The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Union has announced that it has filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge against Apple.
Apple has denied Towson employees the ability to access transfer rights and other opportunities provided to non-represented employees affected by store closures at other locations. The IAM Union alleges that these actions, taken in retaliation for workers’ protected union activity, constitute discrimination in violation of federal labor law.
The Union represents the retail employees working at Apple’s soon-to-be-closed Towson, Maryland store. The union says Apple is discriminating against the location’s unionized workers. The Towson store was the first Apple US retail location to unionize back in 2022.
“This is about whether workers are treated fairly under the law or punished for exercising their rights,” said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. “Apple is denying union-represented workers the same opportunities it is giving to others — and doing so because these workers chose to organize. That is discrimination, and it is exactly what federal labor law is designed to prevent.”
Earlier this month, Apple announced plans to close the Towson Apple Store location, as well as two other locations in Connecticut and California. The locations being shuttered due to being located in struggling shopping malls that are losing foot traffic.
Usually, when an Apple retail location is closed, workers at that location are automatically relocated to nearby stores. However, Apple says it isn’t doing so for Towson team members, because the union rules at that particular location block it from automatically transferring those workers to another location.
For the IAM Union’s part, it posted a statement saying that it was “outraged” by Apple’s decision about how to handle Towson employees, saying there was nothing in the store’s labor agreement that prevented Apple from auto-moving employees to other stores.
“The IAM Union is outraged by Apple’s decision to close its Towson, Md., store—the first unionized Apple retail location in the United States—and abandon both its workers and a community that relies on it for critical services and its unique access to public transit. Apple’s claim that the collective bargaining agreement prevents relocation is simply false and raises serious concerns that this closure is a cynical attempt to bust the union. We are exploring all legal options and will work with elected officials and allies to hold Apple accountable. We stand with our IAM Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE) members and the community that depends on this store for essential access and support.”
The IAM Union also says Towson’s unionized employees were being forced to reapply for positions at other stores following the same process as external candidates that have never worked at an Apple retail location.
The union has asked Apple to allow Towson workers to transfer to other locations, in the same manner as the workers at the other two affected stores.
As for Apple’s side of things, it issued the following statement to MacRumors:
We strongly disagree with the claims made, and we will continue to abide by the agreement that was negotiated and agreed with the union. We look forward to presenting all of the facts to the NLRB.
Apple reportedly claims that a severance clause in the contract negates any right to protected transfer for Towson employees. However, the union has fired back, saying the clause is situational and that the required criteria for it to activate had not been met.
