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<div dir="ltr"><ol><li><b><font size="3"><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 17px; ">Fact-Checking Obama's State of the Union Speech, Part 1: Jobs</span> </font></b></li><li><b><font size="3"><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15346?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=5" target="_blank" style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); cursor: pointer; ">How Swedes and Norwegians Broke the Power of the ‘1 Percent’</a> </font></b></li><li><b><font size="3"><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15348?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=12" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); cursor: pointer; ">GOP Race-Baiting Masks Class Warfare</a> </font></b></li><li><b><font size="3"><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15351?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=21" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); cursor: pointer; ">26 Facts About the Awful Conditions Where Your Gadgets are Made</a> </font></b></li><li><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font size="3" face="Tahoma"><b>With the Fake Unions Unable to sellout Fast Enough, EmployersTurn to Lockouts </b></font></pre></li><li><b><font size="3"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(42, 42, 42); line-height: 17px; ">Interactive Map---Labor Unrest in China </span> </font></b></li><li><b><font size="3"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(42, 42, 42); line-height: 17px; ">So Long Checkoff? What comes after Union Tops cannot sell Member's labor and peace for money?</span> </font></b></li><li><b><font size="3"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(42, 42, 42); line-height: 17px; ">NEA Idaho Discovers it Can Be Cozy with Bosses without Checkoff</span> </font></b></li><li><h2 class="ReadMsgSubject" style="line-height: 24px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font size="3">The Poison Apple [MAC] - iPhone Suicides in China ~ E-Action</font><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; ">ž<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; "> </span></span></h2></li></ol>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><font style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">Fact-Checking Obama's State of the Union Speech, Part 1: Jobs</strong></font><br style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Jack Rasmus, Truthout: "On January 24, 2012, President Obama delivered his latest State of the Union (SOTU) speech to Congress. It heavily emphasized economic themes, among which were jobs, manufacturing, trade, the auto industry, teachers, taxes, Medicare, financial regulation and growing income inequality in the United States.... But many of the president's claims in his SOTU speech, especially with regard to jobs, were contrary to the facts." </span><br style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><a href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=F7QrvwsrNZEXQhug3TQ9hbZES3T%2BNs1d" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><font color="#cc0000" style="line-height: normal; ">Read the Article</font></a><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> </span> </div><div dir="ltr"><br><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15346?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=4" target="_blank" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src="http://images.alternet.org/images/managed/storyimages_1296069042_345504072140819bc8e9.jpg_640x426_150x107" alt="" width="150" height="107" border="0" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a><span style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></span><p class="ecxheadline2" style="line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15346?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=5" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); cursor: pointer; ">How Swedes and Norwegians Broke the Power of the ‘1 Percent’</a></p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 12px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); ">Scandinavian workers realized that, electoral “democracy” was stacked against them, so nonviolent direct action was needed to exert the power for change. <a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15346?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=6" class="ecxreadmore" target="_blank" style="line-height: 11px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(202, 133, 0); cursor: pointer; font-size: 9px; letter-spacing: 0.1em; ">READ MORE</a></p><div><i style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 17px; ">George Lakey / Waging Nonviolence</i></div><div> </div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ </div><div><br></div><div><table width="415px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15348?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=11" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img src="http://images.alternet.org/images/managed/blogimage_foodstamps.jpg_95x68" alt="" width="112" height="81" border="0" align="left" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a></td><td><font color="white" style="line-height: normal; ">-</font></td><td valign="top"><p class="ecxheadline3" style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; "><font style="line-height: normal; "><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15348?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=12" target="_blank" style="line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); cursor: pointer; ">GOP Race-Baiting Masks Class Warfare</a></font></p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><font style="line-height: normal; ">By demonizing some, the Republicans seek to discredit the safety net for the 99 percent <a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15348?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=13" class="ecxreadmore" target="_blank" style="line-height: 11px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(202, 133, 0); cursor: pointer; font-size: 9px; letter-spacing: 0.1em; "><b style="font-weight: bold; ">READ MORE</b></a></font></p><font style="line-height: normal; "><p style="line-height: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); "><font style="line-height: normal; ">By Daniel Denvir / Salon</font></p><p style="line-height: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); "><font style="line-height: normal; "><br></font></p><p style="line-height: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); "><font style="line-height: normal; "><br></font></p></font></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div><table width="415px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15351?