Apple is Permanently Closing Three U.S. Stores This Month

[BaldiMac]

Apple is following the contract that the union agreed to.

According to Apple. Let’s see what the courts say.

 

[Dirk Pieters]

I agree with you but I’m willing to bet it’s not loosing money it’s just not making “enough”

If a mall is dying and other businesses leave, then Apple will leave too.

Do you know why there are no Apple Stores in rough and/or dying areas? Because Apple doesn’t want Apple Stores in rough and/or dying areas.

 

[ececlv]

Apple will be permanently closing three of its retail stores in the U.S. on the evening of Saturday, June 20, according to its website.

​

Apple Towson Town Center​

The locations that are closing:

• Apple Trumbull in Trumbull, Connecticut
  
• Apple North County in Escondido, California
  
• Apple Towson Town Center in Towson, Maryland

In April, Apple said it made the "difficult decision" to close the stores due to "declining conditions" at the shopping malls in which they are located.

Notably, the staff at the Towson Town Center location became Apple's first retail employees in the U.S. to unionize in 2022. They belong to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE), and they signed a collective bargaining agreement with Apple in 2024.

The union and the store's employees have been protesting the planned closure, and some lawmakers in Maryland have voiced their support.

The union is upset that Apple is allowing non-unionized employees at the Trumbull and North County stores to transfer to nearby locations, but not extending this offer to unionized employees at the Towson location. For its part, Apple said it is simply honoring the terms of the collective bargaining agreement that the employees agreed to.

According to Apple, the contract states that in the event of a store closure, Apple would transfer or rehire employees if the company opened a new store within 50 miles of the current location at Towson Town Center. In any other circumstance, the union negotiated for employees to receive severance, which is being provided.

Apple said it has no current plans to open a new store in the area, but if it were to do so within 18 months after the collective bargaining agreement was ratified, the affected employees would have the right of first refusal.

Nevertheless, IAM has accused Apple of potential union busting and said that the agreement "requires equal treatment."

"Apple workers in Towson voted to join the IAM, fought for and won a contract, and are now being punished for it," said IAM President Brian Bryant. "Apple signed a collective bargaining agreement that requires equal treatment. It is time for Apple to honor that agreement and do right by these workers before June 20."

Towson Town Center is genuinely in a state of decline and has lost many other major retailers in recent years, so it is very likely that Apple is exiting the shopping mall at least partly due to the worsening conditions. Nevertheless, the situation could benefit Apple by warning employees at other stores that joining a union does not always work out. However, we may never know Apple's true and full intentions behind its decision.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple is Permanently Closing Three U.S. Stores This Month

How would a transfer even work? Would they still be union members? Does the union really want apple to transfer unionized workers to a non union store. This is all just theater.

 

[RichP]

Im not surprised at all the Trumbull store is closing; that mall is in a rather sad state at this point.

At the core of it the other closures are probably due to the same circumstance. A few malls are thriving these days but many others are just on deaths door. Once they lose that critical mass of attractions (stores and activities) it's just a matter of time.

 

[Plutonius]

According to Apple. Let’s see what the courts say.

True, in the end, it usually all comes down to the courts when it comes to any contract.

 

[Happy_John]

Source?


Source?

I have not seen either of those things in any of the reporting.

Then follow more of the reporting.

 

[Naraxus]

You live by the sword, you die by the sword. YOU were the ones who wanted to pay protection money to the mafia. Apple warned YOU about the ramifications of doing so. YOU, not Apple, ignored said warnings and now that the chickens have come home to roost you're crying foul. You are retail, You are utterly expendable.

Reap what you sew. You get no sympathy from me for your stupidity.

 

[mreg376]

Not OK from Apple. The legal question is a federal one, and I'm sure they would not be doing this unless they thought they could get away with it per the National Labor Relations Board, which, with the current NLRB, is a reasonable assumption. But Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act very clearly prohibits retaliation and the definition there includes unequal treatment. So the question will be presumably whether NLRB defines this as unequal treatment or not. In any case, I think it's designed to discourage people from unionizing -- and at a time that wealth inequality is at record highs and unionized employees are generally being treated a lot better than non-union, the motives are pretty clear.

Sorry, complying with the clear terms of the collectively bargained contract is not a violation of any labor law, even if we weren't in the midst of a corporations-can-do-no-wrong federal government.

 

[WilliApple]

Im sorry, those are the workers 😭
They all look like they shouldnt be working a minimum wage job 💀
Im all for treating workers right but simply handing an iPhone to someone and collecting payment doesnt need like high pay lol

 

[lepetitnicolas]

Definition of being unionized in the US : divided we stand, united we fall.

 

[rockosmodurnlif]

IAM CORE
Quite the backronym.

 

[lepetitnicolas]

Definition of being unionized in the US : divided we stand, united we fall.

😸 😸 😸 what !! I can reply to myself !!?? But why ???? ahahahaha that's crazy !

 

[Lerxt]

The ammount of anti union/anti worker sentiment here is astounding. Given what crap conditions US workers experience in their work life, it's hard to imagine how people can hold that position.
Give me the employment conditions of a social democracy anytime.

 

[hasanahmad]

The ammount of anti union/anti worker sentiment here is astounding. Given what crap conditions US workers experience in their work life, it's hard to imagine how people can hold that position.
Give me the employment conditions of a social democracy anytime.

there would not be anti union sentiment if the Union had better negotiated terms to at least MATCH what Apple non union employees get. the union employees got screwed by the union by inferior employee terms . Pathetic. They should sue the union

 

[Entilzha]

Not OK from Apple. The legal question is a federal one, and I'm sure they would not be doing this unless they thought they could get away with it per the National Labor Relations Board, which, with the current NLRB, is a reasonable assumption. But Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act very clearly prohibits retaliation and the definition there includes unequal treatment. So the question will be presumably whether NLRB defines this as unequal treatment or not. In any case, I think it's designed to discourage people from unionizing -- and at a time that wealth inequality is at record highs and unionized employees are generally being treated a lot better than non-union, the motives are pretty clear.

Cool. Now apply the same logic to the other two non-union stores.

 

[Happy_John]

The ammount of anti union/anti worker sentiment here is astounding. Given what crap conditions US workers experience in their work life, it's hard to imagine how people can hold that position.
Give me the employment conditions of a social democracy anytime.

Not calling out these particular unions reps for not adaquately looking after the interests of its members is anti-union.

For unions to be credible, they need to be able to own up and them rectify errors within its own organisation.

Refusing to examine the reasons why the reps negotiated an signed off on a contract that put union members in a worse position than non-union members is damaging to the union overall, and all labour unions.

Shout Mg at a corporation who are not in breach of contract is anti-union, because it damages unions’ credibility.

As for labour practices in the US, I don’t leave in the US and the lack of social and labour protection in the US is one of the reasons I don’t live in the US.

Unions, or the lack of unions, whatever, is not the reason why the USA lacks basic social protections.

 

[jlc1978]

The people in that picture don't look like your average Apple Store employees...they look more like machinists and aerospace workers from the union. Also odd (to me) is why they chose a machinist and aerospace workers union -- aren't there retail worker unions?

Clout. Having a large union means a lot more clout.

Im all for treating workers right but simply handing an iPhone to someone and collecting payment doesnt need like high pay lol

Apple historically has focused on relationship selling and having a workforce house don customer services and offered pay and benefits that supported that model; which resulted in the highest sales per square foot in retail. It also results in much lower turnover and cost savings as well.

 

[BaldiMac]

Then follow more of the reporting.

That’s not how it works. Forum rules say to supply your source.