Team Adam's Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Saving American jobs is one reason to buy Made in the USA... the inhumane conditions in which people are forced to work in China and similar countries is another. Chinese iPad Workers Forced To Sign "No Suicide" Pledge A new investigation by two NGO's into working conditions at two major Chinese factories run by Foxconn responsible for pumping out iPads might make you angrier than a bird trying to destroy a bunch of green pigs, reports The Guardian. Among their findings was that after a rash of suicides at the factories, workers were forced to sign pledges promising not to commit suicide and to instead "treasure their lives." In addition, they had to promise that if they did kill themselves, their families would only seek the minimum in legal damages. Apple told The Guardian in a statement that they're, "committed to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility throughout our supply base. Apple requires suppliers to commit to our comprehensive supplier code of conduct as a condition of their contracts with us. We drive compliance with the code through a rigorous monitoring programme, including factory audits, corrective action plans and verification measures." The research by the Center for Research on Multinational Corporations and Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior also found: Illegal overtime is common. One payslip stated 98 hours of overtime. The legal limit is 36. Workers were pushed to only take one day off out of 13 days in order to meet the demand for iPad orders Public humiliation is required in some factories to discipline poorly performing workers This is the human cost of the race towards the bottom that has become our consumer product cycle. You want fast, cheap, and in massive quantities? Somewhere, someone will bear that cost. Foxconn says it is on track to making 100 million iPads a year by 2013. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewy Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I took that pledge when I was born! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAYBEN Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 that is crazy.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigredmariner Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris@Adams Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylander Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I wonder how much of that production/worker stress is simply the result of a rising wealth and middle class in China? The peasant poor are getting more and more pressure from the country's own middle class, and it's got to be humiliating and frustrating. I wouldn't be surprised if suicide was becoming a more frequent occurrence in a wide swath of Chinese labor, not just Foxconn. I feel for the people forced to work like that... my issues are with the country and it's inhumane/protectionist practices, not with the general population of China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawson4450 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 yeah and they wonder why we have unions otherwise this country would be the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueGenCoupe Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
03Ap1 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Unfortunately they will never go out of business..chinese things are made too cheap.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunky Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 China is just where the US worker was 100 years ago. The country just has not become as progressive (or socialistic depends on definition) on being sensitive to workers rights as most western countries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 So, USA corporations, and others, want to give people cheap goods, so badly, that it's killing the workers, literally? So, instead of having to pay the families of people that take themselves out, because their working conditions and lives are so miserable, they basically have a contract which states, "We won't pay if you kill yourself?" I never thought that I would say this, but China needs to see some Labor Union influence. That, or we need to tax the holy moly out of everything that comes from countries where the working conditions are awful. (Employees required to sign suicide payout agreements, etc.) Stuff like this makes me so angry, and it seems everyone still shops Wal-Mart and buys Chinese goods like nothing is wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6spdg37s Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 thats really f-d up but at the same time APPLE is amazing IMO product wise that is ... china is a weird country my friend moved back over there (well to hong kong actually) but his family is loaded (involved in politics, clubs, concert venues, etc;) so hes living it up driving around in ferraris and lexus trucks while a majority of the country is dirt poor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunky Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 so hes living it up driving around in ferraris and lexus trucks while a majority of the country is dirt poor That is quite common worldwide in 3rd world countries and is happening in the US. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. If it was not for safety nets (all those entitlements that people seem to hate), there would be more widespread poverty that there is now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ryan Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Ummm... I'm using a blood pad. Who needs an iPad 2? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07_TB_RIDER Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 I should get a Moto Zoom instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jkel Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 And you thought your job was bad........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug123 Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 They are driven by the stock holders who judge performance by the $$ return on their investments. Apple has some nice technology, but so much for any alleged social awareness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Adam's Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 I'm genuinely interest in the new blackberry tablet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug123 Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 it will be interesting to see what blackberry brings to the table. Apple products are nice, but they are always pricey. We shall see if someone leapfrogs them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Adam's Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 I've played with the Samsung Tab and wasn't impressed. Since getting my Evo I'm really a big fan of the Android operating system, but the execution on the Tab just didn't do it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMADreamer Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 yeah and they wonder why we have unions otherwise this country would be the same way. Definitely, I'd hate to think where we'd be without unions. Everything we have as a worker is because of them and if they go away, this country will be just like China. The big corps want that now, that's why they are spending so much money to buy congress and state governors. As a side note, the hours and over time pay are very reminiscent of my childhood growing up on a farm in the midwest. Of course, I'm only joking, sort of. We work much longer hours then that during harvest. But hey America wants cheap food too, somebodies gotta do it. Go ahead keep hating on the farmers wanting to take our subsidies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jkel Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 As a side note, the hours and over time pay are very reminiscent of my childhood growing up on a farm in the midwest. Of course, I'm only joking, sort of. We work much longer hours then that during harvest. But hey America wants cheap food too, somebodies gotta do it. Go ahead keep hating on the farmers wanting to take our subsidies. No that was just teaching you the value of hard work, and oh how I hated that. Sun up to Sun Down. We only had 8 acres and I thought I was on a plantation, corn, beans and oh lord, okra. Now that I am grown paying grocery store prices I wished that garden was still growing. If the prices keep going up just might have to break out the old tractor. Still have a small garden now but nothing like when I was a kid, but your point was well taken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMADreamer Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 No that was just teaching you the value of hard work, and oh how I hated that. Sun up to Sun Down. We only had 8 acres and I thought I was on a plantation, corn, beans and oh lord, okra. Now that I am grown paying grocery store prices I wished that garden was still growing. If the prices keep going up just might have to break out the old tractor. Still have a small garden now but nothing like when I was a kid, but your point was well taken. Luckily now I only farm during the busy seasons when extra help is needed. So that's only 4-5 months out of the year but I get more then my fill then. My gf suggested putting in a garden to which I thought was a great idea for her to do, but the last thing I wanted to do was to come home from farming and well..... farm. lol The funny thing is I went to college 10 years ago to do something other then farming and I swear every year that goes by I work more at the farm then the previous. I understand the Chinese have horrible dangerous work conditions and all that but I don't feel for them when it comes to their hours. Last harvest the weather was perfect and we worked 60 days straight from 6am to 10pm and sometimes later. I don't know if I've ever worked a 40 hour week in my life. They are all 60, 70, 80, 100 hour weeks. I realize that's not the norm for America but more and more Americans are working more and more, for less. Which of course is why I believe we have to invest in America by buying American. We have to get back to having a population who has more free time then work time and makes a good living doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jkel Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Amen Jason, Buy American. 40 hrs a week, What is that? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.