything though the route may be difficult, unpalatable, and even self-destructive - but the point is that the choice is there and its not difficult to be in the economic top 25% (or work less than 30 hours a week, if desired) on very obvious, non-exclusive, fair, and reasonable paths of focus, money (reasonable) and effort. People now have incredible powers of flexibility to quit, move, network, re-locate, know much in advance about a proposed work company, and develop their own skill set within a wide range of very different economic/ life cost regions. The reality is that out-dated fluff concepts such as full defined-benefit pensions, guaranteed work, arbitrary minimum wages, collective bargaining, work-life balance, rent-control, etc., just lead to a cost of living decline and opportunity reduction in a wider region for everyone. Hyper inflation, lack of product and job choice, poor productivity, and a climate of conflict and retribution naturally emerge and spread in such places - witness Detroit, France, the grocery sector, etc., and related garbage systems.  I get it - a lot of people have screwed up their lives and need to be sheltered as they weather family crises (likely chronic) and poor lifestyle decisions - but rip that band aid off and take control of your own life. A work environment of transparency, opportunity, and incentive will always be more satisfying in the long term to the dedicated than mob rule and chaos. 

Is that you JD Vance?

nubus

designguybrown said:

Unions are just refuges for the lazy, broken, and anarchistic.

Researchers from Notre Dame found that the happiest nations have strong unions. US is certified miserable (not in top 20 of nations), depend on politicians to set minimum wages (nanny state?), and hit annual records in homelessness including millions of homeless kids. You can't beat China by reenacting The Grapes of Wrath.

jib

Fortunately I do not live in Maryland because I will not shop in an Apple Store that is unionized.  My choice, perfectly legal.

9secondkox2

blastdoor said:

9secondkox2 said:

chasm said:

red oak said:

They will be last to receive any new benefits or pay enhancements Apple Retail unilaterally rolls out to all the stores 

They will now need to transactionally ask and negotiate for every-single-thing  

You should try reading the last paragraph of the article.

Such an action is illegal.

No it’s not. 

You should reread the last paragraph  it mentions interrogations about certain matters are illegal. 

There is no rule that forces Apple to award everyone the same thing at the same time. 

Basically if a little bully group was put together to push for things, they’ll have to live by that new mantra. What they would have gotten automatically will now be a different story. Nothing official of course, but that’s how these things go. 

As stated many times before - unions suck. The only person usually winning out in the end is the organizer collecting the dues/protection fees, whatever the mob  boss wants to call it. 

From the last paragraph:

The NLRB found Apple guilty of denying unionized stores the same benefits it gave non-unionized store

You’re missing the point  

Apple is in now way - and neither is any other company - forced to give everyone the same benefits  

For example, if a store or series of stores meets whatever internal policy metric they want, a company can reward that store, those employees, that region, etc  

Of course it would be problematic to give everyone nice things and withhold from one store  that is obvious targeting  

But there are ways to reward the good ones without rewarding the bad ones as it should be - and that will happen here  staggered rollouts of unilateral benefits will be a thing  regional, store specific, and employee specific rewards for meeting internal policy targets rather than federal and state government targets will be another. 

Unions are a lie, telling employees who signed on for an equitable wage, that the company they work for doesn’t exist to make a profit, but I’d rather a free money machine, designed to get games at every opportunity  

The reality is that union employees get some of the things they want and then get laid off, moved around to keep the expenditures manageable, and end up stuck in a difficult situation for a long time - all the while paying their new money to the union boss in the form of dues. 

In the early days, unionizing seems great  then reality sets in over time  I’ve lived it through two organizations, one of which went under from not being able to keep up with the mob demands. 

The only beneficiary to unions is the union boss(es). It’s a mob era tactic that uses manipulation of weak minds in order to benefit the mob. Nothing new. 

chasm

jib said:

Fortunately I do not live in Maryland because I will not shop in an Apple Store that is unionized.  My choice, perfectly legal.

Your right as an American, wage slave.

ralphie

Now Apple will just shut down that store. And build another a few blocks away with new staff.

blastdoor

chasm said:

blastdoor said:

From the last paragraph:

The NLRB found Apple guilty of denying unionized stores the same benefits it gave non-unionized store

Yes. In November of 2023, the NLRB found Apple guilty of denying unionized stores the same benefits as it gave non-unionized stores.

Read this slowly, because your comprehension skills appear to be poor: that is why Apple had to go back to the negotiating table and make a new offer that gave the unionized store equity. That is why they have now reached an agreement with the union.

This is a victory for the union. The NLRB is now watching Apple like a hawk. Further shenanigans by Apple will not be tolerated. This was a dumb thing for Apple to do, and it backfired badly.

Assuming the agreement is voted on successfully, the unionized store will now have BETTER pay and benefits than the non-union stores.

Are you talking to me?

jdw

So much arguing in this thread that I refuse to read all prior posts.  

I simply want to know one thing...  Super simple...

Was it really THAT bad before they unionized?

If it was, God help folks who work at lesser places like McDonald's.  My understanding has always been that Apple employees, even at lesser trafficked stores, fair quite a bit better than other retail workers (outside Apple).  We're talking about retail store workers, not engineers or software coders and the like.