Two stories of globalization
One of my favorite toys as a child was Etch A Sketch. I was never very good at it, but my Mom was great. She could do full pictures on the darn thing. I watched her and saw what was possible, and it makes up some precious moments with her. Etch A Sketch also taught a different lesson for me - impermanence. No matter how good or bad my etches were, they disappeared with a single shake - and my Mom's did too. The purpose of sometimes hours of work was the work itself. Thinking about that in more recent years (and yes I have bought Etch A Sketches recently) it flies in the face of so much of today's socialization. Anyhow, given my feelings about Etch A Sketch, I couldn't miss two articles in the 12/07/03 NY Times about the company, both written by Joseph Kahn and conveniently separated into two different sections of the paper. In the "National" section was An Ohio Town Is Hard Hit as Leading Industry Moves to China, and in the "International" section - Ruse in Toyland: Chinese Workers' Hidden Woe. Both Bryan, Ohio and Shenzhen, China have something in common - Etch A Sketch.
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Ruse in Toyland: Chinese Workers' Hidden Woe
By JOSEPH KAHN
Published: December 7, 2003
HENZHEN, China — Workers at Kin Ki Industrial, a leading Chinese toy maker, make a decent salary, rarely work nights or weekends and often "hang out along the street, play Ping-Pong and watch TV."
They all have work contracts, pensions and medical benefits. The factory canteen offers tasty food. The dormitories are comfortable.
These are the official working conditions at Kin Ki as they are described on paper — crib sheets — handed to workers just before inspections.
Those occur when big American clients, like the Ohio company that uses Kin Ki to produce the iconic toy Etch A Sketch, visit to make sure that the factory has good labor standards.
nytimes.com
An Ohio Town Is Hard Hit as Leading Industry Moves to China
By JOSEPH KAHN
Published: December 7, 2003
nytimes.com |
