Do you care about the condition of the employees who make your high end gadgets?

[DesiPower]

Over the last few months we have heard quiet a few news about the factories where apple makes its iPads and iPhones. To sum it up, its horrible, it inhuman by American standards. And not only apple but all electronic manufacturers do it, IBM, HP, Sony, Lenovo, Dell, they all abuse their employees. The question is do you care? I mean, do you really care? we all mock the situation and kind of gloat over it primarily because we loose our jobs to China and India and that makes us bitter, so we make comments which may not exactly reflect how we feel about the sufferings of the employees, but more of our resentment of the company that goes there for cheap labor and for China allowing it.

The below linked article is long, 7 pages, but first page pretty much sums it up, its really disturbing. I really wouldn't care about it if it was about the employees making cheap dollar store buckets and brooms because I know its all about the cost saving, but when I buy an iPad, a Zune or a Galaxy, these are high end expensive product and I would expect the companies not be killing people while making these. It almost feels like I have blood on my hand...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/b...osts-for-workers-in-china.html?pagewanted=all

 

[Patranus]

One thing many people fail to point out is that the suicide rate at FoxConn is incredibly low compared to the United States.

There are roughly 7 suicides per 100,000 employees at FoxConn while in the United States the suicide rate is 19 per 100,000 citizens.

 

[TecHNooB]

I think the design guys get paid pretty well.

 

[Anonemous]

Wow so many articles popping up about the apple slave labor since they had those massive profits last quarter...

 

[lxskllr]

I'm not sure what the relative cost has to do with anything. It's all artificially cheap, and your $500 iPad is likely worth twice that if the workers got paid what they should be getting. I don't like buying from Asia period, but you're kind of stuck with electronics.

 

[zerocool84]

One thing many people fail to point out is that the suicide rate at FoxConn is incredibly low compared to the United States.

There are roughly 7 suicides per 100,000 employees at FoxConn while in the United States the suicide rate is 19 per 100,000 citizens.

Here people commit suicide for getting the wrong color iPod for Christmas. Over there things have to be REALLY messed up for them to do it. Plus, creating products for a communist company doesn't help.

 

[KLin]

One thing many people fail to point out is that the suicide rate at FoxConn is incredibly low compared to the United States.

There are roughly 7 suicides per 100,000 employees at FoxConn while in the United States the suicide rate is 19 per 100,000 citizens.

That's not a good comparison. Better comparison is what is the suicide rate for USPS workers?

 

[Doppel]

I do.

 

[mmntech]

I doubt Foxconn is as bad as many other factories in China. Though its still far below what any worker here would tolerate.

If gadgets are produced over there in appalling conditions, it's really our fault as consumers. We refuse to pay the additional fee incurred with hiring domestic labour to produce our goods. That and with out insatiable greed for gadgets, the North American labour pool is too small to meet demands. It has literally become impossible to produce iPhones here.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Only if they're American. And if they're making high-end gadgets, they probably aren't.

 

[pcgeek11]

As incorrectly stated above, they are not Apple, Lenovo ... employees.

 

[dan4patriots]

I doubt Foxconn is as bad as many other factories in China. Though its still far below what any worker here would tolerate.

If gadgets are produced over there in appalling conditions, it's really our fault as consumers. We refuse to pay the additional fee incurred with hiring domestic labour to produce our goods. That and with out insatiable greed for gadgets, the North American labour pool is too small to meet demands. It has literally become impossible to produce iPhones here.

 

[schneiderguy]

Nope, don't care.

 

[Murloc]

I don't care.

Someone in Europe had to work in those conditions too. Do you think the industrial revolution was done istantly?
No.
To get where we are, it took a century of people suffering in similar conditions, and 2 wars.

Chinese worked hard already as farmers. It's their choice to go and work in a factory. If they do it, there must be a reason.

As a consumer, I choose not to buy apple products for various reasons, but in general I don't really care about the source of my electronics.
Do I even have a choice?
are there socially sustainable phone brands?

 

[Rage187]

Eh

 

[nageov3t]

I would pay more to purchase electronics made by employees working in more humane conditions.

unfortunately, the market doesn't really give us a choice

 

[dud]

I voted "uninformed" ... but its hard to feel bad for someone who has a job in China vice the multitude of unemployed in your own country.

Life is a choice ...

 

[SandEagle]

i won't buy Nike if their made by Chinese kids.


no one makes them better than Indian kids.

 

[zinfamous]

One thing many people fail to point out is that the suicide rate at FoxConn is incredibly low compared to the United States.

There are roughly 7 suicides per 100,000 employees at FoxConn while in the United States the suicide rate is 19 per 100,000 citizens.

that sounds like a completely irrelevant comparison.

Well, unless you don't give a dick about controlling variables and making a legit argument, I suppose.

 

[Ns1]

or

Pick 1.

 

[frostedflakes]

The thing you need to ask is, what would they be doing if these factory jobs didn't exist? Probably working just as many hours or more trying to eke out a living as a farmer in rural China and earning far less money. There's a reason millions of Chinese are lining up for these factory jobs. It's all a matter of perspective, most people in the US can't even fathom how working 12 hour shifts in a factory is one of these peoples better options, but the US isn't a country that is making the shift from agrarian economy to industrialized, we made that shift a long time ago and have already reaped the rewards that the increased productivity brings (higher pay and standard of living, shorter work week, etc.). The US and every other western nation went through the same growing pains during industrialization. In due time the Chinese will fight for better pay and worker protections as well, but it won't be an overnight thing, especially when you're talking about a country of ~1.3 billion that is being slowly but surely lifted out of poverty.

 

[FoBoT]

 

[amdhunter]

It makes me feel better to know someone literally gave their life to make a product, that I'll use for 3 months of light use before I toss it aside for another.

God bless China.

 

[darkxshade]

I guess to be honest, in the grand scheme, I don't care enough to do something about it but enough to talk crap about companies that do it when it's being mentioned then I'll just forget about all of it the next day and go about my business until someone brings it up again.

 

[0roo0roo]

Excellent new york times piece on this issue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html
"“Another critical advantage for Apple was that China provided engineers at a scale the United States could not match. Apple’s executives had estimated that about 8,700 industrial engineers were needed to oversee and guide the 200,000 assembly-line workers eventually involved in manufacturing iPhones. The company’s analysts had forecast it would take as long as nine months to find that many qualified engineers in the United States.”"

Scale is nuts.

Anyways, what happens in china is chinas problem.