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After Tragedy, Apple Tries to Polish Image on Workers’ Rights
Apple’s trademark is the intuitive elegance of its designs. Yet when it comes corporate and labor practices, Apple’s track record looks like a morass of obfuscation and murky public-relations smokscreens. So activists seeking a more user-friendly Apple on the human rights front should welcome the company’s new “Supplier Responsibility” report.
Employees work on an assembly line at the Foxconn plant in Shenzhen, China. (Photo : Getty Images)
But the results of 229 documented audits display the troubling gap between its slick modern ethos and grim working conditions in its supply chain. Reuters reports:
The audit found a number of violations, among them breaches in pay, benefits and environmental practices in plants in China, which figured prominently throughout the 500-page report Apple issued. Other violations found in the audit included dumping wastewater onto a neighboring farm, using machines without safeguards, testing workers for pregnancy and falsifying pay records.
The "Supplier responsibility progress report" also found that “67 facilities had docked worker pay as a disciplinary measure.” The company states it is continually working to deal with violations of overtime and child labor.
The report’s admission of several cases of underage workers at some component suppliers bolsters the anecdotal evidence presented dramatically in “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.” in which performer Mike Daisey recalls encountering underage workers at an Apple supplier facility in Shenzhen.
Apple has come under fire over its connection to Foxconn, a Taiwan-based manufacturer that employs tens of thousands in fortress-like facilities--a crucial part of the supply chain for iPhones and other high-profile products. These workers are typically young migrants from more rural areas, who are willing to brave long hours and paltry wages in mechanical, hyper-efficient assembly lines.
But something cracked in 2010, and a series of harrowing suicides--workers flinging themselves from buildings--got consumers around the world talking about whether their gadget obsession was complicit in pushing workers to the brink.
In a report last year, Apple claimed it was working in close partnership with Foxconn officials to prevent further tragedies. After Foxconn instituted some safeguards, such as mental health counseling programs, Apple stated, “Foxconn’s response had definitely saved lives.”
But if Foxconn and Apple have prevented some deaths, the lives of Chinese workers are in many cases still plagued by crippling hardship and frustration.
Two events show that the broader socioeconomic trends Apple has set in motion still roil throughout China and the global marketplace. Earlier this month at a central Beijing store, customers were told that the new iPhone 4S had sold out. Soon a crowd of anxious, angry customers reacted by lobbing eggs at the storefront. The scene revealed that China too is becoming a consumerist society, racing to follow the model of Western capitalism. And yet this rising culture of consumption only deepens the irony of poorer Chinese workers getting chained to the underbelly of that system.
Just recently, Foxconn was forced to negotiate with employees when many workers went on strike and some even “climbed to the top of the six-story dormitory on 3 January and threatened to jump before Wuhan city officials persuaded them to desist and return to work,” reported the Guardian.
It seems that these workers, whose lives revolve around the Xbox, feel the only viable collective bargaining process open to them is threatening mass suicide. The workers climbed down this time, but the incident underscores how global consumerism perverts the balance between labor rights and profit-making.
The day-to-day lives of these Foxconn workers are fraught with endless working hours, surveillance and enforced silence--all in the name of ensuring “quality.” One Foxconn worker at Chengdu plant remarked to Der Spiegel last year, “Order and obedience rule here.” The oppressiveness of the workplace may feed into the overarching regime of censorship and control, which ensures that political activism is consistently stifled by authorities.
Apple--an emblem of iconoclasm, individual freedom, and youth--surely doesn’t want its crisp image blemished by such sterile brutality. So under the leadership of new executive Tim Cook, the company just announced a partnership with the Fair Labor Association, which plans to carefully monitor working conditions and ensure Apple complies with the FLA Code of Conduct. That includes provisions for freedom of association, workplace health and safety, and regulated working hours.
Advocates who have long been in the trenches with Chinese workers, fostering emerging grassroots movements, are hopeful but wary of Apple’s latest promises.
Pauline Overeem of the watchdog group Good Electronics told In These Times that the Apple-FLA agreement shows that public scrutiny and consumer-driven activist campaigns have had an impact. But she said, “the race has not yet been run, there are major challenges ahead. We are calling upon FLA to use our network, local contacts and expertise etc to work effectively towards improvements.”
Li Qiang of China Labor Watch told In These Times that when corporations ostensibly cooperate with outside monitoring groups as “partners,” it’s still “difficult for the reports to be completely independent and absolutely objective. So some problems may still remain hidden even after signing up to the monitoring system.” Qiang added that while these measures were a good step:
whether this is a turning point for Apple is still open to doubt. As we all know, Apple is one of the biggest in the industry and it has the most profits. That's why Apple should take more responsibility and take the lead to make some changes. If Apple does not, no one in the industry will.
