For the launch of the iPhone 15, employees went on strike, which is clearly not usual for the company. With no replenishment of departures, increase too low, we headed to the meeting point in front of the largest Apple Store in France, the Place de l’Opéra in Paris.
Under heavy rain, the most devoted Apple fans turned out around 9:15 am in front of the Opera Apple Store to pick up the new iPhone 15 and 15 Pro. A queue forms, but nothing out of the ordinary. There’s even a little silence, a regular whispers. Is it because of the bad weather or has the strike movement by Apple Store employees discouraged you? Hard to say.
In front of the Opera awning, the usual blue jerseys with apple logos are eclipsed by fluorescent orange chasubles. This is the CFDT union, second in terms of representation (around 30%) within Apple France, neck and neck with the CFCT. The union has met here because it is the most prestigious Apple Store in France, spread over 3 floors and home to 300 employees.
From 2600 to 2200 employees
The image is strong. We could almost believe it is Midjourney since we are not used to it. Initially, the employees had only received authorization to picket on the opposite sidewalk, but pressured by both the issue and the presence of the press, they decided to improvise a short speech with the iconic apple logo behind them. The opportunity is too good.
“The Apple Watch saves lives, they can take care of the financial health of their employees. We are in contact with Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, all these countries that cannot speak, we also speak for them. We think that if Apple is capable of doing ecology, why can’t we do social work? »asks a CFDT representative.
Strike in Apple Stores in France starting September 22, 2023. // Source: Frandroid – Anthony Wonner
Strike in Apple Stores in France starting September 22, 2023. // Source: Frandroid – Anthony Wonner
Strike in Apple Stores in France starting September 22, 2023. // Source: Frandroid – Anthony Wonner
Strike in Apple Stores in France starting September 22, 2023. // Source: Frandroid – Anthony Wonner
“We only want decent salaries, we have colleagues who have a standard of living that does not allow them to live in the 10 largest cities in France”breathes Renaud Chateauroux, union delegate of the CFDT and specialist in the Apple Store in front of which he is picketing. “We have people who are forced to work two part-time jobs to make ends meet, and today, with Apple, the richest company in the world, that is not possible. We must not allow people to end the month in the red. Since October 2022, in France, we have gone from 2,600 to 2,200 employees due to a policy of non-replacement departures. We end up with repairmen who sell iPhones, stockists who help at the Genius bar.”, the employee whispers. Remember that Apple is one of the most profitable companies in the world, to the tune of $119 billion in 2022.
The union assures that the 20 stores in France are affected by the movement with an average of 10 employees mobilized. Because no more? “ Because losing money to gain it is a kind of vicious circle.”laments Renaud Chateauroux.
#expectedmore
A Unsa representative who calls himself Seb agrees: “It bothers us to strike when an iPhone is launched, because we love our jobs anyway. But faced with a management that does not want to listen to anything, we feel obliged to react. We know we are pretty well off, but socially others are catching up to us and things aren’t changing much. They tell us that we are putting the company in danger, but we have to stop, above Apple, there is only the sun. »
A group of employees carries a sign that says #I expected more. This refers to the internal performance rating system. This is divided into three grades: excepted more (we expected more), exception achieved (expectation achieved) and expectation exceeded (range exceeded). This is, of course, a joke that consists of turning the system for judging Apple’s social policy on its head. The strike is scheduled to continue this Saturday, September 23. Some striking employees hope the movement will continue and gain even more momentum, although there is no certainty at the moment.
