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    Apple Users Will Protest, But Don't Want to Give Up Their iPhones

    Apple Users Will Protest, But Don't Want to Give Up Their iPhones

    Recent coverage of the inhumane conditions at the Foxconn plant, where Apple manufactures its goods, has angered Apple customers enough to take action just short of denouncing their iProducts. Tomorrow at 10 a.m., a group of Apple-owning protesters will descend on New York City's new Grand Central Terminal store, hoping to convince Apple to enact a worker protection strategy. As Apple-philes, these groups don't want to have to get rid of their tech gadgets of choice. They'd prefer keep their iPhones and have Apple fix the system, instead.

    RELATED: Why iPhone Rumors Will Never Be the Same


    This protest is a physical manifestation of online petitions from Change.org and Sum of Us, which together have gotten more than 250,000 signatures. Both outline the "appalling" conditions at Foxconn, asking Apple to move toward more ethical practices. Specifically, they want Apple to implement a worker protection program. From Change.org:

    We ask that Apple release a worker protection strategy for new product releases, which are the instances when injuries and suicides typically spike because of the incredible pressure to meet quotas timed to releases.

    They also want Apple to publish the results of the Fair Labor Association's monitoring of its suppliers, and to increase transparency and therefore accountability. Reasonable requests on behalf of humanity. 

    RELATED: Foxconn's Future One Million Strong Robot Army


    But most of all, these Apple-philes want to continue owning their beloved iThings with pride. "Please make these changes immediately, so that each of us can once again hold our heads high and say, 'I’m a Mac person,'" notes the Change.org petition. "I use an iPhone myself,” said Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, executive director of SumOfUs, in a press release via Business Insider. “I love it, but I don't love having to support sweatshops," she continued. "The hip, educated market that Apple aspires to corner is largely composed of responsible consumers who don’t want to be complicit in sweatshop labor." 

     

    29 comments

    • John Qpublic  •  3 mths ago
      If it was Motorola that had poor working conditions these same people would be calling for an all out ban on all sales of the product. Since they love the product and are hypocrites they will just ask for working conditions to be improved.
    • Employedsofar  •  Akron, Ohio  •  3 mths ago
      Apple will do nothing, unless people stop buying, but the isheep will keep buying. And so will the people buying other products that are made in foxconn shops. People are to selfish to give up their toys.
    • Hawaii Dude  •  3 mths ago
      You should be looking at every company that is manufacturing any of their products outside the USA to make a true comparison.
      • Prosper Kouassi 3 mths ago
        I agree, why do they focus on Apple only? The iPhone is like less than 1% of all the products we use that are made under the exact same conditions theyre protesting
      • Nika 3 mths ago
        Exactly..And who here shops at WalMart? Same thing.....
      • arubajeeper 3 mths ago
        Hmmm...I can't speak for every factory (Foxconn)...but my Samsung Galaxy S has it battery manufactured in Japan/Finished in Korea, and the phone itself is made in Korea. Both of those nations are much friendlier and humane. Of course Apple would lose more of their bottom line manufacturing outside of Chine...
    • Charles Bell  •  3 mths ago
      Foxconn also builds the XBox, Playstation 3, Wii, and Kindle. I assume these folks will also be protesting at Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and Amazon.
    • Spencer  •  3 mths ago
      The only thing this protest is for is so these people can continue to use their Apple products "with pride"? Do they think Apple will change any of its business practices because a few thousand people will begrudgingly continue to use their products if they don't?
    • you know it!  •  3 mths ago
      Almost every single electronics piece of equipment you own is built in a factory in Asia with these kind of conditions...stop it already!!! Go ahead and complain to all the manufacturers, nothing will get done...it is the U.S. gov't that created this problem in the first place!
      • Alex H 3 mths ago
        Ah, a voice of reason in this idiotic madness...
    • M E  •  3 mths ago
      I still do not see the point of owning a phone that is smarter than most humans. I like my phones dumb and analog.
    • B-Rye  •  Lynchburg, Virginia  •  3 mths ago
      Right or wrong, cost of living and living standards are cheaper in China. Apple isn't the only thing made in China, do you really think other companies pay their work force better? Would a "Mac person" really pay $499 for an iPhone, $999 for an iPad, or $2199 for a simple MacBook Air? In theory, consumers want to buy from a company with good ethics, but when it comes to their own dollars, they won't pay a premium for those ethics.

      -Android, IOS and WebOs user
    • greene_teeth  •  Chattanooga, Tennessee  •  3 mths ago
      I do not use Apple products except for the free version of iTunes with no paid subscription and I have downloaded the Safari browser but I just cannot seem to get it configured right without paying someone for the rights.
    • anon  •  Eau Claire, Wisconsin  •  3 mths ago
      LMAO if you aren't gonna really hit them where it hurts to get them to listen to you and actually make your point don't #$%$ and moan about it.
    • D.A.  •  Riverside, California  •  3 mths ago
      In related news. Americans will stage a 36 hour protest accross America's restrooms to protest the drug violence in Mexico. American's of course will stock up on coacaine, meth, heroin and marijuana as they will need them to keep themselves enterntained for 36 hours.
    • RV  •  3 mths ago
      It is just words, that is all they are doing. They will still buy the Apple products and thus contribute to the plight of the Chinese workers. They say they care with words, but not with actions.
    • ML  •  3 mths ago
      Apple knows, and has known since the beginning the conditions at these workshops. They simply did what every other company did, and chose greed over morale values.
    • BenjiT  •  Fayetteville, North Carolina  •  3 mths ago
      Sounds like the typical Apple user. "I disagree with you, Apple, but I'm addicted to how expensive your products are and how cool they make me look, so I refuse to stop using the product despite the fact that I'm protesting you" Don't they realize that a protest would mean refusal to buy their products AND use them? Otherwise, you're still giving the company money and therefore, letting them know you STILL support them. Therefore, Apple learns nothing, except that it's buyers would sell their souls if it meant being able to have an iPhone or a Mac.

      Humanity, I have no faith in you.
      • Sars 3 mths ago
        that's because they want to shout to the world that they are iDiots!
    • Auto Inspector  •  3 mths ago
      No cult members ever judge their masters.
    • JDK  •  3 mths ago
      More like hold your heads up high and Im a fool!!! Heres my next paycheck apple!!
    • J  •  Medford, Oregon  •  3 mths ago
      Wow... all these liberal arrogant holier-than-thou "I'm better than you" Apple users, who stand on soapboxes about our societies social ills, can talk the talk but not walk the walk?

      I am shocked!!!!!...... (not)
      • atl_ced 3 mths ago
        who said they are liberals? why politics on this subject?
    • Joel T  •  Boston, Massachusetts  •  3 mths ago
      Im done with my iphone, already bought it, but don't expect me to use itunes anymore. I am going back to primitive phone, Cheaper anyways and have more privacy.
      • bullet 3 mths ago
        Can I have your iPhone?
    • way2cool  •  3 mths ago
      Apple users are too dumb to stop spending $500+ on every new iThis or iThat that comes out every few months.
    • charles  •  Honolulu, Hawaii  •  3 mths ago
      I ask that Apple continue to work their employees hard to meet quotas timed to releases. I would like to receive my new hardware on time, or ahead of schedule if possible. Please be sure to adequately staff your plants to ensure that the injuries and suicides that typically spike because of the incredible pressures are compensated for.
      Thanks
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