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=20" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; "><img src="http://images.alternet.org/images/managed/storyimages_picture11_1275519205.jpg_95x68" alt="" width="112" height="81" border="0" align="left" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a></td><td><font color="white" style="line-height: normal; ">-</font></td><td valign="top"><p class="ecxheadline3" style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; "><font style="line-height: normal; "><a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15351?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=21" target="_blank" style="line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); cursor: pointer; ">26 Facts About the Awful Conditions Where Your Gadgets are Made</a></font></p><p style="line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><font style="line-height: normal; ">Breaking down what we know about Foxconn, the massive factory in China where workers manufacture popular products like iPhones and iPads. <a href="http://act.alternet.org/go/15351?akid=8187.16102.YkpUgv&t=22" class="ecxreadmore" target="_blank" style="line-height: 11px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(202, 133, 0); cursor: pointer; font-size: 9px; letter-spacing: 0.1em; "><b style="font-weight: bold; ">READ MORE</b></a></font></p><font style="line-height: normal; "><p style="line-height: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); "><font style="line-height: normal; ">By Lois Beckett / ProPublica</font></p><p style="line-height: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); "><font style="line-height: normal; "><br></font></p></font></td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ </div><div><br></div><div><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><b><font size="4">With the Fake Unions Unable to sellout Fast Enough, Employers<br>Turn to Lockouts</font></b></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">America’s unionized workers, buffeted by layoffs and stagnating wages, </pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">face another phenomenon that is increasingly<br>throwing them on the defensive: lockouts. From the Cooper Tire<br>factory in Findlay, Ohio, to a country club in Southern California<br>and sugar beet processing plants in North Dakota, employers are<br>turning to lockouts to press their unionized workers to grant<br>concessions after contract negotiations deadlock.Even the New York<br>City Opera locked out its orchestra and singers for more than a week<br>before settling the dispute last Wednesday. “This is a sign of<br>increased employer militancy,” said Gary Chaison, a professor of<br>industrial relations at Clark University. “Lockouts were once so<br>rare they were almost unheard of. Now, not only are employers<br>increasingly on the offensive and trying to call the shots in<br>bargaining, but they’re backing that up with action — in the form<br>of lockouts.” <br>The number of strikes has declined to just one-sixth the annual level<br>of two decades ago. That is largely because labor unions’ ranks have<br>declined and because many workers worry that if they strike they will<br>lose pay and might also lose their jobs to permanent replacement<br>workers. <br>Lockouts, on the other hand, have grown to represent a record<br>percentage of the nation’s work stoppages, according to Bloomberg<br>BNA, a Bloomberg subsidiary that provides information to lawyers and<br>labor relations experts. Last year, at least 17 employers imposed<br>lockouts, telling their workers not to show up until they were willing<br>to accept management’s contract offer.<br> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/business/lockouts-once-rare-put-workers-on-the-defensive.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/business/lockouts-once-rare-put-workers-on-the-defensive.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2</a></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></pre></div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ </div><div><br></div><div><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><b><font size="4">Interactive Map---Labor Unrest in China </font></b><br><a href="https://chinastrikes.crowdmap.com/main" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">https://chinastrikes.crowdmap.com/main</a> </pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></pre></div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ </div><div><br></div><div><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><b><font size="4">So Long Checkoff? What comes after Union Tops cannot sell Member's labor and peace for money?</font></b></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The nation’s union membership rate<br>continued a decades-long slide last year, falling to 11.8 percent of<br>the American work force in 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics<br>announced in a report on Friday. <br>That was down from 11.9 percent the previous year even though total<br>union membership edged up, rising by 49,000 last year to 14.76<br>million. The overall membership rate declined because the increases in<br>organized labor’s ranks did not keep pace with overall growth in<br>employment. <br>The bureau announced these numbers as the nation’s labor unions have<br>been coming under heavy political attack. Republican governors and<br>Republican-controlled legislatures in Wisconsin and in several other<br>states have pushed to curb the power of public employees to bargain<br>collectively. Moreover, Indiana is poised to become the first state in<br>more than a decade to enact a “right to work” law, which bans<br>employers and unions from agreeing to contracts that require workers<br>to pay fees for union representation. According to the bureau,<br>16.3 million workers are represented by unions, some 1.5 million more<br>than the total membership, indicating that many workers opt out of<br>joining the unions that represent them at their workplaces. <br>The percentage of public sector workers in unions was 37 percent last<br>year, more than five times the 6.9 percent membership rate for private<br>sector workers. In the 1950s, more than 35 percent of private sector<br>workers were in unions. <br> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/business/union-membership-rate-fell-again-in-2011.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/business/union-membership-rate-fell-again-in-2011.