Workers Sickened at Apple Supplier in China

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So how do you like that iPhone? Works good you say? Well, you can thank the 137 seriously ill workers that almost died making your phone! When Apple heard that workers were gravely ill, a spokesperson said "So? have you seen Steve Jobs lately?" Just kidding, they said it was a "core violation" of worker saftey....or something like that.

Apple, describing it as a “core violation” of worker safety, said that it had ordered the contractor to stop using the chemical and to improve safety conditions at the plant. Apple also said that it would monitor the medical conditions of those workers. But in interviews last weekend, nearly a dozen employees who say they were harmed by the chemical said they had never heard from anyone at Apple.
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shit they ought to just use an alcohol based cleaner like windex, it would do the same job and not kill people.
 
np. Now I'm a huge apple hater, but at this point I have to admit to wondering if they're not highlighting these cases because it's apple. I rarely see any reports on the web regarding conditions at other manufacturing facilities. The last one was Foxconn but everyone made a big deal because it was apple products.

I do however think it's important to let people who are under the misconception that apple is somehow world economy or eco-friendly know the true. They are just as bad as other corporations if not worse.
 
I wonder if consumer purchases would change if people knew how they were getting their products.
 
drakken said:
shit they ought to just use an alcohol based cleaner like windex, it would do the same job and not kill people.
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But dude, a bottle of windex is like $2.99. That's more than one of these workers get paid in a day. Not to mention, the copy to make an apple iPod is only about $4.00 or so. You'd literately doubling the cost of hardware!! Yes. I'm being slightly sarciastic but the cost ot make a Zune is only about $4.00 so I imagine an iPad is not that much more.

I am serious about windex in the US/Canada's cost being greater than these ppl's wages of an entire day.
 
never bought apple never will, and this is another reason to continue that tradition.. overpriced junk
 
He's probably a ninja that got his training by living under water for a year and a half in order to get his mad skills. lol
 
They didn't get sick because of chemicals. Some of them probably decided to read the EULA.
 
Techx said:
never bought apple never will, and this is another reason to continue that tradition.. overpriced junk
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But... but... it has a sophisticated exterior! And... it's all the rage!

Haha, yeah freakin' right. QFT.
 
There are thousands or tens of thousands of painters here in the US that are in the same shape from solvents, automotive repair and construction industries both. No one gives a fuck about them, and American companies that make the solvents haven't been held responsible.

Lead poisoning here in the US is also a major issue, and there is finally something being done to at least make sure safer remodeling and repainting practices are in place.

I tested my tub last week, and yup it was positive.
http://astreglazing.com/bathtubleadexposure.aspx
 
bacon said:
There are thousands or tens of thousands of painters here in the US that are in the same shape from solvents, automotive repair and construction industries both. No one gives a fuck about them, and American companies that make the solvents haven't been held responsible.

Lead poisoning here in the US is also a major issue, and there is finally something being done to at least make sure safer remodeling and repainting practices are in place.

I tested my tub last week, and yup it was positive.
http://astreglazing.com/bathtubleadexposure.aspx
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Wow, great to know, thank you and I am sharing that link!

Though what happened to these Chinese works is horrible. They are obviously being treated worse and have worse standards of living than Americans
 
I don't see how you guys don't see that Apple has reported this and is actually taking action, unlike many companies who just don't give a damn. I'm not an apple fanboy.

Hello?
 
bacon said:
There are thousands or tens of thousands of painters here in the US that are in the same shape from solvents, automotive repair and construction industries both. No one gives a fuck about them, and American companies that make the solvents haven't been held responsible.

Lead poisoning here in the US is also a major issue, and there is finally something being done to at least make sure safer remodeling and repainting practices are in place.

I tested my tub last week, and yup it was positive.
http://astreglazing.com/bathtubleadexposure.aspx
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ugh, don't even try to bring up that lead abatement bullshit. What a total fucking waste of time. Instead of doing what we have been for years--trying to minimise the amount of lead dust we get in the air--now we are supposed to seal off the room with $800 in plastic wrap, and then sand down all the lead surfaces to get as much dust into the air as possible so that it can be vacuumed (using a special vacuum or special vacuum bag that can only be used once and costs $150 per bag). We also have to throw out the plastic wrap after every room, wear clean suits with full helmets, and get hosed down every time we leave the room, like we're working on a fucking nuclear reactor.
 
infect0 said:
Sry but you are full of shit.
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Sorry, but, its true. It costs $4.00 for a zune's hardware. The only expensive component is the lcd screen. Buying a million circuit boards in bulk for the hardware, capacitors etc works out to $4.00 minus the obviously expensive lcd and hd. There's a website that breaks down the cost of manufacturing on items by pricing out the peices. Aka isuppli etc.

