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8 March 2012 Dividends Emerge in Pressing Apple Over Working Conditions in China

 Many major companies that produce products in mass send the work overseas where labor is cheaper. Apple is one of those companies. Recently in the United States, the public has learned about the miserable working conditions in China. Apple was put in the spotlight for reports of forced overtime, child labor, minimum wage violations, and unsafe working conditions at the main supplier in China, Foxconn. Even though the conditions in which the Chinese are working are hazardous and they are being forced to work, some continue to argue that without American sweatshops, China’s economy wouldn’t be doing well at all. American work in China has made child labor scarce and has also brought the countries poverty level down drastically. Many Americans, and Chinese people, have stood up against the sweat shops enforcing the anti-sweatshop movement. This movement can be traced back into the late 1980’s in Indonesia where workers making Nike and Reebok shoes were having their rights violated. After information and stories surfaced about Indonesian women working in awful conditions, human rights groups pushed for Americans to suspend Indonesian trade preferences. This caused change throughout the company. Nike put into place a code of conduct that factories had to abide by and regulations they had to follow. Along with better working conditions, wages also rose for the workers. Although there were some human rights victories, there were also some defeats. With higher wages and more money spent on the factories themselves, multiple jobs were lost.  Bad publicity for Apple has caused the company to make some serious changes to their factories overseas. In 2005 the company introduced a code of conduct, much like Nike, that is monitored regularly. More recently, Apple was the first electronics company to join the Fair Labor Association. This association was developed in 1999 to monitor conditions of working facilities in third world countries. One last change that has been made by Apple, following the bad media, is that Foxconn has announced continued wage increases for its workers at one of its plants in Shenzhen. Recently, in class, there has been discussion about The New Deal and the multiple acts, policies, and agencies that were brought into affect when The New Deal was put into place. Even though these changes were made during the great depression, many still are in place today. The Fair Labor Association and how it governs working conditions in facilities in third world countries closely relates to the Fair Labor Standards Act that was discussed in class and in the most recent debate. The Fair Labor Standards Act created a minimum wage that was equal for both men and women, enacted child labor laws, and helped rid factories of hazardous working conditions. Today The Fair Labor Association has put into place those same laws. Many major companies have agreed to, and signed up, to be a part of the Fair Labor Association. Some of these companies include Apple, Nike, Adidas, and Syngenta.
 * Summary **
 * Relevance: **

Having involvement with the rest of the world in regard to colonization, mercantilism, market development, and cultural change partially defines globalization. Globalization is extremely prevalent when it comes to the American company, Apple, and its interaction with China. Apple having opened factories there and using Chinese employees has had a massive impact on the Chinese economy. By Apple using Chinese workers, thousands of people there are now receiving an income, although meager by our standards. This income is helping them to rise above, just barely, their previous state of poverty. It has also brought once rural people in great numbers to the city, having an impact on the population, economy, and culture there. As Americans here are learning about the terrible, dangerous conditions and child labor in the factories, we are taking a stand and protesting Apple. These cheap laborers are allowing Apple to have a greater profit margin but at cost to human life. Apple could make a profound impact on the human experience in China and Asia if it really wanted to. As a company that is full of intelligent people if it found these atrocities unallowable it could make changes to improve conditions. Protesting and media coverage in one country will hopefully prove to have a positive effect on people and companies in another.
 * Evaluation: **
 * Questions: **
 * 1.) **What would happen to Apple if enough consumers stopped buying Apple products due to the conditions in China? How would the company react?
 * 2.) **How much more would Apple products cost if they were made in America? Would people be willing to pay the extra money?
 * <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3.) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Could the government impose a tax against major companies like Apple, and the money collected will go to foreign country workers and factories?
 * <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4.) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">How much would it cost Apple, and other companies like it, to better conditions in China?
 * <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5.) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Is there a possibility with Apple getting bad media that sales of Apple products will go down?
 * <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6.) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Do Americans like their Apple products too much to stop buying their products in protest?
 * <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">7.) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Globalization has brought interaction with foreign countries. Is this truly better for America since companies now use workers overseas instead of building factories here in the US?
 * <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">8.) **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Will the Fair Labor Association be able to monitor and control working conditions within multiple factories in many different countries?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Works Cited <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|https://docs.google.com/a/cypanthers.org/document/d/1pKZkl6DWBkhJKpv_0QTVFIhyQNHCEv4xK0H-4MIw0eE/edit#] (class notes Google doc)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">DUHIGG, CHARLES. "AppleÃ¢Â€Â™s iPad and the Human Costs for Workers in China - NYTimes.com." //The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia//. N.p., 25 Jan. 2012. Web. 7 Mar. 2012. [].

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Fair Labor Association - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 7 Mar. 2012. [].

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">PORTER, EDUARDO. "Dividends Emerge in Pressing Apple Over Working Conditions in China - NYTimes.com." //The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia//. N.p., 6 Mar. 2012. Web. 7 Mar. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/business/dividends-emerge-in-pressing-apple-over-working-conditions-in-china.html?scp=5&sq=globalization&st=cse>.