According to reports, Apple has decided not to challenge the vote in favor of unionization and would instead participate in the bargaining process.
Apple is one of several big American corporations with unionized workforces.
According to Reuters, Apple will not protest the results of a unionization vote by workers at its Towson, Maryland, store and wants to participate in the negotiating process in good faith.
Last week, over two-thirds of the store’s employees, voted to form a union, making it the first Apple store in the United States to do so.
Employees decided to become members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). The IAM did not reply quickly to a request for comment.
Apple is one of several big American corporations whose workforces have voted to unionize in recent months, with workers at select Starbucks and Amazon sites also choosing to unionize.
Apple employees at a Georgia shop planned to vote on unionization earlier this year but canceled the ballot, prompting union executives to file a complaint saying that Apple intimidated its employees. Two more Apple stores in New York are seeking unionization as well.
According to Bloomberg News, which cited sources, Apple has also taken steps such as making work schedules for retail employees flexible as part of a drive for unionization.
According to the article, the corporation informed employees at select outlets that schedule adjustments will be implemented in the coming months. Changes will include increasing the minimum time between shifts from 10 to 12 hours.
Apple did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Reuters. A week ago, the iPhone manufacturer informed Reuters that Apple will hike wages for its US employees to at least $22 (approximately Rs. 1,700) per hour.
The Cupertino, California-based corporation, famed for its reserved culture, was chastised online last year for its working circumstances by some present and former employees.
Workers at Apple’s Atlanta shop submitted a petition for a union election in April, hoping to become the company’s first US store to unionize amid a wave of labor movement at other large corporations.