With relentless efficiency, Apple’s brand has broadened the horizons of the digital world. But now it has to confront the injustices lurking in the shadows of its corporate dominion.
23 Comments so far
Show AllNice article but shouldn't mince words. It's slave labor, plain and simple. Call it that. And therefore it's illegal, so call corporations that knowingly use slave labor criminals. This way they can't just slide by with fancy reports and promises to "make incremental changes".
My recently favorite television news report, which I observed a day or two ago, explained bizarre essay questions for students applying to "select" colleges to answer are designed to discover "the next Steve Jobs." Reading Chen's article, I now know the sort of student for which "select" colleges "are looking."
The music business loves apple because Apple made it damn near impossible for the ordinary person to copy music from their ipod onto a new computer. Apple controls your music with itunes. Consumers love Apple because of the extraordinarily sleek hardware/software design. To make one of those beautiful things, you have to first kill several million people in the Congo for the necessary minerals. You have to use massive heavy equipment to move the tons and tons of earth to get a few pounds of rare earth elements. Then, as a high-tech job creator, you move all manufacturing to China where people are a dime a dozen. Nobody in the rich white north cares if millions of blacks are murdered in Africa or millions of Chinese endure modern day slavery. What really matters is how cheap and cool the next ipad, or iphone is gonna be. As God tested Job with great hardships in the bible, I wonder if he tested Saint Steve Jobs with great blessings in real life.
But you know what really cracks me up? It's when people write about "sustainable environmental best practices" on their Apple computer product.
apple sucks - big time
lousy products - lousy customer service - anyone who has been in one of their cattle car stores knows that
here are some facts:
an apple emp,koyee talking about the customers : "Its amazing how badly behaved some customers are. I have seen customers have complete meltdowns and get phones exchanged that were like two years old. They scream, cry, curse. And it works. People can be horrible. Sometimes it’s like working at McDonald’s"
http://www.dailymobileblog.com/apple-employee-shares-experience-working-in-store
"A group of high-powered tech companies has been slapped with a class action suit for conspiring to artificially keep employee wages low. The companies being sued are Adobe, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, Lucasfilm, and Pixar. Sound familiar? It should. These companies, with the exception of Lucasfilm, were investigated by the Department of Justice for the same reason, and in September each avoided litigation with the DOJ by agreeing to change their ways on the matter."
http://hothardware.com/News/Apple-Google-Intel-Others-Sued-for-Conspiring-to-Keep-Wages-Low/
"• Veteran Apple Store workers asking about pay disparities (namely, that new hires were being paid more than many employees who had been at the Apple Store for a year or more) are told that “money shouldn’t be an issue when you’re employed at Apple.” Rather, the chance to work at Apple “should be looked at as an experience” worth more than competitive pay alone."
http://www.cultofmac.com/103041/apple-store-employees-speak-out-against-demoralizing-draining-work-conditions/
try that with your landlord at rent time - you know morty you should be thinking of me living here as an experience - forget this money crap bro
that oughta work fine
"Apple understaffs its retail stores to keep costs down, adding undue amounts of stress for employees and customers alike. A Maryland employee interviewed said that Apple’s understaffing could make the workload “overwhelming” and “a lot more difficult to be effective.” A New York Apple Store employee confirms, comparing the disparity between the lengths Apple goes to to satisfy customers and the length it will go to appease employees as “demoralizing.”"
"Recent changes in Apple Store scheduling policies have led to a “very big overhaul” of workers’ schedules and responsibilities, which means that the average Apple Store employee has less time to do repairs, less consistent schedules and a lot more employee burnout as they spend more time on the floor and work more early morning shifts immediately following night shifts. The new system is described as “draining emotionally and physically.”"
http://www.cultofmac.com/103041/apple-store-employees-speak-out-against-demoralizing-draining-work-conditions/
then there was the outpouring of grief at the passing of the cult leader kim jong jobs
if these workers behind the counter are geniuses then what are they doing working retail for minimum wages i wonder
the pc has a 97% market share - end of story
the ipod is good - i'll give them that
We live in a world where 99% of the people work as slaves so that the 1% can live like kings. The little Eichmanns who enable the 1%, the corporate middle and upper managers, the brokers and traders, etc, also benefit substantially from our slave model world.