If your zune breaks, and they can't fix it within about 15 minutes, it's standard procedure to try to send you a refurbished zune and a free box to ship/return your zune to them. The cost for them to pop out your lcd-screen, format your hd and throw both into a new empty shell is less than $4.00, inc shipping within the us to the service centre.
 
I was reading about this on HuffPo this afternoon and can't help but think why the fuck is Apple responsible for some factory in China? If the chemical is so hazardous then fucking wear a suit and mask! We've been doing that in the US for a half a century!
 
i just think that its sad that over in china they get away with that crap and nobody cares. if it was in north america (ok maybe not mexico, but US or canada for sure) they'd get nailed to the wall.
 
THRESHIN said:
i just think that its sad that over in china they get away with that crap and nobody cares. if it was in north america (ok maybe not mexico, but US or canada for sure) they'd get nailed to the wall.
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I think the public there cares, but what can they do about it? If they speak up, they're going t5o be silenced one way or another - loss of job, loss of face, harm to their family, and perhaps countless other worse things.
 
Azhar said:
I think the public there cares, but what can they do about it? If they speak up, they're going t5o be silenced one way or another - loss of job, loss of face, harm to their family, and perhaps countless other worse things.
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The workers over there that take a stand are being very courageous. Like when the workers in the United States started to unionize.
 
"Core" violation but keep making those phones , we have product to move and no one gives a shit if your getting sick or commiting suicide.

Like Apple really gives a fuck , they want the bottom dollar observed. If they really cared they would have backed out and found a different supplier once workers started commiting suicide.
 
C'mon is this really a surprise. How much else is going on that we never find out about. Of course they'll trot out the VP's and CxO's to show how much they care but in the same breath defend the need for chinese labor to remain competitive.

Corporate America can't get away with these kinds of working conditions in the U.S. anymore so they move to countries sympathetic to their disdain for human rights and decency. There's no such thing as acceptable losses when you're talking about working conditions, period.
 
450 said:
I wonder if consumer purchases would change if people knew how they were getting their products.
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No they wouldn't and in all honesty, I really do not care about workers getting sick in China. Why is that my problem? It's not out of callousness, it's not of non-compassion, it's not out of spite, or any mean spiritedness. I just don't care about their plight. These people have had 5000 years of history behind them to right the wrongs that have plagued their society and in 1949 adopted an evil ideology that treats their citizens as property and indentured servants to the state. Now, I'm supposed to feel bad because they can't, for some reason shake the shackles of the the prison that binds them in this way and a super minority fraction of nameless, faceless people that I've never met get ill due to the product I've bought, which was developed by Americans (hopefully) and yet built by people who aren't?

Tell me again why I should care about people who get sick working at a production company making things that I can afford, who get paid whatever the prevailing wage is in their unflushed toilet of a country or province, who would otherwise never earn anything close to what they make now?

This absurdity of political correctness is just that, absurd. These people would never even have the opportunity that they have if it wasn't for an American company giving them the opportunity to do it. Now, if the counter argument was, "well, if an iphone/ipad was built in the US then it would cost even more to build and buy." and the answer to that is yes, but would that still stop people from buying it at the rate they have? Probably not and yet, Apple or any other company for that matter is in the business of creating products and solutions that generate revenue and earn them a profit. That is the point of being in business. If you want them to be in the business of socio-economic justice (another bullshit term) then buy as much stock as you can and influence their board to steer and direct the company in that direction. But don't peddle the low hanging fruit argument of what you said above. It won't change a damned thing.
 
jwalk6 said:
C'mon is this really a surprise. How much else is going on that we never find out about. Of course they'll trot out the VP's and CxO's to show how much they care but in the same breath defend the need for chinese labor to remain competitive.

Corporate America can't get away with these kinds of working conditions in the U.S. anymore so they move to countries sympathetic to their disdain for human rights and decency. There's no such thing as acceptable losses when you're talking about working conditions, period.
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The concept of 'human rights' is a farce. Please give up that notion when you leave the confines of the borders of the US.
 
Methadras said:
No they wouldn't and in all honesty, I really do not care about workers getting sick in China. Why is that my problem? It's not out of callousness, it's not of non-compassion, it's not out of spite, or any mean spiritedness. I just don't care about their plight. These people have had 5000 years of history behind them to right the wrongs that have plagued their society and in 1949 adopted an evil ideology that treats their citizens as property and indentured servants to the state. Now, I'm supposed to feel bad because they can't, for some reason shake the shackles of the the prison that binds them in this way and a super minority fraction of nameless, faceless people that I've never met get ill due to the product I've bought, which was developed by Americans (hopefully) and yet built by people who aren't?

