http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/ Engadget Comments for National Labor Committee report on Chinese CE factories uncovers deplorable conditions http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 4:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
And I wonder how microsoft, a software company, is their leading customer... more so than HP, Best Buy, Samsung, Foxconn, Acer, Logitech, and ASUS? Interesting.]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Good point. ]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Maybe this is a dumb question but...Why are they all bent over NOT working???? JK, but really why do they all have their faces down like they are playing heads up seven up?
Is this just to hide their faces from the photographer? Or is it break time? Anyone know?]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 4:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
wrong. it's socialism... capitalist countries have much more protection for the labor force...

you see this kind of conditions on socialist and dictatorship countries.]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/I think they are taking a nap after lunch, which is like a tradition for many chinese]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Similar problems in US prior to the industrial revolution. However change might come a lot slower in a pseudo communist nation where a few people have all the power. ]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Not really, more like companies can't afford american taxes and labor. It's not really capitalism, it's really communism that's allowing this. It's a shame though.]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/but the companies do choose what countries to make business with
and its sad to see they choose countries where the working conditions are horrible
]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Microsoft sells plenty of hardware under its brand name. Most of it is pretty good.

We are all guilty of not being willing to pay what things are worth. This is half the reason work gets contracted out, off-shore.
]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
You want $99 HD2's, this is what happens to get them.]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Thank you for bringing this to light, but your employer is part of the problem. Engadget is very quick to point out when a new device or gadget is more expensive than a competitor or the price for a new product is "steep" (one of the favorite words in Engadget reviews).

If you don't want to be a part of the problem then explore why one company charges more for a product than another. Maybe it costs more because the manufacturer takes their business to a country that has better labor laws and working conditions.]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 4:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/microsoft while a being a software company makes tons of crap. headsets, mice, webcams, keyboards. hell walk into any computer store and youll see every little piece of crap that logitech makes has a microsoft counterpart. Not to mention all the accessories for the zune and Xbox as well. And someone has to stamp those CDs/DVDs out that we buy. ]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 4:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Microsoft isn't just a software company (ex. mice, keyboards, webcams, zune, xbox consoles and accessories). Microsoft isn't the largest hardware company, It'd just this factory's largest contract.]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
I admit, I like my toys, and I like to buy them at a low cost. But I have to reconcile my ability to purchase electronics (among other things) at cost less than their actual value, with the effects this price has on the manufacturing/delivery chain.

So for everyone who wants to blame this on capitalism, communism or socialism, your barking up the wrong tree.

Companies want to make money, Consumers want stuff cheap. In order make the products cheaper and keep the profit margins up Companies will do just about anything.]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
"companies can't afford american taxes and labor. "

Taxes are not supposed to be part of a pure capitalist society.

China has state control over many utilities but for every other business, there are no regulations. That is more like true capitalism.

America doesn't have a pure capitalistic economy and China doesn't have a pure communist economy.]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
I have to disagree. Yes, that is the easy option. Their problem. However we as a nation preach human rights. How can we preach the rights of human beings (and NOT just Americans) if we don't stand up for our beliefs?]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Capitalism? Really? That is one of the most idiotic comments I've ever seen on Engadget, and as we all know, that's saying something.

The reason working conditions are horrible in China is because of China, and anyone who says otherwise is at the very least, bordering on insanity.

This is why I believe no non-Chines company should do business there, ever. And spare me the, "Apple does it, or Microsoft does it." It doesn't matter what company does it, it's wrong, period.]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Actually, that's not true. You're thinking more about developed versus developing markets.

America went through the same thing when it was a developing nation.

Also, neither markets are pure "communist" or pure "capitalist". ]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
It's entirely possible for a country to be socialist and have stringent labor laws. Despite what Fox news would have you believe, "socialism" is not a blanket word to be thrown around whenever something is bad.]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 4:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 4:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Morally it's wrong but as a developing nation, that's how economies work.

Developing nations (India, China, Mexico, Vietnam, etc.) are now going through their industrialization period just like what the US and GB went through.

You, as a foreigner of a developed nation, can say it's wrong but it's up to the people of those countries to enact changing policy. ]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 4:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
No one is forcing these youngsters to work at these factories, they do it because they find it preferable to working in the fields with absolutely no hope of a future.

Take away these factory jobs or impose strict regulation, and more of them go back to the fields.

In the fields they work 15hrs a day 7 days a week, but outside in the heat, under the sun, with a hunch in their back by age 40 and nothing to show for it.

All European countries went through the exact same thing during industrialization. Its normal.]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 4:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 4:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 4:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Yet where are all the forests and dangerous wildlife in Europe and North America?