In Europe, people fought and won certain social rights and to a lesser degree Americans got some such as social security, but the 1% have fought back relentlessly and they have turned the collapse of the economy into an opportunity to crush all the prior gains (shock doctrine continued).
The OWS people have the right idea and the 1% should fear them because a lot of people have started to listen. When a critical mass builds up, the 1% will not stand quietly by, but will enforce discipline, just like the corporations have in the past, even with military help if they need it. We will see violence, but from above, not from the OWS people. Take our good allies in Bahrain and Yemen as examples of what the 1% will do to keep power.
"Advocates who have long been in the trenches with Chinese workers, fostering emerging grassroots movements, are hopeful but wary of Apple’s latest promises."
Really? I have my doubts. How in the world can anyone 'get into the trenches'?
I guess things might have changed since 1972 when I went to work in a factory in Taiwan. Workers lived where they worked. Most came from the countryside as this article states. They entered the factory around the age of 14. They had to sign an 8 year contract. We worked in 10 hour shifts. The high school students worked the swing/night shift. When they graduated from high school, they were obligated to work 4 more years to pay back their high school tuition.
We would sit bent over microscopes doing bonding. My eyes would water from the shooting pains I invariably would get down my back. Supervisors would politely and repeatedly impress upon me that my speed and quality were not up to the others. There were always a couple of very tall men from the companies whose work we were doing, HP, etc. standing around to intimidate the young women.
(Later, when I was back in Taipei, I was told by a very young and very tall man that when he applied for a job in Silicon Valley, he had been immediately offered a job in Taiwan because his height would help intimidate the female workers. He was surprised and thrilled at the opportunity to travel.)
As the article states, the place we lived looked like a prison. It was fenced and locked. Our factory only had a few floors. I stayed in the room with the supervisors... older factory workers. We had a long room, about 15' feet by 8'. Since these women were supervisors, we were only 6 in the room. We each had a narrow bunk. The bunks were stacked 3 high and were directly across from each other so that there was about 21/2' between them.
At the opposite end of the room were shelves. Each worker had the same number of possessions: 3 light weight polyester dresses, a plastic wash basin for laundry, a brush, some soap, etc. Possessions were quite minimal.
Again, I was in the room with older workers who had more comfort. Since I was a young woman, one of the most egregious things I noticed was the lack of sexual maturity or opportunity for social-sexual interaction. Very few men lived at the factory and I never saw them interact with the women. I assume they were engineers or managers and lived in some other part of the compound. And, they were the only ones who ever played ball in the courtyard.
Everyday, was the same: 'rice soup' (which, I think, was just the left over water used to steam the buns) and a steam bun for breakfast (no filling); a fairly generous amount of steamed rice with a small garnish of vegetable for lunch and the same thing for dinner.
The bathrooms had numbers of stalls with a hole cut in the floor. Splatterings of diarrhea were impossible to avoid when squatting there.
And, in the evenings... the bathrooms were full. This was the community gathering place!! This is where they brought their polyester dresses to wash them each evening after work. And, as they stood at the sinks, hand washing their simple dress... they sang. Never on this earth have I ever heard anything so angelic. I would be there squatting... the sounds of angels filling these prison walls with song ... there are no words.
In any case, the elitism that allowed this sort of reality was given a '.' when I decided to leave. I had no choice in the matter. And, since my stay there had been arranged through family connections, the owner himself decided to see me off.
In the few weeks I had been there, a certain fondness between me and the supervisors developed. I guess the owner was apprised of this so when he arranged the going away luncheon at an expensive restaurant in Taipei, two of my former roommates were also brought to Taipei to attend the small luncheon.
But when it was time for dessert and just to make sure these women did not misunderstand their different status, the factory owner ordered strawberry ice cream for everyone except the two supervisors. They were ordered vanilla. None of us being asked our preferences beforehand. This was so obviously his way of appeasing his family and himself of the disgrace of sharing a lunch with members of such a lower class.
Seeing this, I got up from my seat next to his wife and went to sit with my former cell mates... quite upsetting the factory owner. It was a very small victory for my equal rights....to be able to say one small 'no' to the elitism that my friends slavery was built upon.
Thanks for this powerful and impressive story, tellthetruth.
It really ought to be published as an article in its own right, not tucked away in a discreetly half-hidden comments thread.
Needless to say, it was many years before I could bring myself to buy anything electronic. But, I was also told by some of those workers that they felt lucky. They pointed to the factory across the road which they told me was a textile factory... and explained that conditions there were reputed to be much worse. At the time, it didn't register. Now, I can look back and understand what they were telling me.
