Apple Has One-Day Left to Challenge Union Vote at Towson Store

Apple Towson Town Center - Image via Apple

24 JUNE 2022 - It seems that Apple can still challenge the union vote that passed recently at one of its stores. Last weekend, employees at Apple Towson Town Center opted to form a union. Now, a piece from Yahoo Finance says the Cupertino-company has until today (Friday 24 June) to challenge the vote, though it sounds like experts speaking to the site would advise against it.

The problem seems to be the margin - too big in favor. “The final vote tally showed 65 of the store’s 112 eligible workers in favor of unionization, and 33 against,” according to the report. Cornell professor and labor expert Ileen DeVault says fighting those numbers would not look good for Apple. Not that they won’t try. As Yahoo Finance points out, “most losing employers do…” Still, Michael Oswalt - labor lawyer and law professor at Wayne State Law School, tells the site:

I would hope that after a multi-week campaign, where Apple had a chance to express its views to its employees in one-on-one, group, and large settings, at any and all times during the workday, the company would recognize that its workers are in favor of collective bargaining and respect that decision by negotiating a contract…

Not that everyone is in agreement. The piece has Michael Duff, a professor at University of Wyoming College of Law, saying challenging the union vote still makes business sense for Apple. He tells Yahoo Finance that, while the National Labor Relations Board can “order” Apple to take a specific action, there’s nothing to actually enforce the order, except for rulings from a court. That would, of course, take time, and any ruling Apple doesn’t like it could simply appeal. Meanwhile challenges lead to delays and delays often frustrate workers enough that they give up on the whole union idea.

All of that said, Duff figures the current labor shortage might keep Apple from standing in the proposed union’s way. As for what Apple will do, a short amount of time will tell. When reached by Yahoo Finance, “Apple declined to comment on whether it would challenge the outcome.”