An Apple Inc. retail store in the upscale town of Short Hills, New Jersey, has petitioned to unionize, marking the first such effort after a yearlong lull. The store, located within a mall, has 104 employees that would be part of the union if the effort moves forward. The staff, represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA), filed its petition with the National Labor Relations Board on Monday.

This marks the fifth US Apple store where workers have petitioned to unionize, joining locations in Oklahoma City, the Maryland town of Towson, Atlanta and St. Louis. So far, only the Towson and Oklahoma City sites have successfully unionized.

John Nagy, a member of the organizing committee for the New Jersey, said in a statement provided by the CWA: "We strongly believe forming a union is the best way to ensure all Apple workers receive the respect, pay, benefits and working conditions we deserve. While Apple has responded to organizing by violating workers’ rights at stores across the country, we hope Apple’s executives will recognize their opportunity to stay on the cutting edge by taking a different approach."

Further, the statement added that “By forming a union, we are expressing our dedication to our work and our customers and our desire to have an independent voice to advocate for more fairness and opportunity for all Apple retail workers.'

Lastly, the group asked Apple "not to interfere in our ongoing organizing efforts and, instead, allow workers to freely determine for themselves whether to form a union."

In a statement, Apple said that it was “dedicated to providing an excellent experience for our customers and teams.”

“We have always paid our retail teams in the top tier of the market,” the Cupertino, California-based company said. “And we provide exceptional and comprehensive benefits for all full- and part-time employees as a part of the overall support we provide to our valued team members.” For more, read the full Bloomberg report.