Apple Employees at Unionized Maryland Store Denied Latest Benefits Provided to Non-Union Workers

Apple does not plan to provide recently announced employee perks to workers at a Maryland store who have unionized, reports Bloomberg. Apple this week announced plans to offer employees additional funds for education and new health care features in some states, but unionized employees at the Towson, Maryland Apple Store will not receive these benefits.

towson maryland apple store
Towson workers were told that the store would need to negotiate benefits with Apple through the union, which is something that Apple's head of retail, Deirdre O'Brien, warned employees about in anti-union messaging sent out in May.

"We have a relationship that is based on an open and collaborative and direct engagement," she said at the time. "Which I feel could fundamentally change if a store is represented by a union under a collective bargaining agreement."

Despite Apple's efforts, the Towson store unionized in June, becoming the first Apple retail location in the United States to do so. Bloomberg suggests that Apple's decision to withhold perks from the Towson store could dissuade other stores from unionizing, but it could also lead to further worker upset. Other companies like Starbucks that have been fighting unionization have also provided exclusive benefits at non-union stores.

Employees at non-union Apple retail locations are eligible for advanced tuition reimbursement at select colleges, a free Coursera membership, and in Connecticut, New York, Georgia, Washington, and New Jersey, employees have access to a health care plan that waives co-pays for Apple-approved doctors.

Apple has been continually improving benefits for retail workers in an effort to prevent unionization. Apple in February announced more paid sick days, more vacation days, and more parental leave, and in June, the company agreed to make employee schedules more flexible to prevent overworking.

The Towson, Maryland store is represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union and formal negotiations are set to begin with Apple soon.

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Top Rated Comments

DFZD Avatar
32 months ago
I love it when trillion dollar companies that charge $20 for a small cleaning cloth argue that paying their employees slightly more would put them in grave danger.
Score: 102 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kwijbo Avatar
32 months ago

This should be illegal. I know for a fact it is here in the EU.
Its not illegal at all, its exactly what unionized employees signed up for. They are represented by a union, the union must negotiate with Apple for any and all changes to benefits/compensation.
Score: 70 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Vazor Avatar
32 months ago

any one in the camp that unions aren’t the answer, ‘poop or get off the pot’ but apple retail milks their employees too? it’s inexcusable considering how prideful they are of being ‘woke’ and how deep their pockets are. Yet they Can’t conjure up any compassion for their own and can’t find the funding. What an unexpected surprise! But it’s also retail you aren’t ever gonna be paid like a surgeon’s salary.

Even with a pay bump, inflation has severely outpaced raises and wages. The union camp generally voted for this- whether they admit it or not is besides the point - now enjoy the consequences

Thank goodness for no more mean tweets though. Let’s keep sending more and more of that taxpayer money overseas too for proxy wars. Who cares about Americans, right? Our leaders certainly don’t.
Apple is only woke when it benefits them.
Score: 66 Votes (Like | Disagree)
icanhazapple Avatar
32 months ago
The "benefits" offered here to non-union employees are peanuts. It's a straw dog to try and isolate stores that want to unionize.

The bigger the union, the stronger the bargaining power. Or Apple closes all retail stores outside of flagship downtown locations (which are insanely profitable).

The end game will have no in-between.
Score: 63 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
32 months ago
Starbucks just got in trouble for doing this same thing. The national labor board will resolve this.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lord Hamsa Avatar
32 months ago
I mean, that's kind of the deal, isn't it? If you sign up for collective bargaining, any changes to your compensation have to be negotiated though collective bargaining. You don't get to just pick and choose when the union gets involved, it's all or nothing.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)