Thank you for telling this. I often suspected this the case and heard as much through others but you have a way with words that strikes right to the heart of the matter.
Slavery is a growth industry hidden under that myth we call "Capitalism".
"Obedient Servant" is right. Wow...! Thank you, "tellthetruth"!
You're making it sound bad. 8 year job contract, shelter, food and uniforms.
Compare that to "at will" employment, commuting 20 miles (transit), paying rent on shitty apartment and having to buy and cook your own food.
I am not sure of the tone of this reply...
But, I would like to correct something. We did not wear uniforms for work. Everyone bought their own clothes and other meager possessions... but adequate considering the lifestyle.
I forgot to mention one thing... we all smelled bad. Clothes did not properly dry hanging indoors so all our dresses were mildewed... and that of course was the predominant smell in our rooms too.
Don't worry about chameleon's tone. It's his thing.
I have a working theory that the artist known as chameleon is the most left wing of all of us, and is using countersuggestion and the reaction to the 'you were lucky to have a job' capitalist meme to reinforce views and strengthen resolve. It's a fine performance. One day he'll 'come out' as a dogmatic French anarchist with a penchant for misdirection and we can all act surprised.
Meanwhile, many thanks for the post above.
I have a working theory, on the other hand, that chameleon is just an asshole.
Or perhaps he has firsthand knowledge of one of those "at will" jobs.
What the hell is the matter with you? Was that a feeble attempt at satire?
A few more comments:
Like agribusiness, the entire electronics industry was built on exploiting workers (it began as a crucial element of the military industrial complex and still is) and insuring that activists did not 'get into the trenches' and upset the program.
I wonder how many realize that most corporate espionage (going at least as far back as internal spying on workers at Bell Labs in the 30's), like surveillance in the general society, is about discovering any potential threats to elite dominance and their power to extract an unfair share of whatever goods and services are produced.
The problem is not fundamentally Apple. Apple was born and nurtured within a culture of extreme and intentional corporate/military exploitation of its workers. Frankly, this culture of elitism is so central and absolute, I doubt any company moving independently against the 'flow' would be around for very long.
Yes, certain folks within these industries, Jobs included, have risen through the ranks and garnered obscene wealth... which to me is just another example of how strong the culture of elitism is. And, upper tier workers such as privileged engineers in Silicon Valley make some pretty hefty wages too... still, number all the people who have worked in the industry. And you will see it is still the same old model... there is the super elite, a privileged managerial/engineering class to extend and protect their interests... and the rest... now often living 6-8 in a concrete cell in China.
Here's but one example of why I never could understand why Steve Jobs was hailed as a god by both sides, right and left. The guy, in my view, was just another capitalist pig, insensitive to the suffering and destruction his greed and that of his company inflict on others and after the bottom line only. I wasn't sorry to see him go and I still don't care. To me, once a greedy leech, always a greedy leech, whether dead or alive although I'd rather prefer them dead.
Apple is no different then any other corporation, their treatment of employees, no matter where located, is indifferent at best, criminal at worst.
Apple is not what it was thirty years ago. You can see how badly the society has fallen down by noting how difficult it is to see this. Thirty years ago, ideas were hatched by people in their garages, and implemented nearby, through employment of locals. The output was sent to market not too far away, and the consumers of these wares could drive by the factory, and even know some people who put the things together.
Try as one may to pretend that things are still the same but they are not. Things are designed many thousands of miles away, and assembled even further away. The whole process is controlled by the priests in their temples, far far away. This is not how it should be.
Fortunately, the people are starting to get it. Localism is the way of the future. The information is available. See for yourself. Don't bother policing Apple and its peers. They are slated for the junkyard. The characteristic Japanese businessman who doesn't have a life, will get a life. All of the dysfunctions of unchecked kapitalism worldwide will go down the tube.
If Steve Jobs were alive I would ask him exactly what he meant with the comments he made in the biography he was interviewed for at the end of his life. He said the US has too many regulations and that's why he moved production to China. Did he mean he wished he could treat US workers like his workers are treated in China? Did he mean he wished for more deregulation so he could dump his electronic waste however and wherever he wanted? If he saved so much goddamned money in China, why didn't he lower the price of his products like foreign companies do? That was supposed to be the trade off for moving our jobs overseas wasn't it? Ha Nike charges $100+ for a pair of sneakers made in Asia on the cheap...you got screwed, American morons.
Paging David Erdal! We need you to come to aid of the human race or at least send Andy Lane and the Loch Fyne Oysters. Have you been aware/You've got brothers and sisters and comrades who care what's gonnna happen to you and all us in a year from now?