Tell me again why I should care about people who get sick working at a production company making things that I can afford, who get paid whatever the prevailing wage is in their unflushed toilet of a country or province, who would otherwise never earn anything close to what they make now?

This absurdity of political correctness is just that, absurd. These people would never even have the opportunity that they have if it wasn't for an American company giving them the opportunity to do it. Now, if the counter argument was, "well, if an iphone/ipad was built in the US then it would cost even more to build and buy." and the answer to that is yes, but would that still stop people from buying it at the rate they have? Probably not and yet, Apple or any other company for that matter is in the business of creating products and solutions that generate revenue and earn them a profit. That is the point of being in business. If you want them to be in the business of socio-economic justice (another bullshit term) then buy as much stock as you can and influence their board to steer and direct the company in that direction. But don't peddle the low hanging fruit argument of what you said above. It won't change a damned thing.
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Hahhahahahahhahahah
Dude, this is not political correctness, this is ETHICS, you should studying up on it this time, you clearly are not an ethical individual as you just MOCKED ethics and TROLLED a person asking a question.
It is so hard not to laugh some more but why not, hahahahahahahah
 
Methadras said:
Tell me again why I should care about people who get sick working at a production company making things that I can afford, who get paid whatever the prevailing wage is in their unflushed toilet of a country or province, who would otherwise never earn anything close to what they make now?
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You flaunt your cynicism and lack of remorse, as if it underscores anything but the staggering absence of complex thought and compassion in you. :confused:

I take it you care about your own family? What is so difficult about caring about other people´s families? It is not like you have to go sweep their floors, get their groceries or fix their heating. Just "pretend" that other people even far removed from you, are people with pain receptors, basic needs, children and families too. ;)
 
WBurchnall said:
Sorry, but, its true. It costs $4.00 for a zune's hardware. The only expensive component is the lcd screen. Buying a million circuit boards in bulk for the hardware, capacitors etc works out to $4.00 minus the obviously expensive lcd and hd. There's a website that breaks down the cost of manufacturing on items by pricing out the peices. Aka isuppli etc.

If your zune breaks, and they can't fix it within about 15 minutes, it's standard procedure to try to send you a refurbished zune and a free box to ship/return your zune to them. The cost for them to pop out your lcd-screen, format your hd and throw both into a new empty shell is less than $4.00, inc shipping within the us to the service centre.
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No, he was right. You are full of shit. I don't know or care what a Zune costs but I know what Chinese workers are paid at Foxconn and I know what shipping costs are and I have a rough idea what the ancillary costs of doing business in China are....though I am not pretending to be an expert.

Long story short, your numbers are meaningless and you are clueless.

The workers who take a stand who are courageous as another poster said.....has no idea what the Chinese mentality is like. Those who stand up for others here are considered to be fucking lunatics. Blame Confucius who neglected to mention in any way, any form of a 'greater good' where society is concerned or any kind of responsibility to society as a whole. People here (mostly) only think of their family and close friends. Anyone else can go die in a fire. Nobody will care. I can tell you guys many stories about how calloused the Chinese can be to whoever they consider an outsider...and anyone not a family member or close friend is exactly that. If you think the Chinese care about other Chinese you are sorely mistaken so why the hell should Westerners get their panties in a bunch?
 
Methadras said:
No they wouldn't and in all honesty, I really do not care about workers getting sick in China. Why is that my problem? It's not out of callousness, it's not of non-compassion, it's not out of spite, or any mean spiritedness. I just don't care about their plight. These people have had 5000 years of history behind them to right the wrongs that have plagued their society and in 1949 adopted an evil ideology that treats their citizens as property and indentured servants to the state. Now, I'm supposed to feel bad because they can't, for some reason shake the shackles of the the prison that binds them in this way and a super minority fraction of nameless, faceless people that I've never met get ill due to the product I've bought, which was developed by Americans (hopefully) and yet built by people who aren't?

Tell me again why I should care about people who get sick working at a production company making things that I can afford, who get paid whatever the prevailing wage is in their unflushed toilet of a country or province, who would otherwise never earn anything close to what they make now?

