The majority of Apple Store employees in the United States have voted to form a union. It is a first for the tech giant, which had so far successfully tried to discourage attempts to syndicalize.
Of the 110 employees at the store in Towson, near Baltimore, Maryland, 65 voted for and 33 against. The count was broadcast live by the federal agency that oversaw the vote.
A group of employees called AppleCORE (Apple’s Coalition of Organized Retail Employees) campaigned for the creation of a union. They demand a say in wages, working hours and safety measures. “We did it Towson!” the organization tweeted in the night from Saturday to Sunday.
The voting result means that the store’s employees, who have been able to vote since Wednesday, will have to form their own branch of the IAM (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) union once the agency approves the results.
It’s not the first Apple Store to try to form a union, but it’s the first to effectively lead to a vote. Apple declined to comment on the news.
Symbolic victories
The unions, which have struggled in the US for decades, have won some symbolic victories in recent months, starting with the unequivocal backing of President Joe Biden.
The creation of the first union in a direct-chain Starbucks in the US in December was met with enthusiasm. Meanwhile, workers, often young and highly educated, are also mobilizing from NGOs, universities, museums and the media.
At Amazon, workers at a warehouse in New York caused a surprise in early April with a majority vote to form a union, a first for the group in the US.
However, Amazon has asked for the result to be canceled and a second vote to be held.
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