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y</a></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></pre></div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><b><font size="4">NEA Idaho Discovers it Can Be Cozy with Bosses without Checkoff</font></b></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; "> </span></pre><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Idaho's new school reform laws have gutted the collective bargaining<br>powers of teachers' unions, and membership in some of the<br>organizations is waning. <br>That's leaving some of the union locals without the simple-majority<br>status that they must prove in order to negotiate with the district. <br>The Students Come First laws, unveiled by schools Superintendent Tom<br>Luna one year ago and approved by the 2011 Legislature, limit teacher<br>contract negotiations to the issues of pay and benefits. Working<br>conditions and other issues were eliminated from master contracts. <br>Boise Education Association President Andrew Rath told the Idaho<br>Statesman (<a href="http://bit.ly/xEXnqL" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">http://bit.ly/xEXnqL</a>) that the process isn't more<br>adversarial because of the new laws. <br>"This (legislation) basically said to districts that if you don't want<br>to work with teachers in these areas, you can say by law you don't<br>have to do it anymore," Rath said. "But I think they've found that<br>districts want to work with the teachers." <br></pre><div><a href="http://magicvalley.com/news/state-and-regional/idaho-teacher-unions-see-decline-in-membership/article_0865f506-45ff-11e1-8ecc-001871e3ce6c.html" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 17px; font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); cursor: pointer; ">http://magicvalley.com/news/state-and-regional/idaho-teacher-unions-see-decline-in-membership/article_0865f506-45ff-11e1-8ecc-001871e3ce6c.html</a></div><div> </div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</div><div><br></div><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">iPhone suicides</span><br style="line-height: 17px; font-family: helvetica, arial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br style="line-height: 17px; font-family: helvetica, arial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><div id="ecxAOLMsgPart_1_e265da5e-b785-41e9-8b65-13224f46be37" style="line-height: 17px; font-family: helvetica, arial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><table style="line-height: 17px; "></table><table width="98%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="line-height: 17px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; "><tbody><tr height="15px"><td> </td></tr><tr><td valign="top"><table width="600" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" style="line-height: 17px; "><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://change-production.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/images/email/email_header.jpg?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" alt="Change.org" style="display: block; "></td></tr><tr><td style="padding-top: 25px; padding-right: 30px; padding-bottom: 50px; padding-left: 30px; "><table id="ecxcallout" align="right" width="200" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#f6f7f9" style="line-height: 17px; margin-left: 10px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 198, 194); border-right-color: rgb(187, 198, 194); border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 198, 194); border-left-color: rgb(187, 198, 194); border-image: initial; "><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 10px; "><strong style="font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/apple-ceo-tim-cook-protect-workers-making-iphones-in-chinese-factories?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="line-height: 20px; font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; font-size: 14px; ">Tell Apple: Immediately improve working conditions at factories that make iPhones and iPads</a></strong></td></tr><tr><td style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 10px; "><a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/apple-ceo-tim-cook-protect-workers-making-iphones-in-chinese-factories?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; "><img src="http://change-production.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/3/fa/zw/HeFazWhGjnJnVmf-180x118-cropped.jpg?1327701603&alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" alt="" width="180" height="118" border="0" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a></td></tr><tr><td style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; "><a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/apple-ceo-tim-cook-protect-workers-making-iphones-in-chinese-factories?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; "><img src="http://change-production.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/images/email/sign_petition-btn-180x37.png?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" alt="Sign the Petition" width="180" height="35" border="0" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; "></a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Dear john,</div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">According to the <em>New York Times</em>, workers at a factory in Shenzhen, China, owned by Foxconn (a company that manufactures iPhones, iPads and other devices for Apple) regularly work sixteen-hour, seven-day work weeks.</div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">They stand until their <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">legs swell and they can’t walk</strong>, and they perform repetitive motions on the production line for so long that some <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">permanently lose the use of their hands</strong>. To cut costs, managers make workers use cheap chemicals that cause <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">neurological damage</strong>. There has been a rash of suicides at the Foxconn plant, and <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">300 workers recently threatened to jump off the roof </strong>over a safety and pay dispute.</div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">In short, as one former Apple executive told the <em>New York Times</em>, <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">"Most people would be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from."</strong></div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Mark Shields, a self-described member of the "cult of Mac," started <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">a petition on Change.org demanding Apple exert its influence on its suppliers to improve working conditions for the factory workers that make iPhones, iPads and other Apple products. <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/apple-ceo-tim-cook-protect-workers-making-iphones-in-chinese-factories?