GoKawiilDozens of members of Congress are urging Apple to reconsider its plan to close the Towson Town Center store in Maryland, accusing the company of retaliating against workers at the first Apple Store in the US to unionize. Here are the details.
Apple pressed by 40 members of Congress over Towson closure
In early April, Apple announced that the Apple Towson Town Center in Towson (MD) was one of three retail locations that would be shut down in June due to “the departure of several retailers and declining conditions ” at the commercial centers where they are located.
Apple Towson Town Center was the first US store to unionize in 2022, in a 65-33 vote in favor of joining the IAM Union.
Following Apple’s announcement, the IAM Union pushed back, accusing the company of retaliating against its unionized workers, particularly over how it is handling transfer opportunities for Towson employees.
On the one hand, the IAM Union argues that Apple is denying them the broader relocation options available to employees at non-union stores. On the other hand, Apple says the union agreement only requires transfers within 50 miles of the Towson store, with severance offered otherwise.
A few days after this back-and-forth began, Maryland lawmakers sent a letter to the company, pressing for answers about the planned closure. Now, as spotted by AppleInsider, the US Congress has stepped in.
In a letter sent today, 40 members of Congress urge Apple CEO Tim Cook and John Ternus, Apple’s current SVP of Hardware Engineering and its next CEO, to reconsider the store closure and explore alternatives that would preserve the jobs of nearly 100 employees.
They also raise concerns about what “appears to be just the latest move in a union-busting effort,” adding that “it certainly appears that Apple has decided to retaliate against the workers at this location for forming a union and collectively bargaining to secure their wages, hours, and working conditions.”
They remind Apple that these maneuvers would be illegal, as they “would qualify as unfair labor practices.” From the letter:
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