China and the Globalization Of Labor

NYTIMES June 14, 2010 -- Labor conditions in China have drawn scrutiny in recent weeks, with worker strikes at Honda plants and a cluster of suicides or attempted suicides at Foxconn Technology, the world’s largest contract electronics supplier, that were at least partly linked to job pressures. Foxconn and Honda have responded with wage increases, but strikes seemed to have spread. Late last week, workers at a Honda auto parts plant in Zhongshan held protests to demand the right to form their own union, and workers held walkouts at foreign-owned factories in at least five other cities.  [read more]