Maryland Lawmakers Press Apple Over Decision to Close Unionized Store

[Blackstick]

A lot of us, most of us by the statistics, earn well under $300,000 a year.
Ergo unions are in our favor, yet you're siding with the trillion dollar company... I like Apple products as much as the next guy, but remember you're a line item on someone's cost spreadsheet too. There's no need to cheer for people losing their jobs.

 

[Jeremy3292]

It seems like a case of union busting to me. The mall being in decline doesn't have anything to do with the Apple Store. Typically Apple opens a new store in the area when a mall is going out. They should offer guaranteed roles to the affected employees and they must be able to stay unionized.

Why is it so hard for people to understand that yes you have a right to unionize and you also have a right to be fired? Being in a union is no different than being a non-unionized worker. You're not special. You're not more important than a non-unionized worker. No one said the workers can't unionize. No company is under any obligation to hire anyone at any time either.

 

[The_Gream]

It seems like a case of union busting to me. The mall being in decline doesn't have anything to do with the Apple Store. Typically Apple opens a new store in the area when a mall is going out. They should offer guaranteed roles to the affected employees and they must be able to stay unionized.

Apple has other stores in the area, they are just out side the 30 mile relocation section of the Union contract. Apple has told the employees they can reapply for open positions, but they can’t just move them like they can non-union locations.

St. Louis and Kansas City both have two Apple stores in their areas. If you look at each city, I am pretty sure the stores are like 30 minutes apart.

 

[reyesmac]

We know exactly what the world is like when corporations get to do whatever they want (it's always pro them and bad for the community) and we see how corporations treat people in countries that it can't corrupt its lawmakers to make unjust laws and unfair monopolies. It's way past time these companies are held accountable. Or as they always have, they will do worse things to more people. If a corporation is a person according to the constitution, it should also go to jail like a person.

 

[Royksöpp]

Drag Apple through court and collect an undisclosed amount, so former employees dont have to work for a decade. It's the American way.

Apparently so is union busting.

 

[mongobongo]

Why anyone would take the side of the executives at a trillion-dollar company instead of its employees making considerably less is beyond me.

It’s beyond me that anyone would make a statement like this. Suggesting that executives are in the wrong and employees in the right just because of the difference in their earnings. The case should be settled based on facts alone. Was Apples behavior legal or illegal? I don’t know but that’s the only thing that matters in this case. The fact that the executives make more than the employees couldn’t be more irrelevant.

 

[boast]

When will the peasants learn that corporations control all the power? You work only because they allow you to. You are lucky to have some rights as it is, which will hopefully be stripped away slowly to help increase profits.

 

[surferfb]

Because Apple offered to rehire employees at non-unionized stores. They aren’t required to do that either. Why not extend the same offer to the unionized store? It’s not mutually exclusive. They can still follow the terms of the agreement but still give that same offer to their employees.

Is your argument is that even though the contract says "in the event you close the store and don't reopen one within 50 miles, you must pay out severance to employees" Apple should disregard that and just transfer them to stores that will take them over an hour to get to? (Even though that is also likely prohibited by the union contract)

Or that Apple should pay out severance AND let them keep their jobs if they want them?

Look, if the only reason Apple closed down the store is the union formed, then please, by all means attack Apple for that. I'll be right there with you. But as someone who lives in Maryland, I can almost certainly promise you that is not the case. The Towson mall has a reputation of being dangerous, and a bunch of other stores are leaving. There was literally an armed carjacking there last week.

Concerns raised after carjacking at Towson Town Center over weekend

Baltimore County police said they're investigating a reported carjacking outside the Towson Town Center and some people who frequent that area say this and other incidents leave them feeling more on edge.

www.wbaltv.com

 

[repoman016]

Why anyone would take the side of the executives at a trillion-dollar company instead of its employees making considerably less is beyond me. It’s reasons like this that workers continue to get taken advantage of while the rich get richer. Employees came together to try to protect themselves and instead they are criticized and ostracized.

