Industrial equipment. Most of the manufacturing gear they use to make the cheap consumer products is imported.
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Apple Publishes Annual Progress Report on Supplier Responsibility
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Industrial equipment. Most of the manufacturing gear they use to make the cheap consumer products is imported.
brilliant grasp of the global economy, i must say. and what are your views on America entering WWII?
relax... theyre models
yup, like the iphone girl... a model who snuck in to take a secret photo of herself on one phone. you have no idea about any aspect of any part of those photos. i mean, you're in CANADA for pete's sake.
I'm pretty moderate and independent politically--as in I believe both sides are screwing up most everything, and yet there are pieces to both sides (and many from outside sources) that I think can be used to make this a better country. When it comes to unions, there are a few benefits for the employee, namely way too much pay for simple factory jobs (look at the GM employees making in the neighborhood of $50/hr). If you're one of the people who thinks Apple products are priced too high now, just wait until the factory employee who built your system is making even $20/hr. Say hello to $3000 13" MacBook base models and $900 subsidized iPhones.
If we were to let our free market economy continue, I believe that these really expensive factory jobs would fall by the wayside. There are too many people making ridiculous amounts of money for low-skilled work while there is 10% of the population that doesn't even have a job. If we were even halfway competitive with China on labor, our employment rates would be so low. I'm sure many of these unemployed people would love $10/hr factory jobs right now. It's better than nothing, and more than enough to live on if you live in the midwest. My wife makes $12/hr, I'm a full time student who works 15-20 hours a week with many college expenses, and we have plenty of money. People are just either really stupid with their finances or refuse to live in the midwest. You all should listen to Dave Ramsey. Millionaires are the only ones who can afford brand new $30,000 cars. Don't buy things if you can't afford them. If you can't find a job, move to the midwest. There are many jobs that I know of (my wife's work, for instance, is going to be hiring a bunch of autism specialists soon), and my rent is $329/mo! The unit under me and next to me is free right now - 850sq ft, 2br, 1ba, built in 1991, decent apartments. For real. Try that in California. Sure, the midwest is not the best place to live, but basic needs are more than met, and once things get better you can always move back. I'm planning on moving away once I graduate and the economy improves. Virginia, Colorado, and Florida are my top choices right now.
Sorry about the rant! That got off topic fast. It's just that people are ridiculous lately. I can't even watch the tv anymore without getting pissed off, lol.
swingerofbirch
macrumors 68040
I don't hold Apple in the highest of esteem on this issue because of personal experience. I worked for Arise, a US contractor of Apple's, supplying Apple with manpower for the Apple Store online, and the malfeasances are too many to list, but Apple never responded to any of my Compliance Line report. I am sure what happened to me--not being payed, being terminated and not being told I was terminated so that I continued to work while not being paid, etc, aren't as egregious as the human rights abuses that occur in China, but it's still pretty sad Apple uses contracted workers to avoid following labor laws here in the US. (Basically, Apple contracts to companies that contract to individuals who are forced to incorporate and become single person corporations, and employees of their own corporation, so that no one, not even Apple's contractors have to follow labor laws. And in fact, I as a subcontractor had to pay Apple/Arise for all of my "training" (I use that word loosely) and all of my equipment and even a monthly fee for the honor of servicing Apple/Arise.)
Welcome to New Zealand and Telecom Contractors. - This is not new from most corporations.
Most of those protectionist policies are in place to counter the effects of protectionist policies enacted by other countries--and many of those countries enact far more extreme policies than the U.S. I'm not trying to defend anyone cheerleading for capitalism, but let's be fair. That's an ideal, not the reality. It would be a quick, painful suicide if America dropped all protectionist policies in trade.
Ugh. Welcome to capitalism, or more aptly stated, welcome to humanism. Greed and power seem to always trump humanitarianism. As someone who understands the objectivism and capitalistic leaning teachings of Ayn Rand as well as the selflessness and idealism of Utopian concepts and efforts from non-profit groups such as Habits for Society, etc., how do capitalism and humanitarianism work together (if at all)? I've been dismayed by the general the lack of eco-consciouness and blatant disregard for humanity by many top-international companies (don't get me started on Exxon/Mobil and clean coal? Really?). As electronics have become cheaper and readily accessible to the global market, e-waste and e-sweat-shops are becoming more commonplace. When did Apple switch from producing in the U.S. to China? What are the ACTUAL facts with regards to Apple's stance on production (workers' rights, working conditions, wages, etc)? I completely agree with Apple's efforts on utilizing less plastic, eliminating mercury, and implementing energy efficient electronics by using aluminum, glass and LED displays. While I realize computer systems will continue to grow due to demand, the general consumer doesn't need a huge, power house system. The general consumer needs a system for productivity, email, internet use, while consuming less energy and taking less space. I applaud Apple for setting a standard away from turbo machines and more towards practical, efficient and eco-conscious materials. I hope their eco-friendly stance applies to their production, however I do find it disturbing that more companies are outsourcing to other countries with less strict labor laws and standards. If Apple truly wants to commit to these claims, they would re-establish American production in the same manner they have been re-establishing the standards for computer technology.
