In a world of increasing demand for labor rights, Apple store employees in France are looking to join in on the movement. Ahead of the launch of the iPhone 15 this week, French Apple staff have officially called for a strike to begin this Friday.
Reuters reported on the announcement, which was posted to X (formerly Twitter) by the union CGT Apple France. The union is calling for a two-day strike to begin this Friday, which is concurrent with the launch of the highly-anticipated iPhone 15 announced just a week ago. The outlet reports that the union wants the demonstration to occur at Paris Opera Garnier, near one of the company’s flagship stores, following unsuccessful meetings with company management for increased pay. Union member Karine Chouchane reportedly told the French outlet Libération that the call could mobilize an estimated 75% of Apple’s French workforce.
“Management having decided to ignore our demands and concerns despite their perfect legitimacy, the 4 unions of Apple Retail France (as well as the representatives of the Barcelona and Corporate teams) are calling for a strike, on September 22 and 23,” CGT Apple Retail wrote in a statement on Twitter, machine translated from French. “We will thus remind management that it is not these movements that harm the company, but rather their denial in the face of the discomfort of its employees.”
The Apple union push has been going strong, with some stores in the U.S. already seeing traction but not without friction. Apple’s World Trade Center store in New York City was the site of a union push in spring 2022 alongside a similar push at an Apple store in Atlanta. Higher pay is at the top of the list of demands for unionizing Apple employees, as they argue that their compensation hasn’t kept up with the rate of inflation. After some union-busting tactics were deployed by Apple in New York, a National Labor Relations Board judge told Apple to cease and desist coercively interrogating employees over union efforts.
Nevertheless, Apple has been shifting its attention to some mounting pressure in France. In addition to the French employees’ union push, iPhone 12 sales in the country were halted after regulators found that the devices were emitting levels of electromagnetic radiation higher than European Union standards. Following France’s lead, Germany and Belgium followed suit with their own investigations into the device.