NY Times featured on the front page how Apple executives take advantage of cheap labor in China.
-This underscores the need to raise global labor standards. The economics of globalization have outpaced social and environmental protections. We have a good system for logistics but not for protecting workers. U.S. should work with ILO to uphold international labor standards everywhere around the world.
-Pushing China to raise labor standards should be a higher priority than Obama’s big to-do with counterfeit goods. Putting pressure on China to raise labor standards would be better for American workers as well.
-Organized campaigns have successfully changed corporate practices, and this could apply in this case. Americans need to organize more campaigns for more corporate responsibility, and Apple is a perfect target for such a campaign. Socially responsible consumers and shareholders need to apply pressure on U.S. corporations to do the right thing.
-The U.S. government shares the blame on this one. The U.S. government encourages outsourcing through its free trade and tax policies without simultaneously enforcing labor standards around the world. If corporations abuse labor in the States, we all condemn them. But when corporations such as Apple exploit people in other countries by hiring intermediaries such as Foxconn, Americans worship Steve Jobs as a hero. Stockholders love the high profit margins, and consumers love the low prices. In the meantime, we blame China for our loss of jobs. There is inherent hypocrisy in this line of argument. We need to understand how we are all connected and that we need to work for a better world for all.
