More than 100 workers at an Apple store in suburban Baltimore voted to unionize by a nearly 2-to-1 margin on Saturday, joining a growing U.S. push in tech, retail and service sectors to organize for greater protection in the workplace, according to the union.
Workers in Towson, Maryland, voted by a margin of 65 to 33 to seek membership in the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the union announced.
The union and employees seeking to organize said they sent Apple CEO Tim Cook a notice last month saying they were seeking to organize a union. The statement said their primary motivation was to pursue “rights that we don’t currently have.” “I applaud the courage shown by members at the Apple store in Towson to achieve this historic victory,” IAMAW International President Robert Martinez Jr. said in a statement. They made a huge sacrifice for thousands of Apple employees across the country who had all their eyes on that vote. »
Mr. Martinez called on Apple to respect the election results and let unionized employees fast-track efforts to secure a contract at the Towson site.
The IAMAW represents 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense and transport sectors in particular.
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