Behind the scenes

So this is pretty long, but this is an assignment for a college paper that I just finished and submitted. I never realized how desperate of a situation it truly was until I started researching it. Let me know what you think.

International Manufacturing of Technology at Foxconn

and the Work Environment

Flathead Valley Community College

Savanah Ontiveros

     When we think of technology we think of the future. We think of the birth of a new global revolution. We enjoy this luxury, reaping its service for work, school and entertainment. We never stop to think from where it came or how it was put together. The factories that built the software, the hands that ever so carefully wired the systems, all to eventually be shipped off to countries like the U.S. and be received to our hands. We are never told about the mistreatment, unsafe environment, or unpaid overtime hours these workers experience. We are often lost to the realities of what truly occurs in these factories.

     They are behind the scenes, these diligent workers. They are never spoken of, never seen, and if ever mentioned they are quickly forgotten. They reside in countries like China, in towns like Chengdu, Shenzhen and Chongqing. The majority of them come from small rural villages, seeking work and a means by which they can support their families.

     In one interview given by Jenny Chan, Ngai Pun and Mark Seldon (2013) a   senior human resources manager said, “over eighty-five percent of Foxconn's employees are rural migrant workers between sixteen and twenty-nine years old.” Most of them do not work with Foxconn by choice. Most of them have no other job openings available.

     Foxconn easily recruits them by telling them about a promising trade with good prospect and competitive wages. They assure fair hours, and installment of safety precautions, as well as proper training. Upon such promises, according the research done by Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior or SACOM (2011), the workforce in Foxconn grew to one million in 2011.

     “I come from a village to sell my labor at Foxconn, all I want is to improve the living conditions of my family," a twenty-four year-old worker expressed in an interview by SACOM (2011). These workers come with high hopes of making a better life. What they don’t realize is what lies beyond the public’s view, and into the heart of their newly acquired occupations.

     One such troublesome issue is the misuse of chemicals without proper protection. The workers are not informed of these hazardous products, nor are trained to safely manage them. They are lucky to be given a mask to wear while they excessively use the chemicals everyday, SACOM claims (2011).

     In addition, the workers are given long hours with few to no breaks in between. They are offered overtime, and eagerly accept it as the wages paid barely reach legal minimum. Without overtime hours, many claim they could never afford living expenses. Li Hui, a female worker in Chengdu expressed, "It was disheartening when I found that I was only paid less than CNY 1500 [approximately $240]. I had overtime work on several weekends, but the hours were not fully recorded on the payslip" (SACOM, 2011). This is another issue many have to deal with. Overtime is often underpaid if paid at all, not to mention requested even after legal limit.

SACOM’s (2011) study found the following: Article 41 of the Labor Law in China stipulates that overtime should not exceed three hours per day and thirty-six hours per month... In reality, except in low season, the production facilities in Shenzhen, Chengdu and Chongqing violated the thirty-six hours overtime work limit provided by law... In Chengdu, workers usually have eighty to a hundred hours overtime work on the top of a hundred and seventy-four regular hours per month.

     If workers do not accept overtime, they are fired. Those who do stay must bare the military management practiced by several of the Foxconn facilities. Foxconn claims they keep to humane ethics and respectable treatment, but there are those who dare to admit otherwise. From humiliation, threats, and unsafe work environments these companies slave their employees to the point of suicide.

     According to reports made by SACOM they claim, "We also revisited Foxconn's flagship plants in two industrial towns, Longhua and Guanlan in the Shenzhen, where employees are still housed in dormitories surrounding with anti-suicide nets”. Apparently, they are not only aware of these tendencies, but are making the efforts to prevent such by setting up "nets". You would think they would stop to wonder the reason for such tendencies in the first place.

     The question for many, is how this has been kept hush hush for so long. As the word is spreading in these recent years, attention is slowly being drawn to how these prized products are manufactured. We in America admire companies like Apple, Dell, and HP, but these are the companies for which Foxconn supplies. "The code of conduct of Apple also states Apple is committed to ensure workers are treated with dignity" (SACOM, 2011). It is in their interest to improve the workplace in these factories, but one must wonder how efficient they are in following through.

     A report made by Michelle Fitzsimmons (2013) states that “Apple posted a claim of $43.6 billion in revenue... and $11.6 billion in profit”. One would think such increase in income would result in better pay, and benefits for the miracle workers who put it all together. One must wonder if it is truly out of ignorance, or the turn of a blind eye, as to explain why Apple hasn't already aided in bettering the environment of the workplace across seas.

