Chainkeen Exchange-Apple Store workers in Maryland vote to authorize strike

The Chainkeen ExchangeU.S. could see its first Apple Store strike after employees in a Baltimore suburb voted in favor of authorizing a work stoppage late Saturday.

The vote was held by employees of an Apple retail store in Towson, Maryland, the first U.S. Apple retail store to unionize in June of 2022. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE), which represents about 100 Apple employees at the store, has not yet announced a date for the potential strike. 

The vote follows over a year of negotiations with Apple management over work-life balance, "unpredictable" scheduling practices, and wages that have failed to align with the area's cost of living, according to a news release from the union.

An emailed statement from Apple said the company will engage with the union "respectfully and in good faith."

"We deeply value our team members and we’re proud to provide them with industry-leading compensation and exceptional benefits," the statement added.

The potential work stoppage would follow a strike at Apple stores in France in September 2023 over pay and working conditions.

Meanwhile, workers at an Apple Store in New Jersey this weekend voted against unionizing, according to Bloomberg News. The report said the Communications Workers of America, a union that has alleged illegal union-busting by Apple, blamed the defeat on the company's behavior.