iPod Factory Just Kidding About Destroying Reporters' Lives

from the oh,-that? dept

Thu, Aug 31st 2006 12:44am — Mike Masnick

Yesterday it was reported that the company that owned the factory that made iPods had pretty much tried to destroy the lives of the reporters who noted that there were substandard working conditions at the factory. However, as legal experts, the press and... well... just about everyone has spoken out against this decision, the factory has now modified its demands. Rather than asking for 500x a reporter's salary in punishment and freezing all of their assets, the company is just asking to be awarded 12 cents (US) which they say they'll donate to charity if they win. Perhaps they should use it to pay their employees a bit more instead...

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30 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2006 @ 1:24am

WTF.
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- SkiOne, 31 Aug 2006 @ 9:40am
  
  Re:
  yeah...WTF!??!?!
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Sohrab, 31 Aug 2006 @ 1:24am

im gonna have to go with the fac that Apple probably told them to stfu and stay clam because they dont wanna be linked to them over and over and get a bad publicity from them
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derfaust, 31 Aug 2006 @ 1:36am

and think......just how many jobs have they taken in the world......just for the goddness of cheap shit......well....crap
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2006 @ 1:51am

WTF derfaust? Companies in the western countries exhaust the workers in Asia countries including China, paying them ridiculous small amount of money. And they still make the hell lot of profit by charging an ipod at a high price. And you blame it for cheap shit?
Just becos you are not well educated so you don't get a job, so you blame poor workers in Asia for taking them? Who the fck are you here to judge you piece of shit?
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- Ever try a dictionary?, 31 Aug 2006 @ 7:00am
  
  Re: Coward
  I see that your handle is quite appropiate. Have you ever heard the phrase "Those who live in glass houses?"
  
  Quote:
  
  "Just becos you are not well educated so you don't get a job"
  
  You might try a legitimate argument when you don't agree with someone instead of verbal diarrhea.
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- Ike Love, 31 Aug 2006 @ 7:46am
  
  Re:
  Obviously, you are one of those uneducated poor people in Asia since you can't even spell! I don't know a single westerner who is jealous of sweatshop workers, their jobs, wages or living conditions. You are an idiot.
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  - charlie potatoes, 31 Aug 2006 @ 8:41am
    
    Re: Re:
    Idiot? the man is bilingual and you call him an idiot? um..how many languages do you speak, doofus? and how is your spelling in Chinese or Hindi? idiot, my ass. arrogant SOB...you think the population of the planet should speak English? Smirk...
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iabuse, 31 Aug 2006 @ 3:12am

Well i took some action why dotn you
I made blog encouring people to email Apple and ask for answer on WTF is going on.
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iabuse, 31 Aug 2006 @ 3:14am

Well i took some action why dotn you
The adres of the blog is http://iabuse.wordpress.com/
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Timothy, 31 Aug 2006 @ 3:47am

Not quite that clear cut.
Yes, I would say it is wrong to judge a entire group of people based on the fact politics and economic are such that they out sourcing is one of the few ways to get any job that can come close to paying the bills. But that does not mean everything is on the up and up. One has to question the motives for outsourcing in the first place. Sure, I can not blame a company for trying to save money, but I believe there should be certain ethical boundaries which just don't seem to be in place globally at this time. And past that there is a certain responsibility on the consumer's part who are funding the companies which take these less then ethical steps. You shop at Walmart, you get great prices, but that money has to come from somewhere. Some of it is bulk and direct pricing, but a lot of it is through strong arm tactics, outsourcing, monopolizing general and local markets. Comes down to what is the issue worth to you. Buy Shoes at Walmart and you may save yourself a good 15-20dollars. But they have have been made in sweatshops, put local shoe stores out of business, made your town lose jobs, tax money, change traffic conditions, harm the environment, and so on, to differing degrees. The kicker is, until recently, Ipod has had little true competition, and could have pretty much asked what ever they wanted and gotten it. Not only making them money, that they could pass along, but providing a benchmark that they could post under in later versions to create the illusion of savings.
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- Tim, 31 Aug 2006 @ 4:33am
  
  Re: Not quite that clear cut.
  hmm... ethics in business? ...especially at a global level? nice thought but it'll never happen as long as business is about making money...
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  - Su, 31 Aug 2006 @ 6:06am
    
    Re: Re: Not quite that clear cut.
    Defintion of business: A commercial activity engaged in as a means of livelihood or profit, or an entity which engages in such activities.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2006 @ 6:27am

What the hell do you expect from companies in communist countries?

I'm so sick of buying goods from countries with no human rights.

The Chinese people are basically slaves to the government who owns these 'companies' that do work for Apple. What's up with that Jobs? I thought you were the sensitive type who cared about human rights?

