Biden "Proud" Of Apple Employees In Maryland Who Voted To Unionize
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- President Joe Biden said Monday he was "proud" of the Apple store employees in Towson who voted over the weekend to join a union, becoming the first location of the tech giant to unionize.
Employees of the Towson Town Center Apple store voted Saturday to unionize by a 65-33 margin -- nearly a 2-1 margin -- to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the union said.
"I am proud of them," Biden told reporters at Rehoboth Beach. "Workers have a right to determine under what condition they are going to work or not work."
In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook last month, organizers asked the company to voluntarily recognize the bargaining unit so they negotiate over issues such as pay, coronavirus safety and hours.
Employees of an Apple Store in Atlanta and the company's location at Grand Central Terminal in New York City announced efforts to unionize in April, but the Atlanta location withdrew its request for a union vote in May, citing alleged intimidation by the company, according to Business Insider. The Grand Central location is still organizing.
The Towson location was the third to launch a union campaign. Saturday's vote could inspire employees at other Apple stores to follow suit, CBS News reports.
"This is part of a larger trend that includes technology stores and companies like Starbucks and Amazon — where warehouse employees have unionized all in the last several months," CBS News tech reporter Dan Patterson said in April.