Apple doesn't want its store employees to unionize.

[chumly]

I found this article on another site, and I thought it was interesting. As far as I know, employees have the right to become part of a union to help better their workplace wages and conditions, it's American, it's an idealism that we hold dear. However, what are you to expect from a company that installs nets in it's Chinese factories to keep their workers from committing suicide? If anything, I think this is yet another reason to stop buying into this greedy corporation.

 

[JGAN]

not to start a flame war or anything, but i think you have to understand chinese culture before you can judge them. americans tend to be narrowminded, thinking that their system of democracy and people should all be given equal rights. im sorry to say, but quite often this is not the case.

especially in china, who you are connected to plays a great role in your position in society. rarely do people have time to (or bother to) bond together as a group to fight for their so-called "rights" (again, american thinking). in china, if you fight your boss or try to oppose anyone higher than you, you will immediately be kicked out. it doesnt matter what company you work for or who is your boss, you will almost never be given the ability to change a precedent. you have to remember that in china, there are millions of people outside who are more than willing to take your place and not make any trouble.

suicides in china are a frequent event. very rarely do they even get mentioned on the news. in a country of 1.4 billion people - compare that to the .3 billion in the us - nobody really gives a ***. people are jumping off the bridge over the yangtzee by the dozen. the culture and mindset of the chinese people is to make the most money, eat well, and become powerful. it is not "make a statement with your actions and hope feverently that somebody will notice you." chinese people actually work hard and receive little in return, unlike americans, who are much more laid-back and rely on their words to bring in the bread. americans naturally take things at a much slower pace, waiting for oppourtunities to come to them, and when they do, weighing the options and choosing which route to take. these are some of the major differences in our cuktures, which people most understand before they begin to judge.

 

[Yoder54]

I found this article on another site, and I thought it was interesting. As far as I know, employees have the right to become part of a union to help better their workplace wages and conditions, it's American, it's an idealism that we hold dear. However, what are you to expect from a company that installs nets in it's Chinese factories to keep their workers from committing suicide? If anything, I think this is yet another reason to stop buying into this greedy corporation.

Check the tags of the clothes on your back to see where they were made. Go into any hardware store and and look at where the various tools are made. In almost all cases it all comes from China, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc. To put all of the blame on Apple is to avoid looking at where all of the other computer vendors have their products made. Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc., are made of components made and often times assembled in China. The problem is that the Far East is having a lot of social issues: Korea is realizing that pushing so much school on their children is not a good thing, suicide is not something unique to China, etc. The problem is that they have always been driven to exceed, but there is more to life than work and it is beginning to show.

Jgan says: "which people most understand before they begin to judge....americans tend to be narrowminded, thinking that their system of democracy and people should all be given equal rights." Is this an example of the pot calling the kettle black. Not all American's are narrow minded. Narrow mindedness is found primarily on the far right. Yes, we do have a great democratic state in place (in theory anyway.) The OWS movement is bringing attention to the economic inequalities that currently are in place. What would happen in China if such demonstrations took place? All people in America should have equal rights. All people in the world should have equal rights. To suggest otherwise is to support dictatorial rule, fascism, or the like. People should have the right in all places to freedom of speech, the right to work, the right to an education, housing, and food. Of course, none of these products should be given away but should be earned via work.

 

[Idonno]

It seems like no one wants to address your reason for your post "Apple doesn't want its store employees to unionize" it seems they would rather discuss American/Chinese understanding/relationships completely ignoring the fact that most Apple Stores are not in china.