Apple Shuts 3 U.S. Stores, Closing First Unionized Retail Location
Updated
Updated · MacRumors · Jun 20
Apple Shuts 3 U.S. Stores, Closing First Unionized Retail Location
3 articles · Updated · MacRumors · Jun 20
Summary
Three Apple stores closed Saturday in Maryland, California and Connecticut, including Towson Town Center—the first U.S. Apple retail location to unionize.
Apple said it shut the stores because of declining conditions at the malls, a rationale it first gave when announcing the closures in April.
Towson workers and IAM CORE had protested the move, arguing Apple let staff at the two non-union stores transfer nearby while denying the same option to unionized employees.
Apple said the 2024 contract instead provides severance unless it opens a new store within 50 miles; with no such plan now, Towson workers keep only a right of first refusal for 18 months.
The dispute leaves Apple facing union-busting accusations even as the mall-closure explanation points to broader retail pressures beyond the labor fight.