"I'd like to kill him but it wouldn't be a'right.'
Dell's prison labour criticised
Angie Wagner in Las Vegas
JANUARY 10, 2003
ENVIRONMENTALISTS dressed in prison uniforms circled a collection of dusty
computers outside the Consumer Electronics Show to protest Dell Computer's
use of inmates to recycle computers.
"I lost my job. I robbed a store. Went to jail. I got my job back," chanted
five mock prisoners wearing "Dell Recycling Team" signs and linked by chains.
While Dell company executives gathered at the huge electronics convention,
the "high-tech chain gang", members of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition,
attracted a small crowd outside. The coalition says Dell's computer
recycling program is a sham, and Dell is putting prison workers in danger
because they are not protected by federal Occupational Health and Safety
Administration standards.
"Dell is an environmental laggard," protester Fred Kirsch said.
The coalition also complains that instead of using cheap prison labour,
Round Rock, Texas-based Dell could provide others with jobs.
The nation's top-selling computer manufacturer deals with a US government
contractor, UNICOR, which employs prison inmates to recycle outdated
computers.
Dell spokesman Bryant Hilton acknowledged that the prison labor saves the
company money, but said inmates meet all OSHA standards.
Dell's program lets owners of obsolete Dell equipment pay shipping costs to
return their computers but they do not have to pay any additional costs
associated with recycling in the DellExchange program.
Ted Smith, executive director of the coalition, said Dell doesn't do much
to promote the program.
Mr Hilton said the protest was partially the result of miscommunication,
and said his company and the coalition have the same goal.
"I think our challenge now is educating our customers about what their
options are," he said. "I think there's a lack of awareness of what to do
with an old computer."
Victor Ramirez, 30, who uses a Dell computer at his job as a graphic
designer for the Chicago Transit Authority, laughed as he watched the protest.
"They'll throw everything in a landfill," Mr Ramirez said of Dell. "They
don't care. They're all about the money."
A new report by the coalition said US technology companies lag foreign
rivals in reducing hazardous materials in electronic devices, exposing
gadget-hungry Americans to toxins whenever they use computers.
The Computer TakeBack Campaign assigned poor or failing grades to
Hewlett-Packard, Micron Technology, Gateway and Dell in its third annual
report card.
The Associated Press
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,5821266%5E15317%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html
