Labor conditions

John, are you or any other importers on the list, concerned about the
conditions at the factory where your imported products are produced?

I read this article on the BBC,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5079590.stm

Apple ipods may be produced in sweatshop conditions. Workers work 15
hours per day and get paid $50/month.

Then, I saw a show on PBS about China....I think it was Frontline but
I can't remember. The show interviewed a professor at UC Berkley
(Born in Hong Kong) who has studied Chinese labor for 25 years. She
conveyed a story about migrant construction workers getting paid once
a year. The shocking thing was (at least for me) that the worker is
paid at the discretion of the construction foreman. If the foreman
says "Get lost! I'm not paying you.", the worker has no recourse, he
gets nothing. He basically worked the whole year for food and
water....a slave. Do such arrangements happen in manufacturing in
China? What would Chairman Mao say?

Don't get me wrong, John is turning me into a free trade apostle.
But I want my designs to bring people opportunity (while fattening my
bank account) not add to their plight. That sounds Pollyanna'ish, I
know…can't help it.

Anthony

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