Apple will not challenge Maryland store unionization vote

(Reuters) - Apple Inc will not challenge the results of a vote by workers at its Towson, Maryland, store to unionize and intends to participate in the bargaining process in good faith, a person familiar with the company's plans told Reuters on Friday.

Nearly two-thirds of the employees at the store voted to join a union last week, making it the first Apple store in the United States to vote to organize.

The employees voted to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). The IAM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple is one of several major American companies whose workforces have moved to unionize, with workers at some Starbucks Corp and Amazon Inc locations also voting to unionize in recent months.

Apple employees at a store in Georgia earlier this year had plans to vote on unionization but canceled the vote, with union officers later filing a complaint alleging that Apple intimidated its employees. Employees at two other Apple stores in New York are also considering unionization.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Deepa Babington)

By Stephen Nellis