China toy group says many workers losing jobs

[OhioChick]

Source: Reuters UK

Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:17 AM BST

BEIJING (Reuters) - Many Chinese toy workers have lost their jobs following Mattel Inc.'s (MAT.N: Quote, Profile , Research) global recall of toys, an industry body said on Friday, but insisted overall confidence in their products was high ahead of the key Christmas season.

China has been struggling to convince the world its goods are safe after a series of scandals over a string of products from tainted pet food and drugs to tires, toys and toothpaste.

In its second recall this month, Mattel, the largest U.S. toy company, recalled millions of Chinese-made toys on Tuesday due to safety risks from magnets and lead paint.


It warned it may recall additional products as it steps up testing.

The China Toy Association, representing about 1,500 manufacturers and suppliers, said in a statement that the production of poor-quality goods was not deliberate.



Read more: http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=2007-08-17T091654Z_01_PEK209452_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESS-CHINA-SAFETY-DC.XML

---

Hmmm.....Not deliberate?

[xultar]

1. ...

:nopity:

[Vincardog]

4. ....

:nopity: :nopity:

[CreekDog]

32. You are an embarassment to DU

Working people facing hard times are not to be scoffed at. Many of these people are unempowered, low paid, but hard working people.

And the comment from the other person about "cry me a yellow river" is atrocious.

You ought to be ashamed.

Don't ever call yourself progressive after making fun of poor people in other countries.

[TankLV]

46. Cry me a FUCKING Yellow River...

I could care less about the Chinese - I care about AMERICANS' jobs first and foremost...

[FreakinDJ]

2. Cry me a river

nt

[ohio2007]

10. ..a Yellow River.....

nt

[CreekDog]

34. Shameful statement "cry me a Yellow River"

Delete it. It is derogatory and scornful.

[ohio2007]

43. guess somebody flunked geography .... hows your pop culture ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=did2PTV3UTE


crash course in Chinese culture

Yellow River Episode 01(1/30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcsdAjNIWpY&mode=user&search=

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_River

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

3. Chinese workers

Can get on the bread line behind all the unemployed, downsized, "right-sized" and outsourced American workers.

[CreekDog]

35. Who made you the arbiter of misery

To say that they should get behind Americans in the bread line?

Many of these people have known more misery than American workers have, and even if they have not in every case, deserve sympathy and respect and not according to their nationality.

Sheesh, what is with you people? When our candidates go up and talk about respecting other people and nations around the world, are you scoffing at those statements too?

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Except that it is not the workers who are to blame

It is management, and then only management high enough and in a position to decide which paints got used and which alloys were used and what formulations were used. Blaming the workers for using the materials they were given and following the orders they were given serves no good.

[NYC]

12. The workers were endangered working with lead.

The workers lose in all ways.

[pwb]

6. "the largest U S toy company??

More like largest Chinese Toy company. Mattel is the largest toy supplier. Remember when that would say worlds largest American toy maker??.. Global economy my butt, more like global profits. WTF.

[Deja Q]

11. Agreed; it's funny when the media goes back and forth between "US __" and "global __".

Given the main phrase has been "global __" for years now, to suddenly backtrack and say "US __" has little merit. It's a global thang.

[liberal N proud]

7. I feel for them, but...

I just can't quite reach them.

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

[Critters2]

8. Since when is Mattel a US toy company?

www.boycottmadeinchina.org

[Deja Q]

9. Workers not testing the core compounds purchased?

Is it really the fault of the chap who inserts Ken's leg into Barbie's torso?

Do Chinese companies even have QC centers?

American workers get fired for the same thing and worse.

Never mind automation in manufacturing, some would say more Chinese workers are given the boot because of automation. :shrug:

[treestar]

13. Why is it OK for these people to lose their jobs?

Because they aren't American?

[Fierce]

15. Why should I stand up for people

who don't stand up for themselves?

[customerserviceguy]

16. You stand up in China

and they roll a tank over you...

[Deja Q]

31. With that many people, who wouldn't be surprised?

[sandnsea]

23. They do

I bet they protest more often than we do, these days. We know nothing of what is going on in the world. We are being left behind and don't even know it. We are like the Soviet Union in the 80's.

"Up to 5 thousand Chinese blocked roads and the gate of a local brewery that had polluted the water of 5 villages. The villagers were angry that, not only was the local environment ruined, but the run-off from the brewery had destroyed their crops as well. In addition, they had invested in the construction of the brewery in the 80’s, but the revenue from a recent sale was not distributed among the local people.

“Villagers said run-off from the brewery had damaged crops and tainted underground water that supplies wells.

They said there was also anger among farmers and employees about the recent sale of the brewery, in which they claim a stake. “They didn’t share the money with the farmers. It’s unfair,” said Huang.

“The brewery boss is rich now,” said another villager surnamed Ye. “But what about the villagers?”

What about the villagers. What about the people. That could be said by a number of US citizens too. It’s a travest that we are letting false divides keep us from addressing the problems we all care about."

