Foxconn, Apple, and the Fair Labor Association Respond to ABC News’ Exclusive Report

I am impressed with the FOXCOMM-Apple facility. Everyone looks good, healthy, the facility is about the cleanest anywhere in the world. Sure some of the workers looked quite young!!!
All I can say is WOW!!!

these workers are diligent and earnest in most respects, they have jobs that thousands of others envy. They work in pretty severe conditions, but it is clean and probably safe, and they get paid a salary that is not as bad as the thousands of sweat shops present in China. Sleeping at the factory in company dorms is the best option for many of these young folks, much better than finding a place on the economy (lot’s of rent predators out there) or trying to go home after work (migrant labor, remember). All in all, this is a better set-up for the majority of workers than they can find anywhere else in China. Try to find an American who would be willing to sit at a line like this for hours on end. American workers are better at other things, not rote repetition.

“These people are paid a pitiful salary”

This is such an inaccurate statement. You can’t say it is pitiful if you have nothing to base it against. You need to look at the cost of living in China and how much the person can save. Take my example. I’m an Australian living in South Korea. I earn less than half of what I would earn in Australia, yet I can save twice as much. How can that be? The cost of living is far lower.

Now, I don’t know if the equivalent of US$2.28 is low or not. What I do know though is that a meal costs them US$0.70c and that they only have to work one shift to cover their rental for board and lodgings. In Australia people can pay up to 50% of their monthly salary in rental. In that respect, the Chinese workers are far better off.

Where I do agree with you is the hours are very long. But again, that could be quite the norm in China. Most people in Korea still work at least 9-10 hours a day.

As for Apple employing Chinese over US citizens, I don’t care. I don’t want to pay too much for electronic devices and definately don’t want to subsidise US workers by paying more. I am very happy that companies like Apple are using Chinese workers, paying them standard salaries, and giving decent conditions to work in and live in. I feel the alternatives for the chinese workers would be far worse if Apple were to move away from China. Did you see the lines of people wanting to get jobs at Foxxcon?

I have seen some good commets from those knowing China reality. I hope you are not fooled by the media or the judgement with US criteria.

Here are the facts. Foxconn has about 1.3M worldwide employees. If Foxconn is as bad as Western media says, then no one is willing to work there. We all know China is short of labor these couple years along the coast. Workers have a lot of choices other than Foxconn. Foxconn’s salary is way above average factory labor’s. The wage in the report is not the cost for Foxconn wo also needs to pay for housing, food, social welfare, insurance, training, transportation.

Western media never reports the positive sides of this company. The economic impact brought by Foxconn’s investment to many inner poor areas was never mentioned. Yes, these workers are young, but do you know the average age in SZ (about 15~20M people) is about 29? The majority of people came here to work or look for opportunities, regardless as a worker, waitress, office lady, or doing business. Not only the local staff, over 10K Foxconn managers from Taiwan, US, SE Asia and even Europe also leave their families at home.

Make long story short, Foxconn creates much more value than the media telling you… If Foxconn doesn’t make these products, someone else in China will do it. Trust me, you just don’t want to see the real small factories in China.

(From a guy who really knows about Foxconn)

The conditions at the factory are ridiculous and, in fact unlawful in the US. Labor laws and unions have seen to that. Yet, in righting these wrongs in America, we have also served to do ourselves out of any chance at manufacturing electronics in the United States. We got rid of the slave labor environment, forced fair wages and conditions on manufacturers, and now it is so much cheaper to have things made in other countries (where such laws don’t exist).
So, what’s the answer? Do we allow manufacturers, such as Foxconn to continue to utilize their slave labor? Or do we outlaw such practices, thus driving up prices in China and other countries and thus give American factory workers a fighting chance at being competitive? Or, shold we do away with al of the laws that America has in place and allow slave condidtions to re-emege here?

I think both news and Apple/Foxconn are telling the truth, these truths are just different faces of 1 fact in Foxconn. Working place is clean, for it is required for production, (if you go to see a LED panel shop floor, you will find it extremely clean, more than one human being can image). Electronics and apparel industry are different thoroughly, don’t compare how work place looks. Think about safety and work load. And more important, on this case, is human being working there, how they feel. what they give, and what they get.

First of all, as Japanse I must say millions of Japanse will envy Foxconn’s working place given the fact that wage is really based on local standards and market to decide, not American journalist who has no idea of runing business not passing global economy 101 like the host of this episode.

Second, like the host of this network, twisting story to what he want it viewer for shocking value, or should I say intentinal lost is translation should end in America before completely discrediting US journalism and American social value of behaving based on true not what I call Paris Hillton TV journalism of today in America.

Third, I give China a big point when comes to event like this one where American comes for a day to judge for poor people in developing country merciful attitude without any clue of reality in other country. First was Japan, then Korea, Tiawna, China, and soon to be Vietnam and India. Call their above average wage and compare with Amecian labor union jucked up wages which almost destoring US after Greek’s downhill.

After bashing Japan for working harder than American without any clue of Japanse culture, now China and still have no idea of how China’s social and business envirnment works and that is norm, America’s judgemental and wanna be HERO journalist still exist to destroy other’s life what many are good people not just employee but also as Foxconn to be one of the best company in terms of treating own people. By far far better than many American manufacture I know of in overseas and domestic in the US.

Lastly, for American people commenting about Foxconn as bad company from this report, please go check your local manufacure of any of product you buy. You will find, (1) American can not even product same quality product Foxconn does, (2) American does not have people can even start such facory to compete with Foxconn even with billion$ government subsidie, (3) please live in the real word, not like this journasit lives.

Thanks

Americans ave been programmed over the last 30 years to fail, With the worst education , job training, real mentors & lack of proper parenting skills we have become one of the lowest ranked countries in the world in all of these categories.This is to the delight of the companies such as Apple & any company that is producing all of their products in China.
Walmart is the king of this , No one could compete with Walmart and thus 10s of thousands of people lost their businesses. The Ipones and Ipads would not have to cost $1k if built here if only the heads of the companies like Apple only needed to made $5 billion instead of $50 billion. Its all simple economics, when I here people say that Americans wont do the jobs, it is laughable, we have built & produced amazing products in this country for such a long period , it is only recently that this was all taken away and the Dumbing of America was put into affect over the last 30 years & it will take us 30 years to take back the country from the greedy CEOs currently in charge. If we had only taken the right path then we could have had millions of factories producing the finest most desirable products in the world. It would have offered millions of entrepreneurial ventures to American citizens of all race So say what you want but this was not the way capitalism was supposed to work, it has become so politically corrupted that the small guy barely stands a chance & if this continues at some point people will say enough