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What is our moral obligation if we are buying a product that is made half way around the globe by employees so mistreated that their bosses have to string up nets around factory windows so that workers will stop jumping in an attempt to commit suicide?
According to CNET, the watchdog group SumOfUs will deliver their own petition, as well as one created by Change.org, to Apple stores worldwide. Cities to receive petitions include New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, London, Sydney, and Bangalore.
Over 250,000 combined signatures have been collected to pressure Apple into releasing the first ethical iPhone.
The petitions were created in response to an expose by the New York Times and an episode of This American Life – both painted a dark picture of suffering factory workers in China. Days after the Times article was published, Cook sent an email to employees stating the company cares about all workers.
“We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain,” Cook said in the email. “Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don’t care is patently false and offensive to us.”
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad freeActivists petition Apple for ethical iPhone 5
The opposition points out that if Apple put enough pressure on the manufacturers, factories would have no choice but to improve work conditions. A former Apple executive told the Times anonymously, “Suppliers would change everything tomorrow if Apple told them they didn’t have another choice.”
Foxconn manufactures over 50 percent of the world’s electronic devices for companies like Microsoft, Samsung and Apple. Conditions are so bad that a spike of suicides plagued the company in 2011. Because suicides are so common, the company placed nets around buildings to prevent people from jumping.
“Can Apple do this? Absolutely.” SumOfUs said in their petition. “Apple is the richest company in the world.”
–CBS News
Wouldn’t the most logical solution, and the most politically correct one to be we suggest they bring the jobs to the US? Shouldn’t they be here anyway.? I am very much a believer in human rights, and that includes employment rights. Should we be concerned about fixing our ills at least as much as we are fixing China’s ? There are unemployed people here who have committed suicide because they gave their life to a job that pulled away (usually based on profits) . Where are their nets? I disagree. This is all about politics, but more about ours than… Read more »
Foxconn workers make 51 cents on the hour, and compare that – last year Tim Cook made 378 MILLION dollars. Cheap labour and huge profit margins are the reasons companies move manufacturing off shore. Apple’s profit margin on the iPhone in 2009 was 64%. I didn’t say anything about converting China to Democracy…haha…no iPhone is going to do that. But the U.S. is now in economic competition with China. I don’t think American companies are intentionally helping China’s enonomy fare better…good grief – workers are making 51 cents an hour; but Americans want to have their cake and eat it… Read more »
If iPhones assembly got moved to the United States, Tim Cook would need to take a huge salary cut in order to pay American workers their fare due…which then would drive up the cost of the iPhone…maybe would cost $1000.00 per phone. In 2009, it costs under $200 for production of each iPhone and Chinese labour cost $6.50/phone
Be prepared for the Chinese government to protest. It will say that you Westerners are interfering in the sovereignty of China and are trying to impose your Eurocentric definition of human rights. It will say that China has its own great history of human rights and its workers are making great progress and this criticism is just outsider propaganda. It will then attempt to ban mention of this on the internet in China, possibly ban This American Life, and block the someofus website in the interest of national security. And then, perhaps China would begin to boycott the U.S. entirely… Read more »
this doesn’t have much to do with politics…more to do with employment rights. It’s in the best interest of China and it’s workers to fix these labour problems. They count on these jobs/contracts from foreign investors…this is how they are prospering and competing globally. Chances are electronics and most products, other than food, are made in China or India. http://mashable.com/2012/01/10/tim-cook-378-million “Apple CEO Tim Cook received $378 million in compensation last year, which makes him the highest-paid CEO and puts his annual income at a level that hot startups can only envy.” http://www.zdnet.com/blog/government/is-apples-suicide-factory-outsourcing-to-even-cheaper-chinese-peasants/9537 On the 10th of each month, Foxconn workers… Read more »
Michelle, your point is confusing. First off, you admitted that their current strategy has led to prosperity and the ability to compete globally, but then you used that to “back up” why they should change their strategy? If it isn’t broken, why fix it? Second, the salary comparison doesn’t really make sense. Literally anyone can do unskilled labor. That’s the definition of unskilled. Workers in China performing unskilled labor are going to be low paid because they are doing a job anyone is capable of doing. Why should someone get paid more if someone else is willing and able to… Read more »
FIRST: I’m not sure what you are confused about. “Back up”? Perhaps this should explain…yes, China counts on jobs/contracts from foreign investors and this is helping to industrialized their economy and compete; but the situation here with Apple stands out (UNIQUE), because of the very HIGH demand for Apple products – the problem is HIGH demand and LOW supply – so in order to meet this global demand, Chinese workers are being overworked to the point of suicide – 70 hours a week, with some standing on their feet all day. They don’t even get to go ‘home’, they live… Read more »