Watch A Girl Who Makes Apple iPads Everyday Play With One For The First Time
Say hello to “Ms. Chen.” You don’t know Ms. Chen. But she made your Apple iPad. Okay, okay, so she probably didn’t make your iPad. But someone just like her did.
Ms. Chen works for Foxconn, a company in China that’s contracted to make products for Apple every year. And recently, CNN was able to track her down for an interview, provided they didn’t reveal her real name and took her for a meal at a local restaurant. They wanted to talk to Ms. Chen because Foxconn is a company that was accused of paying their employees very poorly back in 2010, which led to a series of suicides by at least 10 different factory workers. They’ve reportedly made some improvements. But Ms. Chen reveals that she still only makes about a dollar a day for her work.
Outside of talking to Ms.Chen about her job, CNN also did something else that was very interesting. They let Ms. Chen play around with an iPad for a few minutes. And she was absolutely blown away by it. You see, despite the fact that she works on Apple products everyday, she’s never actually had the opportunity to play with any of them. Her job is to put them together, not test them. So she’s never gotten to experience what you have.
Check out the video to see how delighted she was to finally get her hands on an iPad. Does this video change your perception of Apple? Does it make you feel bad for those who work in the factories that build Apple products? Does it make you want to boycott the company? We doubt you’ll want to take it that far. But it is interesting to put a face to all of the stories that we always hear about the factory workers who build things for Apple. So say hello to Ms.Chen. You might be surprised to see the way she lives.
All Apple has to do is put out iPad3, or have a sale, all the protesters will rush Apple Store like those poor peasants like Ms. Chen who rush the gates of Foxconn to get a job.
What our media doesn’t tell us is Foxconn pays above industry average, and to the unskilled migrant workers, it’s a good job. I’d love to see the protesters try to eek out an existence in 100 year old unheated, unplumbed huts in rural China, then stay at a Foxconn dorm. Perhaps then they’ll have some sympathy for the 900 million Chinese who still live in 3rd world poverty.
A dollar an hour is low wage? Factor in Purchasing Power Parity Foxconn workers earn more than many minimum wagers in US. A hotdog is about 20 cents in China, how many McDonald’s workers make enough an hour to buy 5 hotdogs at 3 bucks a pop here?
Worker abuse? Are there no evil bosses or industrial accidents in America? Do line workers not have to pull double shift sometimes? Again our media deceives us. Did NYT disclose the fact their primary sources are disgruntled employee and US government funded dissident group paid to red-wash China? Check China Labor Watch’s financial tie with congressionally funded National Endowment for Democracy.
Suicide? Check the facts – suicide is caused by mental illness, and suicide rate at Foxconn is below China’s national average, lower than US college campus, and a fraction of US military suicide rate. What our media doesn’t tell us is the Foxconn jumpers off themselves over relationship breakup, gambling debt, life insurance benefit, not working condition.