Maryland Governor calls out Apple over Towson Town Center store closure – 9to5Mac

Apple Towson Town Center employees received an endorsement from Maryland Governor Wes Moore in their fight against Apple over the company’s decision to close its first US unionized store. Here are the details.

Apple faces new pressure over Towson store closure

A couple of months ago, Apple announced that its Towson Town Center would close its doors for good on June 20, alongside two other stores located in commercial centers in California and Connecticut.

The Apple Towson Town Center workers have been represented by the IAM Union since 2022, after becoming the first Apple retail store in the US to unionize.

Soon after the announcement, IAM Union decried Apple’s handling of the store closure. While the company says that the union agreement only requires transfers within 50 miles of the Towson store, with severance offered otherwise, the IAM Union argues that Apple is denying them the broader relocation options available to employees at non-union stores.

Since then, in addition to the pushback from the IAM Union, Apple has also received letters from Maryland lawmakers and, just yesterday, from40 members of Congress, asking it to reconsider closing the store or to provide Towson employees with the same transfer opportunities offered to workers at non-union stores.

Today, Maryland Governor Wes Moore chimed in, manifesting his support for the Towson workers.

Although Governor Moore stopped short of accusing Apple of union-busting practices, as members of Congress did in their letter to the company, he did explicitly call on Apple to give Towson workers the same transfer rights and opportunities afforded to other employees.

Here’s Governor Moore’s statement:

“The Towson Town Center Apple Store has been a retail anchor for the region since 2022. (…) It’s provided good-paying jobs, increased economic activity, and been an important localized service hub for the region. As the first unionized Apple retail store in the country and a strong-performing location, its workers proved that economic growth and workers’ rights go hand-in-hand. Now, the rug is being pulled out from underneath them. These Marylanders deserve the same transfer rights and opportunities afforded to other Apple employees, and we stand with them.”

The IAM Union praised Governor Moore’s support and called on the company to act before the June 20 deadline.

Apple, for its part, remains silent on the issue, ever since it provided the following statement to 9to5Mac when the IAM Union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board on April 28:

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.

As of right now, the Apple Towson Town Center’s page says the store will close on June 20 at 8:00 p.m.

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