The employees of a suburban Baltimore Apple store have voted to unionize as members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, becoming the first Apple employees in the US to unionize, the Baltimore Sun reports.
The workers at Towson Town Center voted 65-33 to unionize, making Apple the latest large corporation to have workers unionize. Internet monolith Amazon had a warehouse in New York vote to unionize last month, and retailers Starbucks and REI have also had locations vote to join a union.
“I applaud the courage displayed by CORE [Coalition of Organized Retail Employees, the union organizers] members at the Apple store in Towson for achieving this historic victory,” said Robert Martinez Jr., president of the Machinists international union, in a statement. “They made a huge sacrifice for thousands of Apple employees across the nation who had all eyes on this election. I ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to respect the election results and fast-track a first contract for the dedicated [International Association of Machinists] CORE Apple employees in Towson. This victory shows the growing demand for unions at Apple stores and different industries across our nation.”