Apple Closes First Unionized U.S. Store in Maryland on June 20
What You Need to Know
- Apple closing its first unionized retail location in Maryland on June 20, 2024.
- Towson store workers voted to unionize in 2022 with the International Association of Machinists.
- Apple attributes closures to declining mall conditions, but timing raises questions about labor relations.
- Apple opened 11 new stores globally last year while closing three underperforming locations.
The most underreported angle here is that one of these three closing stores is America’s first unionized Apple location, and Apple is shutting it down four years after workers there made history.
The Towson Town Center store in Maryland became the first unionized Apple retail location in the United States in 2022, when employees voted to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Apple is now closing it on June 20, along with stores in Trumbull, Connecticut and San Marcos, California. The company attributes all three closures to declining mall conditions and tenant departures at each shopping center.
The union’s response was predictably sharp. The IAMAW criticized the closure decision and flagged concerns about its effect on workers and the surrounding community. Unlike the other two stores, where Apple says employees will transfer to nearby locations, Towson workers must apply for open positions elsewhere under collective bargaining terms, a distinction that gives the union a concrete grievance rather than just a symbolic one.
Apple’s explanation, that malls are struggling and conditions have declined, is not wrong. Foot traffic at enclosed malls has been sliding for over a decade, and several major retailers have exited these specific centers. Whether that fully explains the timing of the Towson closure, four years into a contentious labor relationship, is a question Apple has not been asked to answer publicly.
Apple’s Broader Retail Posture
The closures do not signal a retail retreat. Apple opened 11 stores globally in the past year and upgraded or relocated 14 others, with 2 new U.S. openings and 8 domestic upgrades completed in that period. The company is clearly shifting investment toward higher-performing locations rather than pulling back from physical retail altogether.
Three stores closing is a small number against that backdrop. The Towson situation is the part worth watching closely, because it sets a precedent for how Apple handles unionized locations when business decisions and labor agreements collide.
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