Jon Stewart of The Daily Show looks at the working conditions at Foxconn, the Chinese mega-factory which manufactures so many of the electronic products that we use. The working conditions are so appalling that the company has to take suicide-prevention measures, all so that we can save about 25% on the prices of these gadgets.
There is no doubt that the US oligarchy would love to see American workers in the same situation, as can be seen by their union-busting efforts. Some of us may ridicule Newt Gingrich’s suggestion that we should replace each union janitorial job with 30 child laborers, but bear in mind that this is how the oligarchy thinks, that their goal is to maximize profits and their ideal of ‘efficiency’ is to drive wages down as low as they can go.
In a previous post I noted that US manufacturing output is at an all-time high. What’s going down is manufacturing employment. Most heavy industry jobs have become automated. Instead of human welders putting together automobile chassis, robotic welders are doing those jobs.
Light industrial jobs, like clothing manufacturing, have been increasingly going out of the first world. Oshkosh B’Gosh children’s clothing has been made in Nicaragua for over 20 years (much to the dismay of the citizens of Oshkosh, Wisconsin). Those Nicaraguan workers are paid less than a dollar an hour. Incidentally, the cost of Oshkosh B’Gosh clothing did not go down after the Oshkosh plant was closed.
Check out this Chinese press shop.
Yeesh… even Jon Stewart couldn’t make THAT more funny than revolting.
Mano:
I have to object slightly to the title of this post. While you are absolutely right to suggest that the oligarchy would like to relegate American workers to similarly dehumanizing conditions, the title implies that American workers are somehow more important than Chinese (or other Third World) workers.
We should be appalled by this treatment of our fellow humans now, not because it might come here, too. (Of course, such treatment has been here before, as any descendant of slaves will attest.) As John Stewart admitted, we consumers are complicit in this treatment. We cause their suffering, albeit indirectly.
Economists have been justifying this for years with references to David Ricardo and promises of future democratization. What utter crap. Globalization has led to devastating human costs, from which we happily turn a blind eye. We should all be utterly ashamed of ourselves -- especially when we patronize Wal-Mart.
I’m sorry to call you on your bullshit. But how is Wal-Mart any more complicit than any other retailer in the US?
Show me one significant difference in the buying policies of any US retailer — large or small — and we can talk.
Until then, it’s a load of hogwash. EVERY US retailer buys the same products from the same suppliers using the same manufacturers.
If you have evidence to the contrary, bring it. Otherwise, you’re merely trying to vilify one company for playing the game better than the others.
Disclaimer: I have absolutely no financial interest in Wal-Mart or any of its competitors. I’m a freelance science writer who has no interest in retailing other than needing some new shirts.
No it doesn’t. It just implies that U.S. workers aren’t quite (back) there yet.
Ah, the fences of Foxconn. Is this new to Jon Stewart, or is he reminding us? Hmm.
Holy shit. After 52 seconds of just watching, I’m starting to think about the nearest tall building.
“I’m sorry to call you on your bullshit. But how is Wal-Mart any more complicit than any other retailer in the US?”
One word: scale.
I’m stunned by the passion of your defense of Wal-Mart (and other retailers I did not, but could have, mentioned). The point of my comment was not to “vilify one company for playing the game better than the others.” The point was to emphasize the role that we as consumers play in keeping these workers enslaved. My reference to Wal-Mart was incidental to this far larger issue -- an issue from which your little rant distracts us.
The “game” they’re all playing, Kevin, has sickening consequences. I’m not detecting in your corporate apology much awareness of, never mind guilt for, these consequences.
I’m not detecting, in your original post, any hint that Wal-Mart was being cited as a mere example or that your use of the name was ‘incidental.’
Maybe you could try expressing yourself better instead of upbraiding others on their reading comprehension.
I believe its been pretty well documented that Walmart does use a different negotiation process.
For other retailers, they go to the supplier which offers the product at a price. The buyers counter offer and a negotiation process follows where the final price is somewhere between the two points.
Walmart however, does things differently.
They don’t negotiate.
Walmart goes to the table with a final price and tells the supplier, take it or leave it.
Because of the large amount of retail space many suppliers / manufactures need to be in Walmart stores. They are ‘forced’ to take the low bid. This forces lower wages and other cost cutting moves on the supplier end.
Wal-Mart deserves to be singled out. Their practices are particularly noxious, and being the largest retailer, others must follow their lead in order to complete.
For Information, watch “Wal-Mart: High Cost of Low Price.”
http://www.walmartmovie.com/
One of the points made in the documentary mentioned by Johann is that often Wal-Mart, because of its size, will become the sole purchaser of a manufacturer’s entire stock of products. Initially this is a good thing for the manufacturer because of the guaranteed sale. But then Wal-Mart starts repeatedly demanding that the manufacturer lower its price and since they now have no other options, they are forced to comply. This is the reason that some of them then start to look off-shore, with cheap labor, poor working conditions, lax regulations, and fewer environmental safeguards, in order to just stay in business.
What was the date of this program? I’m in Canada and I need to find it on http://www.comedynetwork.ca because of stupid copyright rules.
It was on Monday, January 16, 2012.