Because people think they can do whatever they want just because a company has money. Nuff said

 

[Anonymous123]

Because people think they can do whatever they want just because a company has money. Nuff said

There’a a big difference between making sure you have a rights as a worker vs. doing whatever you want. Nuff said.

 

[mongobongo]

Because people think they can do whatever they want just because a company has money. Nuff said

Big nothing said

 

[Anonymous123]

Is your argument is that even though the contract says "in the event you close the store and don't reopen one within 50 miles, you must pay out severance to employees" Apple should disregard that and just transfer them to stores that will take them over an hour to get to? (Even though that is also likely prohibited by the union contract)

Or that Apple should pay out severance AND let them keep their jobs if they want them?

Look, if the only reason Apple closed down the store is the union formed, then please, by all means attack Apple for that. I'll be right there with you. But as someone who lives in Maryland, I can almost certainly promise you that is not the case. The Towson mall has a reputation of being dangerous, and a bunch of other stores are leaving. There was literally an armed carjacking there last week.

Concerns raised after carjacking at Towson Town Center over weekend

Baltimore County police said they're investigating a reported carjacking outside the Towson Town Center and some people who frequent that area say this and other incidents leave them feeling more on edge.

www.wbaltv.com

I’m just saying Apple should extend the same offer to unionized employees as it does to non-unionized employees. The employees themselves shouldn’t be required to relocate or be rehired if they don’t want to, but at least give them the choice.

 

[mgridgaway]

A lot of you folks have never been in the Baltimore area and it shows.

Towson is a HCOL area that’s right next to a popular state university. With the concentration of students and affluence, I don’t believe for a second that that store is underperforming. The mall isn’t doing amazing, but most aren’t in general. The next closest Apple store is 45 mins away in Columbia, though I personally prefer the Christiana location because no tax (unsurprisingly, Christiana is one of the biggest iPhone sellers in the country because it attracts people from MD, PA, NJ, and NY).

 

[BaldiMac]

Is your argument is that even though the contract says "in the event you close the store and don't reopen one within 50 miles, you must pay out severance to employees" Apple should disregard that and just transfer them to stores that will take them over an hour to get to? (Even though that is also likely prohibited by the union contract)

Or that Apple should pay out severance AND let them keep their jobs if they want them?

Where does your quote come from? What is the surrounding context?

To me, the only real question here is if the union contract forbids Apple from offering relocation. The union says no. Apple says yes. The court will decide who’s correct.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

So Apple offered employees at the non-unionized locations to continue their roles at nearby stores, with transfer eligibility guaranteed, but did not offer it to employees at the unionized location. Seems like unfair treatment to me.

Sure, the union agreement stated the employees could be transferred to a new location if Apple opened one up, but that’s not guaranteed. Alternatively, they could accept severance pay. Ok fine. But it seems weird that Apple would rather pay severance than offer to rehire its employees.

Why anyone would take the side of the executives at a trillion-dollar company instead of its employees making considerably less is beyond me. It’s reasons like this that workers continue to get taken advantage of while the rich get richer. Employees came together to try to protect themselves and instead they are criticized and ostracized.

From the article it sounded like this was exactly what the union contract stipulated, for a severance payout if no other store opens within 50mi. I'm generally pro union but this sounds more like an omission that the union made in their contract negotiation than anything else.

 

[surferfb]

Where does your quote come from? What is the surrounding context?

To me, the only real question here is if the union contract forbids Apple from offering relocation. The union says no. Apple says yes. The court will decide who’s correct.

Quote is my own words, to be clear, based on the reporting I've read. Don't have a copy of the contract or anything like that. Would love to see it.

 

[Hajj.david]

If Maryland / Baltimore have a problem with this, why don't they stick their hands in their pockets and offer a tax cut or an incentive to stay?

 

[jimbobb24]

I thought this was the contract the union agreed to. If the store gets shut down they don't transferred except to a local store.

