Apple agrees to first US labor deal

Apple and the union representing retail workers at its store in Towson, Maryland, agreed to a tentative labor deal late Friday in the first US labor agreement not only for an Apple store but for any US workers of the tech giant.

Workers at the Apple store in Towson had voted to join the International Association of Machinists union in June 2022 and have since been seeking their first contract. In May, they voted to authorize a strike without providing a deadline.

The labor deal, which needs to be ratified by a vote of the 85 rank-and-file members at the store before it can take effect, is a significant milestone. Other high-profile union organizing efforts, such as those at Starbucks and Amazon, have yet to produce deals for those workers, even though workers at those companies voted to join unions well before the workers at the Apple store in Maryland.

There are not many legal requirements to force a company to reach a labor agreement with a new union once that union has been recognized by the National Labor Relations Board, the government body that oversees labor relations for most US business. But the process can take a long time, as one recent study by Bloomberg Law found the average time for reaching a first contract is 465 days, or roughly 15 months. In many cases, it can take longer. A separate 2023 academic study found 43% of new unions were still seeking their first contract two years after winning a representation election.

The Machinists union said the Apple store deal includes scheduling improvements for a better work-life balance, which was considered a major issue in the talks. The deal also includes pay increases of 10% over the three-year life of the contract, as well as job protections such as guarantees for severance packages for laid-off workers and limits on contract employees.

“By reaching a tentative agreement with Apple, we are giving our members a voice in their futures and a strong first step toward further gains,” the union said a statement. The union added that it will now look to win the right to represent retail workers at other stores.

“Together, we can build on this success in store after store and grow the power (the union) has started here in Maryland,” the union said.

Apple has about 270 Apple stores in the United States, which are all owned by the company. Only one other store, in Oklahoma City, has voted to unionize, joining a different union, the Communications Workers of America. That store is not covered by this tentative labor deal.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment to CNN on this week’s tentative agreement, other than to point to an earlier statement in which the company said, “We deeply value our team members and we’re proud to provide them with industry leading compensation and exceptional benefits.”