     It's not a secret that companies like Apple have achieved an international market. Buyers world wide order their products at every available store, undeterred by the high prices marked on their labels. And as the demand for Apple increases, so do the fortunes of Foxconn. The only participants that do not benefit from this success are the very workers that fashion the electronics. For this reason SACOM is demanding companies like Apple to "raise [their] unit price to make a living wage feasible" for these employees. It is debatable, however, as to whether this will solve the dilemma faced by these workers. If these profitable gains and low wages are driven by greed, one must wonder if there is ever hope for them.

     "We have some really great stuff coming in the fall and across all of 2014." Time Cook explains according to one article (Michelle Fitzsimmons, 2013). With "exciting new product categories" there is no doubt that sales will continue to reach globally into every nation.

     Technology is a phenomenon to many of us, reaching beyond our understanding in how it works. Indeed, such electronic inventions are a masterpiece, as we all have geniuses like Isaac Newton to thank. Companies like Apple, Dell and HP will continue to grow as the competition rises. We will reap the benefits of masterminds as we sit back and wait for their upcoming products every year, improving our lives in ways like time-management, organization, and multitasking. We will continue to live daily forgetting who actually shaped these products within our hands. How much easier that would be than to approach reality, and realize what truly takes place behind the scenes.

     Underpaid wages, excessive overtime, military management, unsafe use of chemicals, and suicide attempts are just a small revelation of the daily life of these workers. Their voice is not heard, and for many they dare not utter a word against their occupations. We will continue to enjoy the comforts of technology in America, and in other rising countries. We will continue to pay the high prices for our education, work and pure entertainment. They will continue to work long hours to put food on their families table.

     Whoever said that life was not fair, was right indeed. For people like Karl Marx, “human societies progress through class struggle: a conflict between an ownership class that controls production and a dispossessed laboring class that provides the labor for production” (as cited by Wikipedia, last updated March 25, 2014). Such an unequal system is thought to be essential for the functioning of our globe. I disagree. I believe all peoples should be treated with the same respect, and with this newly acquired knowledge about Foxconn and its employees, I would hope we would spread the word of this grave mistreatment. Let us be their voice to the world.

Reference Page

Chan, J., Pun, N., & Seldon, M. (2013, August 12). The politics of global production: Apple, Foxconn

        and China's new working class. The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 11, Issue 32, No. 2. Retrieved

        from http://www.japanfocus.org/-Jenny-Chan/3981

Fitzsimmons, M. (2013, April 23). Apple says to look at fall, 2014 for 'amazing' product

  developments. Retrieved from

  http://www.techradar.com/us/news/phone-and-communications/apple-sold-37-4m-iphones-19

  5m-ipads-as-mac-numbers-dip-1146484

SACOM (2011, May 6). Foxconn and Apple Fail to Fulfill Promises:  Predicaments of Workers after the             Suicides. Retrieved from http://sacom.hk/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/2011-05-06_foxconn-and- apple-fail-to-fulfill-promises.pdf

Wikipedia (last edited 2014, March 25). Karl Marx. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx

Redemption

Those times when God has an amazing plan for your life, but you go and mess things up in the millionth crime. You question if it's worth to apologize once again. The words aren't new. He's heard them been said. But then you hear His voice, He tells you to change. He tells you He's got a better and more perfect way. He says it's all yours. All you gotta do is believe. Just believe that He died and rose again and that YOU ARE FREE. You are free from the chains that sin has bound you in. You are free from the Devil and his devious plans so, believe and have faith. Pray and mean what you say. Then give it to God and rejoice in His grace. This is not a competition, but a lifetime revelation. About the One who died for you. Its a chance at redemption. Redemption is a gift. It isn't earned nor deserved. The guy you told you that, his name is Lucifer. God's gift is free. It's free to all mankind. All you gotta do is believe and take a chance at life. Take a chance to live, to live for the better. For the better becomes eternal, when you give your life to the Father. So the next time someone tells you, "You're no good. You don't deserve it." Reply with a smile, "You're right, but I have it."

The Controversy Over Wolves

So this is an editorial I wrote for school. It's the first draft so a tad rough around the edges.

