Apple store employees in Towson, Md. who recently organized a union called Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE), with the assistance of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) filed for a union representation election yesterday with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Over one hundred employees should be eligible to vote in the election.
READ: Second Apple Store officially files petition to hold union election The Verge
“IAM is proud to support the employees at the Apple store in Towson on their union effort,” says IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “We represent customer service employees in multiple industries and are excited about the new wave of organizing efforts in the tech and service industries. These workers, like all workers, have the federal right to union representation and we are happy to see CORE file for election.”
CORE and IAM recently sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook informing him of the decision to organize their union, listing “access to rights we do not currently have” as a driving reason for the move, which has strong support from a majority of the workers.
“As other large companies in the service and tech sectors continue to organize we are also proud to take this step,” reads the letter. “As our store approaches its 20th year anniversary we think about the history of this company and how we have always been different; because we have always thought differently. Today we are asking you to do the same and to pledge not to use your resources to engage in an anti-union campaign to dissuade us. We ask that you voluntarily recognize our union so we can begin working together as equals in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration.”
The Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE) is requesting that Apple follow the same neutrality requirement laid out in its Supplier Code of Conduct under the section “Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining” so that employees can obtain their rights to information and collective bargaining that the law affords through unionization.
READ: Maryland Apple Store Employees Move to Join the IAM IAM
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is one of the largest and most diverse industrial trade unions in North America, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries.
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