Activists Put Pressure On Apple Over Chinese Factories
Activists will be using an old-fashioned tactic Thursday to try to force change at one of the nation's most cutting-edge tech firms. Two groups are dropping more than 250,000 petitions at Apple stores in New York, London, Washington and other locations around the world calling on the tech giant to improve working conditions at its Chinese factories before the release of the iPhone 5.
The two groups behind the petition drive, Change.org and SumOfUs, allow Internet users to organize and collect online petitions calling for companies to change practices they don't like. Change.org has scored some big victories, including helping to persuade Bank of America to drop a $5 debit card fee and student-loan provider Sallie Mae to back off a $50 fee imposed on unemployed borrowers who want to temporarily stop re-paying their loans.
The petitions against Apple were prompted by reports of abuses in factories run by Foxconn, one of Apple's main suppliers in China. A recent New York Times story detailed explosions at one of Foxconn's factories and an apparent spate of suicides by allegedly overworked employees.
"Apple's attention to detail is famous, and the only way they could fail to be aware of dozens of worker deaths, of child labor, of exposure to neurotoxins, is through willful ignorance," SumOfUs Executive Director Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman said in a statement. "That's why our members are asking Apple to clean up its supply chains in time to make the iPhone 5 its first ethically produced product."
The controversy has brought some unwanted attention to a company that has a cult-like following by its customers and keeps a low profile in Washington.
Apple, however, says it is taking concerns about its suppliers seriously and is working to address any abuses at factories that make its products. Apple has published reports in recent years about working conditions at its overseas suppliers.
The 2012 report detailed its response to two explosions at plants run by its Chinese suppliers. Apple also recently became the first tech firm to join the Fair Labor Association, a nonprofit that works to improve working conditions at factories around the world. Apple said the group will have access to its overseas factors and conduct independent audits.
"We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain. We insist that our suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes wherever Apple products are made," Apple said in a statement Wednesday. "Our suppliers must live up to these requirements if they want to keep doing business with Apple."