The controversy over whether or not wolves are a threat or an endangered species seem to rattle in the balance these days. We have both extremists and everything in between. Yet what are the facts that field researchers and biologists are coming up with? After much research I have come to realize that, like any other animal, wolves do best when left alone. We should not worry over the elks existence and daily habits because they do not kill many elk, they build up these herds rather, and they help sustain plant life.

The accusations against wolves often are linked with the diminishing population of elk. People claim they are the reason for the elk changing their migration patterns, for obtaining more diseases, and even for dying of starvation. According to researcher Arthur Middleton, that is not the case. "[Elk] on average, encounter wolves once every 9 days,” He states, “Elk did move slightly more when wolves were within 1 kilometer, but not by much. They only traveled an extra 30 meters per hour.” That is not frequent enough to affect even their body fat, which is yet another misconception about wolves. These canines travel up to 500 miles. They do not stalk a herd of elk beyond a single meal.

What about when they do? What about when they prey on elk and chase them down to feed on them? One point, which is almost never mentioned, is the fact that when these canines do prey on elk they do not go for the strongest. They kill the weakest, the young ones, or the old and injured. "Wolves help insure that the healthiest elk thrive and reproduce,” says one professor at Carroll College. Jonathan Matthews spends his time studying and researching on this topic, and has brought to the table much knowledge that otherwise would be left unsaid. “Generations of elk have suffered functional decline during the decades that wolves have been missing from Montana."  This clearly states the need for a population of wolves in an area. What a landscaper might do to a garden, pruning the trees and weeding, the wolves do to the herds. They encourage the top elk to rear up strong generations, while cutting out the weaker animals.

Another point Jonathan states is the fact that wolves help maintain healthy vegetation. Indeed, this might sound a little odd. To the average, unlearned American, it would seem wolves only kill and destroy. This is not the case.  "With elk no longer able to graze lazily in the river bottoms, they are no longer eating willow and cottonwood sprouts, so the unnaturally bare banks are greening,... [the wolves] are creating habitats that support insects, fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals." And this is not all. There have been countless situations where elk, bored and endlessly wandering, have found themselves to ranchers’ fields and their crops. Wolves help by keeping them on the move, thus giving vegetation a chance to survive and thrive. Without wolves, this couldn't happen.

Will all this evidence, it becomes clear that wolves truly are not a threat. Indeed, they do hunt elk. Indeed, they can be aggressive. But what shall we then say? Shall we accuse these animals of trying to survive? Shall we accuse them for hunting to feed their young ones? Shall we accuse them of first degree murder? As we have seen, they benefit the herds and surrounding wildlife in numerous ways. Without these wild canines, the animal kingdom would fall apart. So why not stand back and watch nature take care of itself? It has for thousands of years.

Persuasive Speech - World Hunger

So this is something I wrote for my public speaking class I am currently taking at the local college. It's sorta rough around the edges but I thought I'd post it here.

"If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger." These profound words were spoken first by Buzz Aldrin. Indeed, how true they are! So why hasn’t the world figured out a solution to this pressing issue?

According to a field report done by Medecins Sans Frontieres (also known as MSF) over 195 million children currently suffer from malnutrition worldwide with 20 million being acute cases. From these, only 3% actually receive the treatment they need.

Because of this deficiency in food, their bodies lack nutrients and thus become weaker and more vulnerable to diseases. From sudden blindness, to anemia (which is frequently exacerbated by malaria and worm infections) to iodine deficiency orders which jeopardize the child’s mental health, their frail bodies begin to disintegrate rapidly without the proper nourishment.

South Asia, the Horn and the Sahel of Africa are the most alarming hot-spots for child malnutrition and mortality. Half of the deaths in children under five in developing countries, occur in these three regions.

So how can we fight malnutrition? How can we prevent these deaths and outbreaks of illnesses? The answer is simple. We need more food.

With enough food there would be no more hunger. The mortality rate would greatly decrease. Fewer people would suffer from these diseases. Everyone could have their fill of nutritious foods and everyone could know what its like to feel stuffed after a Thanksgiving dinner.

So many great things would happen if world hunger no longer existed and the solution is simple. A single meal of nutritious food a day could keep a body alive and well. But we traditionally have three! What if we were to give up just one of our meals - that’s seven a week - and give the resources instead to those who suffer from starvation? Right now, over 300,000,000 people live in the USA. That’s 300,000,000 lives we could save, including in our own country! So what are we waiting for?! Why can’t you and I take the first steps to a better tomorrow? Imagine the possibilities!