I'll pay $25.00 more for my iPoD - just make sure it's got a label more like this: Made In:(pick one) Japan, USA, France, Canada, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, India, Italy, UK, Sweden, Finland, Norway, etc....

Then I'll buy one :)
There's lots of places in the world that would be happy to manufacture goods. Problem is the chinese government is reeling these stupid companies in; hook, line, and sinker.
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Doppel, 31 Aug 2006 @ 6:28am

Anon Coward
I just don't get it, no one reports it in the newspaper or complains to my boss when I have to work a 60+ hour week.. Western companies push all their empoyees, not just the ones in the far east..
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Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased), 31 Aug 2006 @ 7:22am

Sadly...
...12 cents is a whole weeks pay.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2006 @ 7:43am

no one raises flags when you work 60 hours because you are paid for 70 hours at least...(40 regular 20@time andhalf = 40 + (20*1.5))

and with that you are making at least 5 bucks an hour....but if you are getting overtime, you are probably making more because most places that pay at min wage don't like overtime...less money in workers means more money for managers...

so i take it you make at least 10 bucks an hour... so.....you are getting paid reasonably well. compared to these sweatshop workers who make....a dollar a day or week, max. that's the issue.
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- Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2006 @ 8:14am
  
  Re:
  Most people working those extra hours are not paid time and a half.
  
  Salaried employees are paid for a 40 hour week, even if they work longer hours.
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Slim Shady, 31 Aug 2006 @ 8:42am

IZODs
Hey I don't even have an IPOD but I love reading about sweatshops. Can I send a Yuan or two to these embrazened reporters or what? What's thier paypal nick?
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charlie potatoes, 31 Aug 2006 @ 8:47am

and for your edification...people who use exclamation marks are the same ones who laugh at their own jokes.
meanwhile the sorry assed japs are eating our whales and no one cares...
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2006 @ 9:40am

well if you are salaried, then that's your problem. you took a job where you said i can work 24/7 and get paid a specific ammount over a specific time period. you get paid the same if you work 1 hour or 100 hours a week.

and it's not like you don't have a say in what you do. you ahve the ability to search for different jobs. compare prices. argue over salary.

i myself am salaried, and i love it. i don't have to worry about making 40 hurs, or working this or that. it's nice to know that my paycheck will stay constant. i need to take friday off.. fine..i work an extra hour for the next 8 days.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2006 @ 6:55pm

Hell, that's a Taiwanese company (democratic!) who is producing Apple products (democratic!) . And the point is not slave wage, but freedom of speech. The company used to sue Taiwan reporters with high demands to shut them down, but this time they are out of luck. The company did some reseach to find some reports without permanent contracts with their publisher, trying to circumvent a Supreme Court ruling that protect reports, but is knocked down by public opinion.
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Actually Live in China, 3 Sep 2006 @ 5:59pm

There is a queue a mile long to get a job at Foxconn. Some peasants in the countryside dream about working 60 hours a week for US$25 and living in a dormitory with 99 other people.

Foxconn is merely running a slave labour camp on behalf of Apple, who obviously can't be seen doing that itself. That's what the Taiwanese do in China. They distance the Western consumer electronic brands from the slave labour conditions needed to make their products. When a report like this surfaces, about once every two years, the Western brand goes "tut, tut, that's awful" sends someone out to China to "investigate" and it's all forgotten about.

Business as usual.
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- Actually live in Plainfield Indiana, 15 Jan 2007 @ 5:54pm
  
  Re: Actually live in China
  While life in China sounds like hell, the people who work for Foxconn here in Plainfield are living day to day also. I work for Foxconn and the people who work here are mostly illegal aliens who share social security numbers to get their jobs and foxconn is well aware of it. Most cant speak english and those that do cant read it. Foxconn will hire 200+ people with no experience to work their computer assembly lines for $8.50 an hr but may only keep them for a couple of weeks when customers complain about the quaility of work on their Hewlett Packard pc's. The workers find out they are out of a job when they come to work and security escorts them out of the building. Many of them live 50+ miles from the plant and wont have a ride home till their normal pickup time. Foxconn then hires another 200+ workers and the routine continues. If imigration would check out Foxconn they would have to shutdown because they would be out of workers. The people who get fired cant say anything to anyone because they are illegal and would be deported back to Mexico, South America, africa and so on.
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  - Foxconn Employee, 18 Sep 2007 @ 1:01pm
    
    Foxconn in Plainfield, Indiana, what a mess.
    Agree completely. I know someone working for Foxconn that quit recently. No raises and long hours. Unless you were from Taiwan, don't expect a raise or a promotion. Bosses hated it when you voiced your concerns. Manufacturing lines were so disorganized; quality was poor, at one time, a virus infected 25000 computers, August of 2004, that's why HP was unable to deliver computers during that time frame.
    