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; ">Click here to sign Mark’s petition right now.</a></strong></div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Apple knows it can play an important role in ensuring safe and fair working conditions for the workers at its suppliers, like Foxconn. In 2005, the company released a supplier code of conduct, and it performs hundreds of audits each year in China and around the world to confirm its suppliers are meeting the code’s expectations.</div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">But that’s where Apple’s commitment falters: the number of supplier violations has held steady year to year and <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Apple hasn’t consistently publicly stated which suppliers have problems or dropped offending suppliers.</strong></div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">The bottom line, Apple executives admit, is that they’re not being forced to change.</div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">One current executive told the <em>New York Times</em> that there’s a trade-off: "You can either manufacture in comfortable, worker-friendly factories," he said, or you can "make it better and faster and cheaper, which requires factories that seem harsh by American standards. <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">And right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China."</strong></div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">That means public pressure is the only thing that can force Apple to ensure its suppliers treat workers humanely. If enough people sign Mark’s petition -- and tell Apple they care more about human beings than they do about how fast the company can produce the next generation iPhone -- the company could be convinced to make real change for the workers at Foxconn and other factories.</div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><strong style="font-weight: bold; "> </strong><strong style="font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/apple-ceo-tim-cook-protect-workers-making-iphones-in-chinese-factories?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; ">Click here to sign Mark’s petition demanding Apple change the way it does business.</a></strong></div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Thanks for being a change-maker,</div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">- Amanda and the Change.org team</div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "> </div><div style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><strong style="font-weight: bold; ">P.S.</strong> Every week, thousands of people start petitions about issues they care about on Change.org. <strong style="font-weight: bold; ">Here are some that need your support now:</strong></div><ul style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 1em; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 20px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; "><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; ">Delly Mawazo Sesete, a refugee from the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo, is<a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/ceo-of-apple-inc-make-a-conflict-free-product-that-includes-minerals-from-eastern-congo?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; ">asking Apple to stop using minerals mined under horrible abuses in his homeland.</a></li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; ">When Cornelious Coe fell on tough times and couldn't make payments toward his $37,000 student loan, Sallie Mae began garnishing his wages. They've taken $68,000 from him, but say he still owes $45K! <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/sallie-mae-defaulted-student-loan?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; ">Sign Cornelious' petition telling Sallie Mae enough is enough.</a></li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; ">After an under cover investigation revealed horrendous abuse at McDonald's egg supplier, the fast food giant cut ties with the battery cage factory farm. <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/urge-mcdonalds-to-stop-torturing-hens-for-egg-mcmuffins?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; ">Sign on to get McDonald's to now go cage-free, instead of finding a new battery cage supplier for its Egg McMuffins.</a></li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; ">Franca Ogbu was doused in acid by a fellow student she refused to date. Her school in Nigeria expelled her attacker, but he was never prosecuted.<a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-justice-for-brutal-acid-bath-attack-against-nigerian-student-franca-ogbu?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; "> Join the campaign to charge Franca's attacker and demand the government regulate the sale of acid as a weapon.</a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td style="padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; "><div style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); ">This email was sent by Change.org to <a href="mailto:InMart5@aol.com" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; ">InMart5@aol.com</a> | <a href="http://www.change.org/start-a-petition?source=footer&alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; ">Start a petition</a> <br><a href="http://www.change.org/account_settings/action_alerts_opt_out?email_id=JERDHXYPFVFJWZAPQVNE&alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; ">Unsubscribe.</a> Edit your <a href="http://www.change.org/account_settings/edit_email_preferences?alert_id=cCrXilylJN_VdhUcamPEm&utm_source=action_alert&me=aa&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(80, 139, 163); cursor: pointer; ">email notification settings</a>.</div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><img src="http://email.change.org/wf/open?upn=iw0vTBavhry4GuGnEz25V-2BnOA5HTspDlIjsUNiNzHz61fl2fe0F6iGoAdhsOmWi3UPjN38tzq50YmOWxzgYJXfJVHey2M95DVw5nCc9NUwQ8PS1bBCgfTON5W-2FPQM-2FAvIMIG6rAY-2BVmfvlvmVwkbqOWPbWCtx0Ll9cGnQXI9nYnmVfmPJmIR04bslHzvc822" alt="" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: helvetica, arial; line-height: 17px; font-size: 10pt; "></div><div> </div><div>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ </div><div> </div><div><br></div><div><br><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font size="2">Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monitory gain to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the material for research and educational purposes. 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