Worker abuse petitions to be delivered Thursday at Apple's Grand Central store
A press release was sent out to members of the media on Thursday revealing plans to deliver more than a quarter of a million signatures from campaigns on the websites Change.org and SumOfUs.org to Apple's Grand Central Terminal retail store at 10 a.m. Eastern on Thursday. The petition will reportedly be delivered by "local consumers."
The campaign was started by Mark Shields of Washington D.C., who was inspired after learning of apparent poor working conditions in the factories of Foxconn, an overseas device manufacturer who assembles Apple's products, as well as those of other technology companies like Microsoft.
"I have been a lifelong Apple customer and was shocked to learn of the abusive working conditions in many of Appleâs supplier factories," Shields said in the press release. "At Foxconn, one of Appleâs biggest manufacturers, there is a history of suicides, abusive working conditions, and almost no pay. These working conditions are appalling, especially for Apple."
While the Grand Central Terminal store will apparently be the focal point of Thursday's demonstrations, complete with "large iPhone posters" and printed handouts, the petitions will also reportedly be delivered to Apple retail locations around the world. The groups said petition deliveries will also take place in Washington D.C., San Francisco, London, Sydney and Bangalore.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Change.org had collected more than 194,000 signatures, while an additional 56,000 are located at SumOfUs.org. The planned demonstrations come as Apple and others have come under increased fire for their reliance on Foxconn.
On Monday, news network CNN aired a special report featuring an interview with an anonymous Foxconn worker who said she had never seen an iPad in person, even though she assembles them at a facility in Chengdu, China.
And late last month, The New York Times published a pair of stories profiling Apple's overseas manufacturing operations, examining the "human costs" that go into the iPad and other devices. An anonymous former Apple executive who spoke with the newspaper said that the company has known about labor abuses in overseas factories for years. But they said nothing has been done because "the system works for us."
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook responded to those claims with an e-mail to employees calling the accusations "patently false and offensive." Cook noted that Apple will continue to scrutinize its supply chain and will inevitably find more issues, but said that the company will never turn a blind eye to problems. "On this you have my word," he said.
160 Comments
They planning on going to a Best Buy the day after and protesting Dell, HP, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and everyone else?
And then Wal-mart to protest companies whose toys are made in China?
And then clothing stores after that to protest clothing brands sewn in China?
And then the offices of nearly every other company in the country?
No?
THEN SHUT UP, HYPOCRITES.
That guy Mark Shields sounds like a huge pussy and not to mention a hypocrite!
You're supposed to think different. I want to continue to use and love the products you make, because they're changing the world, and have already changed my life. But I also want to know that when I buy products from you, it's not at the cost of horrible human suffering.
Yo, fuck that guy and his hypocritical douchebaggish, whining.
Apple already responded to the criticisms coming from asshats and Apple said "What we will not do - and never have done - is stand still or turn a blind eye to problems in our supply chain".
If anybody has a problem with Apple, then don't buy their products! Don't dictate your liberal fascist demands to Apple as if they give a shit about what you and your pussy friends think!
And don't be blocking and protesting in front of any Apple stores that I will be visiting. If I happen to be near any Apple store (I'm not that far away from Grand Central) and there are some douchebags trying to disrupt access or trying to interfere with my business and restrict my freedom of movement, then I will not hesitate to use physical force to put these protest nazis in their place.
While all the idiots are in one place, can we not cleanse the gene pool somehow?
They planning on going to a Best Buy the day after and protesting Dell, HP, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and everyone else?
And then Wal-mart to protest companies whose toys are made in China?
And then clothing stores after that to protest clothing brands sewn in China?
And then the offices of nearly every other company in the country?
No?
THEN SHUT UP, HYPOCRITES.
Walmart.
That's all that needs to be said.
They planning on going to a Best Buy the day after and protesting Dell, HP, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and everyone else?
And then Wal-mart to protest companies whose toys are made in China?
And then clothing stores after that to protest clothing brands sewn in China?
And then the offices of nearly every other company in the country?
No?
THEN SHUT UP, HYPOCRITES.
Only post necessary to this thread.