Labor Activist: Apple May Be Terrible, But All Others Are Worse

CheerfulMacFanboy writes "Labor Activist Li Qiang wants you to know that the iPhone 4 in his pocket is not an endorsement of Apple's policies, just an acknowledgment that the company is doing a better job of monitoring factory conditions than its peers. The founder of leading advocacy group China Labor Watch (CLW) told us that, though the Cupertino company does more-thorough inspections than competitors, it is responsible for poor working conditions at its suppliers' factories and needs to invest some of its record-breaking profits in improving them. 'Although I know that the iPhone 4 is made at sweat shop factories in China, I still think that this is the only choice, because Apple is actually one of the best. Actually before I made a decision, I compared Apple with other cell phone companies, such as Nokia,' he said through a translator. 'And the conditions in those factories are worse than the ones of Apple.'"

Re:Interesting headline change

[sneakyimp]

I call shenanigans. Do you really think a legitimate labor union would be permitted to exist in China? This is just a PR shill speaking the party line.

Re:Because Apple users are high-fashion snots?

[thestudio_bob]

Apple users tend to think of themselves as the types who would never wear animal furs. Apple users are ever-so-enlightened, humanitarian, environmentally aware, and ever-so-tasteful.

I'm not sure if you've noticed or not, but there's a hell-of-a-lot of people using Apple products nowadays. My hunting, fishing, drinking, non-recycling and high school educated family members may take offense to your statement.

From mind to reality.

[SuperKendall]

a) They make the biggest profit margin from their devices (indicating they could afford to spend more on addressing the conditions of employees)

They do. They do studies of suppliers other companies do not do. They pay extra bonuses to FoxConn workers, that other companies do not pay.

b) They're the most visible (people know who apple is and their "image" appears to be important to them)

Apple doesn't care about "image". They have one simple goal: build great products. If they do that right people will like them as a side effect. That is not the goal. Apple is a pretty harsh working environment and people work there not for accolades but to have millions of people using products they work on.

c) They're one of more capable of push-back on the factories to fix issues (due to their size)

Which they have, unlike other companies. At least they are even trying!