Apple workers in Maryland vote for company’s first unionized store in U.S.

Employees at an Apple store in Maryland voted Saturday to join a union that could encourage other Apple stores to do the same. The first Apple store in the U.S. is in Towson.

Workers at Apple's other retail locations could move forward with organizing after the vote was a defeat for Apple.

Sixty five votes in favor and 33 against were counted. More than 100 employees were eligible to vote to join the association. The voting ended on Saturday evening.

We did it. The vote was won by us. Thank you to everyone who supported and worked so hard. The organizers of Towson are using social media.

The votes need to be certified by the labor relations board. It could take a few days. After the vote is certified, Apple must negotiate with the union over working conditions.

The store is not in a high-traffic area in a big city. There is a small location inside the mall.

The store got a lot of attention from Apple management. The head of retail and HR for Apple visited the location. O'Brien told employees that it would be harder for Apple to respond to employee concerns if they joined unions. She said unions don't care about the company's workers.

Workers want more input over their pay and working conditions.

The decision to form a union is about workers gaining access to rights that they don't currently have, according to a letter written by organizers.

Retail organizers at other Apple stores are watching the results of the union drives at the Towson store. Two high-traffic, high-volume stores in New York, the Grand Central Terminal and World Trade Center have signaled that they are unionizing, but have yet to vote on it.

One store in Atlanta, Georgia was scheduled to have an election earlier this month that was delayed indefinitely after the union, Communication Workers of America, accused Apple of intimidating its employees. Stores in Louisville, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee are in the process of reorganizing.

The core business model of Apple is not likely to be jeopardized by the Apple retail union. Although Apple stores are important for selling products, Apple also sells through its website and retail partners. Apple has a smaller workforce than other companies that are facing union drives.

Apple is a profitable company. Retail employees in the U.S. make at least $22 per hour according to the company.