This absurdity of political correctness is just that, absurd. These people would never even have the opportunity that they have if it wasn't for an American company giving them the opportunity to do it. Now, if the counter argument was, "well, if an iphone/ipad was built in the US then it would cost even more to build and buy." and the answer to that is yes, but would that still stop people from buying it at the rate they have? Probably not and yet, Apple or any other company for that matter is in the business of creating products and solutions that generate revenue and earn them a profit. That is the point of being in business. If you want them to be in the business of socio-economic justice (another bullshit term) then buy as much stock as you can and influence their board to steer and direct the company in that direction. But don't peddle the low hanging fruit argument of what you said above. It won't change a damned thing.
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While I usually consider you a worthless troll who does not have a clue about China....you are correct here....more or less. Certainly the numbers of Apple products sold is relevant to their pricing, but other than that...I agree.

To add...the workers really don't care either. If anybody thinks the folks in China have no idea what jobs are good or bad or potentially harmful, they are fools. I promise you, they know. I also promise you they will stand in line by the THOUSANDS to get those jobs.
 
I'm not surprised American Corporations put profit ahead of the morally right thing to do. Greed is always ugly.
 
Mike_Dee said:
I'm not surprised American Corporations put profit ahead of the morally right thing to do. Greed is always ugly.
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Did you miss the part where it says the factories are in China? It's no different from Japanese automakers having factories in the United States. Quality and safe work environment is our own responsibility, not Japan's.
 
Techx said:
never bought apple never will, and this is another reason to continue that tradition.. overpriced junk
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You get what you pay for. I've bought a lot of tech gadgets over the years and I am very happy with the build quality and the functionality of Apple iOS devices thus far. I see a lot of "me too" products coming out and I think those are junk.
 
WBurchnall said:
But dude, a bottle of windex is like $2.99. That's more than one of these workers get paid in a day.
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Your making the false assumption that big companies send people to the grocery store to buy them retail like you.

bacon said:
There are thousands or tens of thousands of painters here in the US that are in the same shape from solvents, automotive repair and construction industries both. No one gives a fuck about them, and American companies that make the solvents haven't been held responsible.
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It's not the manufactures responsibility if people don't follow instructions or take the precautionary measures on the Material Safety Data Sheet the manufacture is REQUIRED BY LAW to provide. If a U.S. located company is not providing protective instruction and protective gear to it's workers they are in violation of Federal law enforced by OSHA and possibly State law also (YMMV)

wizdum said:
ugh, don't even try to bring up that lead abatement bullshit. What a total fucking waste of time. Instead of doing what we have been for years--trying to minimise the amount of lead dust we get in the air--now we are supposed to seal off the room with $800 in plastic wrap, and then sand down all the lead surfaces to get as much dust into the air as possible so that it can be vacuumed (using a special vacuum or special vacuum bag that can only be used once and costs $150 per bag). We also have to throw out the plastic wrap after every room, wear clean suits with full helmets, and get hosed down every time we leave the room, like we're working on a fucking nuclear reactor.
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Yes, absolutly a waste of time, REPLACE THE THING ALREADY. Your costs for preventing exposure have already exceed the cost of buying a new one.
 
I don't understand why the Chinese government is not being blamed for not policing working conditions in their own country. They need to pass their own environmental laws, worker safety laws, etc, and then do regular inspections just like in the US. Oh wait, that would kill their competitive advantage.

It's on the Chinese gov. to set the environment and enforce compliance. It's not Apple's fault that the workers there make so little. That is the going rate, and the environment is allowed by the Chinese government. Put blame there first.
 
snapperdragon0 said:
I don't understand why the Chinese government is not being blamed for not policing working conditions in their own country. They need to pass their own environmental laws, worker safety laws, etc, and then do regular inspections just like in the US. Oh wait, that would kill their competitive advantage.

It's on the Chinese gov. to set the environment and enforce compliance. It's not Apple's fault that the workers there make so little. That is the going rate, and the environment is allowed by the Chinese government. Put blame there first.
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You've hit the core of the problem, I believe. The Chinese have yet to enact the worker safety laws that the U.S. has developed over the past 100 years. They are very far advanced through the second stage of industrial revolution and their workers and journalist have no rights to protest and "muck rake" as the Western world did around the 1900's
 
WBurchnall said:
Sorry, but, its true. It costs $4.00 for a zune's hardware. The only expensive component is the lcd screen. Buying a million circuit boards in bulk for the hardware, capacitors etc works out to $4.00 minus the obviously expensive lcd and hd. There's a website that breaks down the cost of manufacturing on items by pricing out the peices. Aka isuppli etc.
Click to expand...

Sorry but the flash TSOPs cost more than $4.00
 
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