It’s been dubbed the “suicide express” by Chinese media. Twelve workers, all between 18 and 24 years old, have committed suicide, at the production facilities of Foxconn Technology Group, a Taiwan-owned enterprise based in Shenzhen, southern China. Foxconn is a key supplier to various leading brands including Apple.
SACOM (Students & Scholars against Corporate Misbehavior) and labor organizations based in Hong Kong and Taiwan, is calling for a Global Day of Remembrance for Victims of Foxconn for June 8th, to coincide with Apple’s global launch of its fourth-generation iPhone. The Democratic Socialists of America has endorsed the Global Day of Remembrance.
They are also appealing for a one-month June boycott of Foxconn’s products (Foxconn supplies major electronic products not only for Apple, but for Nokia, HP, Dell, Sony, Erikson, Motorola and others).
Update: Apple has announced that the new iPhone 4G is scheduled for release on June 24. This would be an excellent day for a small symbolic action.
Here are some ideas on how you can support the Global Day of Remembrance:
SACOM (Students & Scholars against Corporate Misbehavior) and labor organizations based in Hong Kong and Taiwan, is calling for a Global Day of Remembrance for Victims of Foxconn for June 8th, to coincide with Apple’s global launch of its fourth-generation iPhone. The Democratic Socialists of America has endorsed the Global Day of Remembrance.
They are also appealing for a one-month June boycott of Foxconn’s products (Foxconn supplies major electronic products not only for Apple, but for Nokia, HP, Dell, Sony, Erikson, Motorola and others).
Update: Apple has announced that the new iPhone 4G is scheduled for release on June 24. This would be an excellent day for a small symbolic action.
Here are some ideas on how you can support the Global Day of Remembrance:
- Sign the LabourStart email campaign, which will go to officials at Apple and Foxconn.
- Sign the on-line petition from SACOM.
- Link to the SACOM petition on your website with this code Online petition – 強烈要求富士康停產整頓 倡議6月8日為「全球悼念富士康自殺工人日」 June 8th: Global Day of Remembrance for Victims of Foxconn
- Observe a minute of silence at your next union or political meeting.
- Include the Foxconn victims in prayers if you are active in a religious group.
- Organize a few people to hold a respectful, non-disruptive remembrance outside an Apple or ATT store. (It doesn’t have to be on June 8.)
- Farhad Manjoo suggests
Next time you visit an Apple Store, ask an employee about where the iPad is made. Ask about the suicides there, and if Apple has pressed Foxconn to improve conditions at the plant. Are you an Apple shareholder? Attend the company’s annual meeting and ask executives whether their production practices are sustainable over the long term.Better, ask to talk to the store manager. Better yet, take a small group of people with you and talk to the manager.
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