Germany is Germany, the United States is the United States, and China is China. If you don't mind paying higher prices, buy products that are made in the US and Europe, it would reduce the huge trade deficit and lower unemployment as well (skilled labor has a much higher hourly productivity rate). ]]>Apr 14th 2010 4:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/There's no Purchasing Power Parity between the two countries. 50 cents US can buy you a great lunch in China but to get a Honda Accord it'll cost about 50k$ US. ]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 5:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Hell, I'm pretty sure my cell-phone had code in it to make the text-messaging malfunction after a year; for a while it was screwed up and then it started working right again. If' I'd called to complain I would have been pushed to buy a discounted new phone. Even if I'm just being paranoid, my service provider still started calling me after a year, trying to convince me to upgrade.

Imagine that. After nearly two years my old clamshell still does everything as well as it did the day I bought it (notwithstanding the month or so when it was screwing up). The hardware is still basically sound (a few buttons are starting to wear out now). And yet I was pressured to buy a new one while the old one had plenty of life left in it.

If even a cheap phone can last two years of decent treatment (and it's not like I've never dropped it) then surely a little more care in design could make it even more reliable. A little more money spent on manufacturing would improve the quality of life of many, many people. Hell, we could even bring jobs back into more "developed" countries (USA, where I live, for instance). The price of the phone might go up a little, but there's no need to buy a new phone every year, so overall you might even save money. And much less waste would be created.

All it takes is a shift away from thinking of items as being ideally cheap and disposable.]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Microsoft's CD and DVD are actually stamped in a factory in Puerto Rico.]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
The problem isn't Microsoft or the Company or the Government. It's simply the way our world works nowadays. There is no problem. We are accustomed to other work environments and so are they.]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apple has a over 50% profit for every iPhone they sell (even more for iPad) but Foxconn only has a 2-5% one for every iPhone they assemble. If Apple and the consumers are not to blame, I dunno who is.
The worst case scenario is capitalism met totalitarianism indeed.]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
"wrong. it's socialism... capitalist countries have much more protection for the labor force..."

you have no idea what you are talking about, china is the most wildly capitalist country in the world and this is the consequence.

capitalism does not always equal democracy
people who say they are socialists do not always equal actual socialists]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
I have been to one of the CM's in Dongguan (not this one) that produces XBOX systems and controllers, and I have to say, what I saw was nothing like this. With that said, I did not see any living conditions (they did live on site), so I can't comment on much of the article. Only a few of the female workers looked young, most appeared to be in their 20's.

One thing I was amazed at was the area around the factory was at the lowest level of poverty. The factory looked like a resort in comparison. It did make us a little uneasy when they required we give them our passports when we entered the security gates. Just glad that we made it out.

*Not an MS employee

]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
This is not to portrait a way of life in US this is a way of life in another country, a country which is over populated, street filled with unemployed college graduates while others are forced to retire because of younger and better replacements. Sure it sucks the factory workers have bad food and long working hours but who's to say it's worse than some other country where people were borne with HIV because their place were in terrible health condition and they were living only to wait for slow and painful deaths. You can say it's China's fault for lax labor laws or even blame it on the factory executives for greed, what makes you think countries like US had it any better. Why are there people boycotting places like Wal Mart? This happens EVERYWHERE and unless someone with authority do some thing about it, all these client companies will look the other way because of the money they will save. These factories may generate false reports later (if ever) about improved living condition if things get heavy but it would take alot to make these scumbags change their ways of making profits.]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://j.mp/apple-child-labor-phone]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Agreed. While companies demands the biggest profit to go back to the business and pay for expensive US labors, and still keep up with the production and sell products at competitive price to consumers, what is left in the pot for the largest population in the manufacturing process? Don't want to be part of the problem, don't buy the product. If it weren't happening in China, it would be happening in India. If it weren't happening in iPhone, it would be happening in xbox.]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 5:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Exactly, thank you so much for pointing that out.
They were socialists ages ago, but like Leon Trotsky predicted, they eventually rebuilt the capitalism around them(the party).]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 5:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Kudos to Engadget for posting this...

Immediately after reading the source article, I posted a link to it on my facebook profile; I felt that the non-techies in my circles should learn about this as well.

Maybe we should all spread the word out so it would garner attention in regular media as well and force more companies to investigate the human conditions of their vendor factories in China/Russia/India and other third-world countries.]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
This thread is a good example of why I try to avoid being "first". Your inbox gets blown up w/ unverified responded to your comment.

can I use /i for irony?

]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/Apr 14th 2010 5:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/14/national-labor-committee-report-on-chinese-ce-factories-uncovers/
Yeah, socialism powered by capitalism. Who do you think is buying all that shit? Not the rationed socialist countries.]]>Apr 14th 2010 5:54PM