Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Do you know who makes your electronic gadgets?

On the next Your Call, we'll look at where our technological gadgets are made and the labor abuses that go into their manufacturing. Ten workers at the Foxconn factory in China--where Apple iPhones are assembled--have committed suicide this year. How do labor practices affect your purchasing decisions? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Do you know where your smart phone is made? Who will be first to offer "fair trade" electronics? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Greg Fay--program coordinator with China Labor Watch
Richard Jones--Freelance journalist and photojournalist

Click to Listen: Do you know who makes your electronic gadgets?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The poor workers in China cannot go on strike because the government has outlawed strikes. This from an ideology that was suppose to favor the working class. Also, the workers get a "death compensation" of over 8,000 yuan, which is why they killed themselves so their families can receive some extra money.

Corinne said...

Hi, thanks again for taking my call during this show this morning.

I mentioned the Social Cost Tracker, "an open-source mobile technology designed to promote just labor and ecological practices by informing consumer choices at the point of purchase."

Here is the Digital Arts and New Media site for more information:
http://danm.ucsc.edu/socialcosttracker/index.html

This was a really informative and interesting show. Thank you!