With a letter signed by 40 members of Congress sent Monday, Apple faces increased federal pressure over its plan to shut down the Apple Towson Town Center store in Maryland on June 20. The location holds the distinction of being the first Apple retail store in the United States to unionize.
Congress pressures Apple to keep first unionized U.S. store open
Forty members of Congress sent a letter Monday to outgoing and incoming Apple CEOs Tim Cook and John Ternus urging the company to reconsider its decision to close the Towson store, announced in early April 2026. Towson was the first Apple Store in the United States to unionize, in 2022.
Signatories include prominent progressive legislators such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ro Khanna, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, among others.
How we got here
In early April, Apple pointed to Towson Town Center as one of three retail stores that would close in June. It cited the departure of other retailers and generally deteriorating conditions at the malls where those stores operate.
In 2022, Towson store workers voted in favor of joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Union. In the years since, workers fought for and eventually secured a first collective bargaining agreement.
The closure announcement became contentious when it emerged that Towson employees would be treated differently from workers at other closing stores. Apple said the union contract only obligates it to offer transfers within 50 miles of Towson and severance beyond that. But the IAM Union argued that workers denied the broader relocation options available to employees at non-union locations constitutes retaliation on Apple’s part.
Photo: International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
What Congress said
The congressional letter pulls no punches. The lawmakers describe the closure decision as “unacceptable in its impact, and deeply troubling in its national implications for workers’ rights,” and characterize it as appearing to be “the latest move in a union-busting effort.”
The letter makes two core demands:
1. First, Apple should reconsider closing the store at all. The letter noted the Towson location is a high-performing store where management had recently hired additional workers. And nearly 100 technologically skilled employees would lose their jobs during what the letter describes as one of the most difficult economic periods in recent history.
2. Second, if the closure proceeds, lawmakers insist Apple treat Towson employees equally to workers at other closing stores. That means they should be offered transfers to nearby locations rather than having to reapply for jobs from scratch (a requirement Apple attributed to the existence of the collective bargaining agreement).
The letter also invokes federal labor law directly. Members of Congress warned Apple that its actions appear to constitute unfair labor practices in violation of Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. It protects workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively without interference or coercion.
The broader stakes
The lawmakers stressed that what happens in Towson carries implications well beyond this single store. They argued Apple appears to send a message to other stores currently considering or in the process of unionizing that such efforts will be met with pushback.
The IAM Union had already filed an unfair labor practice charge against Apple in April, prior to the congressional letter. This latest development from Capitol Hill adds federal legislative pressure on top of that pending legal action.
What’s next
Apple’s website currently shows the Towson Town Center store will close on June 20. Apple has not publicly commented on the congressional letter. The legal proceedings will likely determine whether Apple’s decision to close the store constitutes legitimate business judgment or an attempt to undermine union activity.
The congressional letter also requests that Apple work with federal and Maryland state officials to identify alternatives that could preserve employment for the store’s skilled workforce.
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
