Battery producer exposes mainland workers to cadmium poisoning

***hankster*** · #1 03-21-2005, 10:21 AM

Just an "interesting" news story from our favorite battery manufacturer

http://www.asianlabour.org/archives/002421.php

DynoMoHum · #2 03-21-2005, 10:59 AM

Interesting indeed... I wonder if the increase in the cost of their products reflects the new requirements they have for the health and saftey of their workers.

I'm currious however... I wasn't aware that GP had been making NiCd batteries, I thought they hadn't really got started untill NiMH was pretty much the battery of choice for most things... Or did they exsist long before their cells become a hit with us RC racers?(I guess I probably already know that they must have been in bussines before I had first heard of them a couple years ago)...

Not at all surprizing, since China industry has never really been known for their concern for their workers health, or anyone else's for that mater.

Rich Chang · #3 03-21-2005, 07:31 PM

I am pretty sure they have been making batteries for a long time. The batteries may not have said "GP" on them.

I know I have batteries by GP that came with some every day household electronics such as remote controls.

patcollins · #4 03-21-2005, 07:33 PM

The new street spec packs are made by GP and they are NiCads

The Jet · #5 03-21-2005, 11:18 PM

IB cell's here I come

.

ghuber · #6 03-22-2005, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hankster

Just an "interesting" news story from our favorite battery manufacturer

http://www.asianlabour.org/archives/002421.php

When in the world is an American company going to step it up and start to manufacture cells? It seems that every company we've dealt with is located overseas.

irvan36mm · #7 03-22-2005, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghuber

When in the world is an American company going to step it up and start to manufacture cells? It seems that every company we've dealt with is located overseas.

Answer: Whenever health care,employee benefits & workplace safety standards and labor practices are cheaper for an American company to handle in their operating costs and manage to stay afloat. As noted in the article,GP "apparently" doesn't spend a whole lot of $$ into their employees welfare,according to some of their workers. Hence their lower price of products from overseas. Even some American companies are closing up their shops in America & moving overseas because of the higher operating costs in the US.

I too would love to see an American company produce cells,as well as other currently foreign-made R/C products such as motors,electronics,etc. (can you imagine what a Duracell R/C battery would be like? lol) But with overseas companies outdoing the US in operating & production costs for similar competitive products we can produce here in the US,it's hard to beat in the world marketplace.
My .02
-George

DynoMoHum · #8 03-22-2005, 12:38 PM

I'd probably cost double to produce in the US... (just a guess) because in the US companys can not get away with many things that companys in China can get away with... Perticularly when it comes to environmental issues and/or public or worker saftey... Now, as a consumer, I supose you could make the argument that we should not be willing to buy cheap stuff from manufacturers that don't uphold the same kinds of standards that the US and/or local governments won't allow on our own soil...

I heard a recent discussion about how environmental activists are basicly loosing gound lately, with the recent changes to potential allow oil exploration in ANWR and such... the people discussing this said that these groups would probably be better off getting the consumers of stuff to change, rather then going after the manufacturers and such... Like trying to get people to eat food that is grown localy, rather then importing fruit from all over the world so you can have a Strawberry or something when it's off season localy... This they say would cut down on the use of Oil, since the food wouldn't have to be shiped all over the world to feed people in places where it wasn't in season, etc... I supose the same argument could be made with regard to us RC guys... Maybe we should just give up on our hobbys, since half the stuff we buy is probably made half way around the world, and therefore is poluting the whole world just so we can play with toy cars...

I guess I have a long way to go before I could ever call my self enviormentaly friendly, cause I'm not sure I'm ready to give up RC...

DynoMoHum · #9 03-22-2005, 12:40 PM

I should add that I would be willing to give up on Strawberrys that aren't grown localy...

ghuber · #10 03-23-2005, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irvan36mm

Answer: Whenever health care,employee benefits & workplace safety standards and labor practices are cheaper for an American company to handle in their operating costs and manage to stay afloat. As noted in the article,GP "apparently" doesn't spend a whole lot of $$ into their employees welfare,according to some of their workers. Hence their lower price of products from overseas. Even some American companies are closing up their shops in America & moving overseas because of the higher operating costs in the US.

I too would love to see an American company produce cells,as well as other currently foreign-made R/C products such as motors,electronics,etc. (can you imagine what a Duracell R/C battery would be like? lol) But with overseas companies outdoing the US in operating & production costs for similar competitive products we can produce here in the US,it's hard to beat in the world marketplace.
My .02
-George

It's really sad to see so much work going overseas. I can't blame the companies for wanting to outsource, and I can't blame the US workers for wanting fair pay and benefits at work. Still, I tend to think that if the current trends continue, the US is setting itself up for a much tougher future.

We need to start making more high quality goods in the US. It makes me cring to think about how many things I have in my house that are not made here in the US.

As we speak, the trade deficit keeps growing and growing...

BDKesling · #11 03-23-2005, 01:54 PM

The jobs being sent overseas are not jobs that you or I want. They are miserable jobs in dangerous conditions. Most of the assembly and production jobs that are worth having in the US are being lost to automation of the production process. The US should be producing engineers and scientists to design the facilities in countires where cheap labor is prevalent. We should not (IMO) be complaining that there aren't any good jobs where a person can thread nuts onto bolts for an 8 hour shift.
My $0.02
Brian

***hankster*** · #12 03-23-2005, 02:10 PM

Hummm... before this degrades into something it isn't suppose to be (and yes, I have my own deep seated opinions on this) lets just try to keep this as an informational thread.

pepe · #13 03-23-2005, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BDKesling

The jobs being sent overseas are not jobs that you or I want. They are miserable jobs in dangerous conditions. Most of the assembly and production jobs that are worth having in the US are being lost to automation of the production process. The US should be producing engineers and scientists to design the facilities in countires where cheap labor is prevalent. We should not (IMO) be complaining that there aren't any good jobs where a person can thread nuts onto bolts for an 8 hour shift.
My $0.02
Brian

I agree,the only problem is everybody can't be or doesn't want to be an Enginneer or scientists.

The Jet · #14 03-23-2005, 05:42 PM

Shift gears...If you don't like what GP is doing, Buy something else...IB CELLS

Might not be ideal, but at lease your making a point.

Later, Bret

BradJ · #15 03-24-2005, 12:26 AM

DynoMoHum - Do you ever 1. stay on subject, 2. keep it short, or 3. think about saying nothing?