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/?p=91

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PEK262806.htm

[Ilsa]

25. Maybe the Chinese need to start building guillotines. nt

[treestar]

27. Thank you, as you know we do not know what goes on in China

the MSM is a joke on what goes on in other countries.

What is amazing is how little we stand up for ourselves here, where we do not (yet) have the consequences that it could in China.

[CreekDog]

36. Ridiculous, you might as well say they deserve it

All the idiots come out of the woodwork on this thread.

Very enlightening candor.

[CreekDog]

37. Remember Tianamen?

How many people died standing up for democracy then?

And how do you know they haven't stood up?

[SoCalDem]

18. The cogs in the wheel are not responsible, BUT they were LURED

to the city to provide a slave labor market for the greedy american CEOs to take advantage of. .
Their OWN country, China, should be "taking car eof them" and building their own companies..not by taking our companies..

Shame on us all for allowing it.

I heard a report last week about how they do it.. they "offer" US coprporations TAX free land, that THEY build to specs..for basically NOTHING..and if the company has a hard time affording even that, they will LOAN them money to pay for it (and don't worry about paying it back)..

What greedy CEO would NOT take that offer?

What has to happen here is for LARGE tariffs to be placed on ANY product that is not totally made here, and made at liveable wages..

So if it would cost Mattel $5 dollars to make an Elmo here, and they would sell it for $20, then a Chinese Elmo made at $0.50, would have a $4.50 tariff slapped on it.. EVERY one..

Would YOU want to try and sell poison Elmos, if they ended up costing you the same? or would you just decide that maybe that American Grandma on the assembly line, might just try her best to make sure her own grandkids had a safe elmo to play with..

[ohio2007]

19. Lured like coal miners into the ground or slaves laborers that don't get paid in the first place ?

[SoCalDem]

21. Often, these people are dirt poor farmers who are told

that they will be rich if they go to the city.. Thi shappens all over..not just China..

[ohio2007]

22. Slave labor is slave labor. They need them underground and deny them the famous Chinese slogan

Workers of the world unite

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2958469#2958475

people want to become rich all over, don't exclude the Chinese middle and upper class that 'fuel' the economy in their 21st century sweatshops.




http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2104336,00.html

[xultar]

24. No. It is because there is something wrong with the company.

In an effort ro make things cheap they are taking risks with peoles lives.

I know that it isn't the people on the line that are to blame but good thing they are out of those toxic plants. When management fails people lose their jobs. It is simple.

[brentspeak]

26. It's our resident DLC free-trade shill, treestar!

How's your comfy, outsourcing-exempt job doing, treestar?

[OhioChick]

29. I've Been Wondering That Myself.....

for quite some time now.

[Deja Q]

39. What field is he in?

[OhioChick]

44. She.

Not sure. Maybe she'll enlighten us.

[CreekDog]

38. nice ad hominem attack on treestar

[TheMadMonk]

30. Why is it ok for our (well so far Panamanian) children to die...

...so these people (no matter if they are personally innocent) can keep their jobs?

Race has nothing to do with it. Stop looking for outrage. I've always considered that to be a repuke trait.

It is not our fault that they lost their jobs. Well ultimately it is because we as a whole are not willing to pay for workmanship. However, the immediate responsibility lies with those who caused/ordered the use of cheap, unsafe substitutes.

[Romulox]

40. I'm always very leery

of people with unbounded empathy for displaced foreign workers and zero for displaced American workers.

Your schtick sounds suspiciously like compassionate conservatism. :puke:

[shanti]

14. boo hoo

:grr:

[SoCalDem]

17. Boo f'n HOO

I bet there are still people HERE who used to make toys for Mattel & Fisher Price. And I bet they did not paint them with liquid lead..

[TankLV]

47. Yep - Fisher Price used to be headquartered in Western New York...

Until Mattel bought them out and closed the factories...

NOBODY cared about OUR workers then...

I could care less now...

[kurth]

20. Unemployment in other countries is NOT our problem

"China's economy to grow 8% annually from 2006 to 2010"
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/21/content_426718.htm

[ohio2007]

28. If a workable boycott of Wal-Mart was put into play,

those profits would be sitting on factory floors,forcing cuts somewhere along the assemby line.
Then I suppose the US consumer could share the burden of responsibility for taking rice out of the mouths of Chinese.

hey, things are tough all over.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Xenotime]

41. I am disgusted at the responses in this thread...

[TankLV]

48. So am I...

[Endangered Specie]

42. Look on the bright side... they ain't catching a bullet in the back of the head.

[TankLV]

45. I could care less - I care about AMERICANS' jobs...

Fuck the chinese - they are one of the main reasons American workers are in a race to the BOTTOM...

In wages, health care, benefits, even their fucking JOBS to begin with...

Chinese employers are the EPITOME of REPUKE workplace conditions...

Good. Glad to hear they are getting their just "rewards" for their reprehensible behavior...

Too bad for the average Chinese at the bottom of the food chain, tho...

Now maybe we can bring those jobs back to AMERICANS...

[OhioChick]

49. Nice Post, Tank.

Couldn't agree with you more.