Towson Apple Store employees accuse company of union busting amid impending closure

Unionized workers at Towson Town Center’s Apple Store accused the technology company of union busting at a Monday press conference. The accusation follows a recent announcement that the store will close in June.

Representatives for the union, which is part of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and represents the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees, said the closure will affect around 90 workers. However, a notice filed with the state April 23 indicated an impact on 78 workers.

The decision to close the store “should raise questions about union busting and unequal treatment of their employees,” said Brian Bryant, president of the IAMAW. “While workers at non-union stores were offered transfers, Towson workers are being told to reapply like strangers to the company that they have helped build.”

The union filed a grievance with the National Labor Relations Board over transfer rights and filed an unfair labor practice charge Monday morning, said Bill Haller, associate general counsel for the machinists union.

“They’ve clearly violated federal law,” Haller said. “This is a clear case of retaliation.”

In a statement to The Banner on Monday, Apple said, “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.”

Workers at Apple’s Towson location unionized in 2022, becoming the first in the nation to do so, and ratified their contract with the tech giant in August 2024.

It’s one of three Apple stores closing this year.

In a statement earlier this month, the company blamed “the departure of several retailers and declining conditions” at the affected malls for its decision to close stores.

Since the April 9 announcement, Capitol Luggage & Leather has shuttered, and Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill announced that it would close this summer. Tommy Bahama, Madewell and Banana Republic have also closed in recent months.

Because finances and foot traffic weren’t a problem at the Towson store, “there’s no other reason to shut us down [other than] to basically bust up the union,” said Eric Brown, who has worked at the Apple location for more than six years.

Apple previously said that Towson employees would “be eligible to apply for roles at Apple in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.”

Brown, who is also a store lead and vice president of IAM Local 4538, said workers were told that because the union negotiated to have a severance package, they could not transfer to other stores in the same manner as nonunionized employees. They would have to apply for open roles “like anybody off the street, basically,” Brown said.

This, Haller said, goes against their collective bargaining agreement and is unlawful.

Brown said union workers were concerned that the company would try to shut down the store and eliminate the union. That’s why a clause was added to the contract that if Apple opened a store within 50 miles, Towson employees could move to that location, he said.

But the company has no plans to relocate within the area, Apple said in its statement. “If we were to open a new store in the area in the next 18 months, Towson team members would have the right of first refusal.”

With the store’s closure, residents of Baltimore and Baltimore County will have to travel to Apple stores in Columbia, Annapolis or Lancaster, Pennsylvania.