3 Thoughts on Foxconn

A few thoughts on Foxconn in the wake of last night’s Fair Labor Association report:

1. Not that Mike Daisey feels much better today, but the excessive overtime was clearly way out of whack with Chinese law.

2. The FLA head was very clear in stating that Foxconn’s assembly lines are on par with any in the world. We knew that. There’s only so many placement machines and screen printers out there. Don’t let that obscure the larger picture, which was the dehumanization of employees. One quote that jumps out: “We’ve got to make sure people can opt out and if they do feel that they’ve suffered any kind of incriminations as a result, that they can complain, and that complaint will be handled fairly.”

3. The Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, which supposedly sets standards on how electronics OEMs should behave, has been fully exposed as being nothing more than a PR front.

Finally, you should read this piece from the Silicon Valley Mercury News that explains what the FLA is — including the main source of its funding.

 

This entry was posted in Hot Wires and tagged , , , , by Mike. Bookmark the permalink.

About Mike

Mike Buetow is president of the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (pcea.net). He previously was editor-in-chief of Circuits Assembly magazine, the leading publication for electronics manufacturing, and PCD&F, the leading publication for printed circuit design and fabrication. He spent 21 years as vice president and editorial director of UP Media Group, for which he oversaw all editorial and production aspects. He has more than 30 years' experience in the electronics industry, including six years at IPC, an electronics trade association, at which he was a technical projects manager and communications director. He has also held editorial positions at SMT Magazine, community newspapers and in book publishing. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois. Follow Mike on Twitter: @mikebuetow