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Baltimore rides the recent wave of union organizing

In June, workers at the Apple store in Towson voted to unionize, becoming the first of the company's U.S. employees to do so. (Credit: International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers)
In June, workers at the Apple store in Towson voted to unionize, becoming the first of the company's U.S. employees to do so. (Credit: International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers)

MOM’s Organic Market, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Maryland Institute College of Art. What do they have in common? Their employees voted to unionize.

Huffington Post labor reporter Dave Jamieson gives us the national picture of this rise in labor organizing. In the wake of the pandemic, what protections do workers seek? How are employers responding?

Then, Starbucks barista Violet Sovine and Apple employee Chaya Barrett reflect on their organizing experiences. Barrett says the risks of the pandemic were a motivator, “I think that was something that really radicalized a lot of us in thinking that we needed to make a change that was going to help us keep our families and keep ourselves safe.”

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.