    The 1400 jobs they're bringing to Plainfield, Indiana, all lies. More like 1400 temporary jobs for 8.50 an hour. Interview anyone that's come from there, and they'll tell you the same, it sucked and you take a reaming in the ass. The ones that are happy, take a good look, Asians from Taiwan or a bunch of brown nosers that like to take a reaming because they can't get a job anywhere else.
    
    The illegal aliens employed by Foxconn, true. Foxconn in Fullerton, California was investigated by the INS in May 2004. Foxconn sends Chinese laborers to Plainfield to fill many open positions because they can't get anyone to fill them. That's their way of saving money, not paying what the average position should be paid, but pay someone idiot from China that has less experience or none at all to work these positions. So when they say 1400 jobs, where? I don't see a big rush to Plainfield to apply. Take the new Honda plant in Greensburg, IN, 2000 jobs, and more than 30,000 applications. Always on the local Indianapolis news every week, Foxconn, who are they is what you'll hear in Indianapolis.
    
    Plant manager Ke-Lan, known fact that he sexually harasses new salary female employees. Here's his phone number 317-223-6909. What happens is a new skank comes from China, shacks with the boss, and gets better treatment. If you ever see him, he's 5'5 with recedeing hairline. Yeah, real handsome.
    
    Check the two links below, this guy stole computers from them while working as a supervisor, 3 years and their manager's never noticed, talking about incompetent.
    
    http://www.plainfieldpublic-om.com/main/index.php?dept=0&action=7&page=1&id=1607
    
    http://www.nasaview.com/CaseWatch/CaseResults1.jsp?initialLoad=32D02+06+10+FD+000313
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Rebecca, 21 Mar 2007 @ 5:29am

WHAT!
I HAVE TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH PEPLE GET IN A WEEK FOR WORKING IN A FACTORY..... AND YOU THINK THIS EXPLAINS IT?
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South Machiavelli, 28 Jun 2007 @ 3:46pm

C'mon, let's be honest.
Anon, The cost of manufacturing in countries like those on your list is 20 - 30% higher than China. So, you wouldn't be paying $25 more for your $250 IPod, but more like $60, or $310.

See, the people coming from Western China live there in medieval conditions, the same way they did 500 years ago. The only difference is the warlord is now a party chairman. They get to a place where they make 7-10 times what they make back home, have running water, showers and 21st century ammenities. They findout that they don't need to stop working because the sun doesn't go down and have no concept of leisure time. So they work 2-shifts voluntarily. They don't know better and they are still ages better than they were "back home".

I find it very hypocritical to bash the First World Companies that resort to these sources. Usually, this is done while wearing clothes that say "Made in Bangladesh", typing on "Made in China" keyboards. We tell them to actually do it in the language they understand: Money. We go to Wal-Mart and buy the cheapest with our hard-earned dollars then demand that those who made it are paid "fair".

Cost of a product is Materials and Labor mostly. The $30 keyboard and mouse set you're using right now, would you have bought it if it cost $47 because it was made in Mexico or $60 proudly made in the good old USA?

Didn't think so.
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South Machiavelli, 28 Jun 2007 @ 3:48pm

C'mon, let's be honest.
Anon, The cost of manufacturing in countries like those on your list is 20 - 30% higher than China. So, you wouldn't be paying $25 more for your $250 IPod, but more like $60, or $310.

See, the people coming from Western China live there in medieval conditions, the same way they did 500 years ago. The only difference is the warlord is now a party chairman. They get to a place where they make 7-10 times what they make back home, have running water, showers and 21st century ammenities. They findout that they don't need to stop working because the sun doesn't go down and have no concept of leisure time. So they work 2-shifts voluntarily. They don't know better and they are still ages better than they were "back home".

I find it very hypocritical to bash the First World Companies that resort to these sources. Usually, this is done while wearing clothes that say "Made in Bangladesh", typing on "Made in China" keyboards. We tell them to actually do it in the language they understand: Money. We go to Wal-Mart and buy the cheapest with our hard-earned dollars then demand that those who made it are paid "fair".

Cost of a product is Materials and Labor mostly. The $30 keyboard and mouse set you're using right now, would you have bought it if it cost $47 because it was made in Mexico or $60 proudly made in the good old USA?

Didn't think so.
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East dude, 28 Dec 2007 @ 2:12pm

Labor
China makes investors happy because they don't have to pay a high price for labor and output that's why labor and output are channelled to countries with cheap labor.
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2009 @ 7:04am

Everybody at Foxconn works their asses off. They all are on call 24/7 They send alot of their people to other States & Countries to help fix things, they are gone months at a time. And they work 18-20hr shifts everyday including Sundays. And most of them have families that they hardley see and they don't pay them enough.
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