Apple boosting employee perks — except for sole union shop: report
Apple's only union store must negotiate for new benefits under collective bargaining
Apple Inc. is reportedly expanding benefits to all employees except those who work at the tech giant's only unionized store and who will not qualify for the new perks automatically when they roll out.
Citing people familiar with situation, Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the iPhone maker informed its workers that it is boosting the amount of funding they can receive for outside education and adding greater health care benefits in some states.
An Apple logo on the facade of the downtown Brooklyn Apple Store in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File / AP Newsroom)
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At the same time, Apple made clear to workers at its sole union shop in Towson, Maryland, that they would not automatically receive the additional benefits and must negotiate for them via collective bargaining through their union, according to the outlet.
MacRumors noted that Apple head of retail Deirdre O'Brien warned employees back in May that benefits would have to be negotiated through collective bargaining for stores that unionized.
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Apple declined to comment to Bloomberg on the article and did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for a statement.
Customers shop at the Apple Store at the Towson Town Center mall, the first of the company's retail locations in the U.S. where workers voted to unionize, on June 20, 2022, in Towson, Maryland. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Workers at the Apple store in Towson voted in June by a nearly 2-1 margin to seek entry into the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE) union, which is set to begin formal negotiations with the company soon.
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Following reports that Apple employees at Towson would be excluded from the tech firm's new benefits, IAM CORE issued a statement, saying, "Despite the news from Apple today, our goal is still the same. We are urging Apple to negotiate in good faith so we can reach an agreement over the next few weeks."
Workers at the Towson Town Center Apple Store hold their new union T-shirts after employees decided to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union on June 18, 2022. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The union added, "The IAM CORE negotiating committee is dedicated to securing a deal that gives our IAM CORE members the proper respect and dignity at work and sets the standard in the tech industry."
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While the Towson store was the first Apple store to unionize, it may not be the last. Organization efforts have been launched at multiple Apple locations over the past year.
FOX Business' Ken Martin contributed to this report.