Otherwise why are politicians looking into a single store shutting in a whole state? Who cares except to grandstand and try to bully apple. I couldn't take being a CEO and having to deal with this level on nonsense about any decision. Just constant screeching from subhuman politicians (thats all of them on all sides).

 

[clayj]

Yet another incursion into "Atlas Shrugged" territory: "We forbid you to close a business if it causes distress to our political allies."

As for those who expected Apple to open a replacement store nearby, well, it's Baltimore. Apple doesn't want to open stores in areas they deem to be sub-optimal -- that's Baltimore.

 

[mansplains]

It’s beyond me that anyone would make a statement like this. Suggesting that executives are in the wrong and employees in the right just because of the difference in their earnings. The case should be settled based on facts alone. Was Apples behavior legal or illegal? I don’t know but that’s the only thing that matters in this case. The fact that the executives make more than the employees couldn’t be more irrelevant.

It’s relevant because someone having more money than you “oppresses” you somehow

 

[zarmanto]

In a letter sent to Apple's CEO Tim Cook and hardware engineering chief John Ternus this week, nine members of U.S. Congress from Maryland expressed "serious concern" regarding Apple's decision ...

I guess I'm not the only person who thinks maybe Ternus is already influencing these C-level decisions, even though he isn't officially in the big chair, yet.

That said... this decision isn't remotely going to be affected by some random politicians with delusions of grandeur. The reality is, Maryland is a very small state, geographically speaking, but due to the high population density in the region, there are already multiple other Apple Retail Stores right at hand; a quick web search reveals five other in-state locations and multiple others in nearby neighboring states. Baltimore residents clearly don't have to go far to get their technology fix.

 

[FatLouie]

Well, as I believe I noted in another thread, one of the expected actions was for the Union to go to the government and get them involved.

My advice to Apple would be to ask the government to show them, in dollars, how closing this store will affect the city of Baltimore. Once provided with those figures, Apple should ask the government to subsidize the employee payroll and benefits for that store. Then watch what happens.

Apple does not have to prove anything regarding sales, etc. They can choose to close what they want; it is up to the Union and the DOL to prove that Apple did so with malice.

The worst and most detrimental action would be to give in to the politicians.

 

[badtzmaru]

oh no not a LETTER!!

 

[jimbobb24]

A lot of us, most of us by the statistics, earn well under $300,000 a year.
Ergo unions are in our favor, yet you're siding with the trillion dollar company... I like Apple products as much as the next guy, but remember you're a line item on someone's cost spreadsheet too. There's no need to cheer for people losing their jobs.

I am unclear where this number comes from or what it means. I want to offer a third possibility....I don't care about Apple or employees as special categories to be considered and don't make moral judgments based on who has more or less money. You don't have to side with either to see it seems what is happening is perfectly reasonable and both parties agreed to this outcome beforehand. It's just not an issue with much drama despite people wanting it to be drama by trying to convince us we would be better in a union and so THATS OUR TEAM and then be emotionally invested. An alternative ridiculous response would be on average most here have a 401K therefore you should be pro Apple for your own benefit. No no yuck to both choices.

 

[mgridgaway]

I guess I'm not the only person who thinks maybe Ternus is already influencing these C-level decisions, even though he isn't officially in the big chair, yet.

That said... this decision isn't remotely going to be affected by some random politicians with delusions of grandeur. The reality is, Maryland is a very small state, geographically speaking, but due to the high population density in the region, there are already multiple other Apple Retail Stores right at hand; a quick web search reveals five other in-state locations and multiple others in nearby neighboring states. Baltimore residents clearly don't have to go far to get their technology fix.

Maryland can absolutely support multiple Apple stores. We’re one of the most affluent states in the country and Towson is smack in the middle of a HCOL area and right next to a university. 100% they are closing the store to bust unions.

As far as “clearly don’t have to go far,” tell me you’ve never driven on 695 without telling me you’ve never driven on 695.