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Welcome to Apple’s First Union

Welcome to Apple’s First Union

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Over the weekend, a group of more than 100 Apple (AAPL, $131.56) employees in a Baltimore suburb made history within the company when they voted to unionize by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. The move marks the first of its 270+ stores in the United States to follow the growing trend in labor organizing among retailers, restaurants and tech companies. If all goes well, the workers will be joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

The Apple employees, along with representatives from the union, claim they sent CEO Tim Cook a notice last month that said they were seeking to form a union. The statement explained that their driving motivation was to seek “rights we do not currently have”.

While Apple has yet to comment publicly on the vote, internal leadership within the company has historically dissuaded union organization. An exact timeline for the union is still unclear. According to labor experts, it’s common for employers to drag out negotiations in order to take the momentum out of union campaigns.

Why it matters

It isn't the first time apple employees have tried to hold a union election. Earlier this month, an Apple store in Atlanta filed for an election, but employees withdrew their request due to Apple's union-busting tactics. Last weekend's union vote for Apple employees is part of a growing trend among the industry as a whole and helps to legitimatize these other efforts. In April, a group of Amazon (AMZN, $106.22) warehouse workers led the first successful organizing effort in the e-commerce giant's history, while employees at dozens of Starbucks (SBUX, $71.87) locations around the US have voted to unionize in recent months.
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