It was two thousand now that I can confirm your talking about the same Super market in NZ haha.
Apple being more "American"
It would sure be nice for Apple to give those jobs to Americans instead. But then I wouldn't be happy being forced to pay over $2000 for a simple Macbook just so Apple can be more "American". Welcome to capitalism. Besides, the United States should be leaving the "labor intensive" side of the industry to other countries--we should instead be focused on bringing in more high-paying jobs that involve innovation, design, engineering, etc.
It would sure be nice for Apple to give those jobs to Americans instead. But then I wouldn't be happy being forced to pay over $2000 for a simple Macbook just so Apple can be more "American". Welcome to capitalism. Besides, the United States should be leaving the "labor intensive" side of the industry to other countries--we should instead be focused on bringing in more high-paying jobs that involve innovation, design, engineering, etc.
These Reports are simply a PR stunt...get people to think Apple is some kind of overseer of right and wrong.
Anyone else notice that 100% of all the photographs in the Report are of Asian people? This, to me, seems to advertise that 100% of Apple's products are created/manufactured by Asians. Which, to me, seems a bit discriminatory (and I am not Asian). 100% of the photos?! If this were a report of a single supplier I would have no gripes...but out of 102 facilities summarized in the Report all the pix certainly do not represent diversity.
Apple should seriously start thinking about building in the USA...and advertising a little more about ethnic diversity.
-Eric
Anyone else notice that 100% of all the photographs in the Report are of Asian people? This, to me, seems to advertise that 100% of Apple's products are created/manufactured by Asians. Which, to me, seems a bit discriminatory (and I am not Asian). 100% of the photos?! If this were a report of a single supplier I would have no gripes...but out of 102 facilities summarized in the Report all the pix certainly do not represent diversity.
Apple should seriously start thinking about building in the USA...and advertising a little more about ethnic diversity.
-Eric
A friend sent me an article on a ship built by China. Apparently this ship carries cargo to the U.S., one of the fastest and largest cargo ships utilized to date. The downside? It carries NOTHING back from the states.
China isn't solely an industrial nation. Many in the financial industry are moving to China and to ex-UK pat Hong Kong as they are rapidly becoming market powerhouses. The U.S. has fallen behind in educational standards that results in other nations reaping in the benefits.
There are a lot of Asian people in Asia. That's what makes them Asian. Who were you expecting to see in the photos? Africans?
As consumers, we shouldn't rely on these factory "audits" as evidence that the workers who labor in these factories are being treated properly. It's WELL KNOWN among companies who source their products from Chinese factories that the time and locations of these audits is known ahead of time; factories are staged and workers are coached on how to give the "right" answers to questions, even if those answers are lies. This allows the companies to claim various things about how they care about Chinese factory workers, when in reality these reports should be taken with the tiniest grain of salt. But, whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess.
Not a single white person? Or black? Or Indian? Or Mexican?...etc.
The Report states "As of December 2009, Apple has audited 190 facilities located in China, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States". 190 facilities!! Yet every photo is of an Asian. And don't tell me these are of Asian people working in Wyoming.
I am an American. I know that numerous ethnicities make up Americans. Yet I don't see a single photo of an American in this Report.
People are allowed to get outraged if such Reports or case studies only picture white/Caucasian people...but it's wrong for me to point out the opposite (not yelling at you).
Are you saying YOU lose sleep over this? I bet you don't lose a single minute. Don't you have more important things in your life to care about?
I still don't get what you're complaining about. Someone took a bunch of pictures of Asians working in Asian factories? Because... the photographer was also in Asia?
Are you offended that the photographer was probably also Asian?
Well, I think that's true of anyone. Most Americans favour capitalism because it works really well for the US. If the US economy really started to suffer, they'd favour whatever policy worked best to get it going again; whether capitalist or protectionist.
Same for all of us.
Agree. However, the US economy IS suffering. I've lost count of how many friends have lost their jobs, homes (and not from the mortgage crisis), etc. The US needs to rethink their foreign policy, begin focusing on education and REAL healthcare reform (and not this watered down "contract" for Blue Cross Blue Shield) in order to regenerate the labour to compete with the global market. At the moment, the future looks bleak.
Yes, that and US workers will unionize, driving up costs even more.
Better yet, let's go back to the original policies that made the US strong to begin with.
yeah people! move to the midwest! that an a very expensive, incredibly specialized education could get you a job as an autism specialist!
why don't all those factory workers just get jobs as autism specialists? how silly they are!
why do we even have unemployed people... when they could just get a specialized college education over the next 4-6 years then move across the country!
it's so SIMPLE!