HP, Dell, and IBM Agree to Manufacturing Code of Conduct

JustOK writes "Yahoo! reports that IBM, Dell and HP have agreed to a code of conduct for not only workers, but the environment as well. An HP exec's statement is that the company is only responding to the company's 'globalizing in many parts of the world'." The joint press release is available, as is the code of conduct (pdf).

Comments

Other industries

[2.7182]

The clothing industry actually established something like this in the 1930's. My father worked in the garment district in Manhattan and he said it made a big difference.

Re:Other industries

[Feminist-Mom]

Yes, that actually was initiated by the Mayor of New York, La Guardia, when he first took office. The garment industry had quite a reputation for being uncivilized. You can even get a sense of it today if you go to that part of town.

Re:Other industries

[Kenja]

"it made a big difference."

Yes it did. Now most clothes are made by pre-teens in third world sweatshops.

Re:This will last how long?

[Anonymous Coward]

(Ok, I'm a bit down right now, because I was just looking for a jersey on eBay and see they sell tonnes of knockoffs straight out of SE Asia.)

Now agreed that many of the workers in SE Asia are not treated according to our workers standards, but is the overinflated price that we pay for licensed apparel (esp. shoes) really worth paying? Maybe this will drive local-made prices to reasonable levels, without harming quality and/or workers rights. (Same thing that will hopefully happen here)

The Weak Dollar

[ackthpt]

What will they think of next? I guess that the dollar isn't worth as much as it once was, as it seems to take more of 'em to buy out these corp's ethics.

The almighty buck is weaker than you think. There was an interesting discussion going on on alt.fan.pratchett regarding where books are coming from. Even Euro booksellers are shipping US printed copies of Going Postal (the latest book) because they can get them cheaper than the UK editions. A big clue as to which you have is the cover (US: Arm reaching out of a stack of envelopes, UK: A central man in a gold uniform in a scene reminiscent of the Star Wars Ep:IV poster)

So we're exporting some things, thanks to Europe getting their sh!t together and developing a strong Euro. They can feel good about buying from us for taking care of our environment, even if many workers are now in parttime jobs w/o healthcare, pension, etc. Maybe this is the way to get our manufacturing base back together? Let the dollar slide some more.

How about publishing lowest wage paid

[acidrain]

How about publishing lowest wage paid anywhere along the supply chain? I'd like to have the lowest Euros/hour paid right next to the price tag on all goods in stores. It should be international law, and developed countries insist on it for all imports...

How would you react to seeing two toasters: one for $20, with a minimum wage of $3, and another for $18 with a minimum wage of $1?

Re:toothless announcement

[Doc Ruby]

This agreement is the thin edge of the wedge to dragging US employment standards down to that of, say, China. They build their labor policies on this announcement, to which most of the US electronics brands subscribe when the dust settles. The lobby for labor laws to be written in terms of this policy. Then they find an excuse to lower the standards to, say, Chinese local laws, based on competition, or some contrived lawsuit, or because "the time is right". Then there are so many laws, contracts and precedents in the way of US legal remedies, that it's too expensive to undo their submarine "legitimate current practice".

This agreement, in a vacuum, is better than nothing. But we're not in a vacuum. It's a gridlock payload that inhibits effective legal protections by blocking them and dissipating public pressure for real reforms. It's a "poison placebo" that will entrench the disease.