Dozens 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.
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:
This decision by Apple not only impacts these hard workers but also their families and communities. We urge Apple to fully explore alternative locations to protect these jobs. Should Apple not choose to reverse its decision to leave the Baltimore area, given the national ramifications of that choice and our legislative focus on policies that protect American workers, we strongly urge you to reconsider how you will fully support these employees, and assist them in transferring, just as other employees of closing stores are allowed to do.
In the letter, the members of Congress also urge Apple to “work with any relevant federal and local Maryland officials to identify opportunities that could help sustain employment of these skilled technology workers.”
Apple has yet to comment on today’s letter. As of right now, the Apple Towson Town Center’s page says the store will close down on June 20 at 8:00 p.m.
To read the letter in full, follow this link.
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Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s.
He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.
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