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Workers Who Fix Apple Laptops Say Facility is a 'Sweatshop'

Rejected submission by upstart at 2021-07-28 19:38:10
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Workers Who Fix Apple Laptops Say Facility Is a 'Sweatshop' [businessinsider.com]:

This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider [businessinsider.com] and start reading now.

If you're ever unlucky enough to spill a latte between the keys of your $1,300 MacBook Pro or shatter its screen, your first stop would probably be Apple's website, where you could schedule an appointment to take it to a nearby Apple Store.

Surrounded by pristine white walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, and blond wood tables, you would wait for help at Apple's Genius Bar. A friendly, casually dressed employee would say hello and listen to your problem. Then you'd surrender your expensive aluminum brick and watch it disappear behind closed doors for repair.

But behind that gleaming white facade, your laptop would likely begin a journey to a very different place.

Apple contracts out many of its laptop repairs to a Texas company called CSAT Solutions, a major piece of the technology giant's third-party repair network. It was founded in 1992 and also counts Dell and Lenovo as clients.

There, people with knowledge of the facility said, low-wage workers toil, often in oppressive heat with grueling targets. They are cut off from the outside world during their shifts and sometimes wait in long lines to use toilets smeared with feces.

In recent interviews with Insider, workers said that CSAT Solutions is a "sweatshop," with one even likening the technicians who labor in its Houston facility to "slaves." These experiences appear to run counter to the image of Apple's trillion-dollar brand: sophistication, high prices, and top-notch products. The world's most valuable company — built on a carefully constructed reputation that has transformed its product launches into global spectacles and its gadgets into markers for wealth and status — relies for repairs on a company where technicians work in a hot Texas warehouse in what they say are poor conditions.

Joseph Seefen, who worked as a repair technician from March 2017 to July 2019, was shocked by his experience at CSAT. "I expected something very fancy," he told Insider. The reality, he said, was much different, and he spent every day after work looking for a new job.

As five current and five former workers told Insider, employees fix gadgets for up to 13 hours a day. The air-conditioning at the building in Northwest Houston where technicians repair Apple computers is seldom fully functioning, the workers said, so CSAT Solutions tells employees to bring personal fans. Cellphones and idle chitchat are banned, the workers said. Workers also said there aren't enough bathrooms, and one current repair technician said they smell "disgusting."

Are you an employee with a story to share about your company's working conditions? Email reporter Rachel Premack [mailto].

Workers are pushed to complete a repair in less than an hour, on average, a pace that one former technician called "impossible to sustain." (A CSAT representative said that the company has additional training for those having difficulty meeting repair quotas.)

"'Sweatshop' would be the No. 1 way I would describe CSAT," a manager who worked there for four years told Insider. "People are running everywhere. People are being yelled at. It's a lot of chaos when you walk in."

"We have extensive processes in place to maintain our high workplace standards and provide many different ways for employees to share any concerns they may have, including through anonymous channels," a representative for CSAT Solutions told Insider in a statement. "We take allegations seriously and will ensure they are investigated thoroughly. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure our associates have a safe and healthy workplace and will take immediate action to maintain our high standards if we find any issues."

Seven workers said they believed that Apple was aware of the working conditions at CSAT Solutions because they said they have seen visitors — whom managers identified as Apple employees — tour the Houston facilities at least twice a year over the past several years. (An Apple spokesperson confirmed to Insider that company representatives "regularly" visit CSAT Solutions' Houston location.)

None of CSAT Solutions' technicians or lower-level supervisors are actually employed by the company. Rather than directly hire its own repair staff, CSAT relies on two staffing agencies, Atterro and StaffMark, to hire and supply these workers. (Higher-level managers work directly for CSAT.)

Five workers said the hourly wage at CSAT Solutions increased this year to $14 an hour, from $12. (An Apple Genius earns, on average [glassdoor.com], $24 an hour.) But as of July, three current technicians told Insider that overtime is no longer allowed, which they said would slash their take-home wages and likely those of other CSAT workers.

Still, people said the hourly pay was a significant improvement from several years ago, when technicians were paid a sliding amount per laptop, depending on how challenging the repair was. The system, called "piecework pay," was used in 19th-century textile factories and is still used in some sweatshops today [latimes.com].

"None of the repair technicians got paid enough to live," a former technician told Insider, referring to the former piecework-pay system. (Many of the current and former workers asked to not have their names disclosed, but their identities are known to Insider.)

'Sweatshop' would be the No. 1 way I would describe CSAT.

The piecework pay "ended up being far less than minimum wage," the former technician added. "Had I not been living with my parents when I worked there, I would have starved."

The CSAT Solutions representative declined to comment on previous pay structures but noted that the company is compliant with local and state compensations laws. He added that the company increased pay this year to reflect changes in the market.

StaffMark Group, which owns both StaffMark and Atterro, declined to comment, citing employee confidentiality and privacy concerns. A representative noted that they would follow up with their local offices regarding the claims in this story.

Each part of the Apple experience must 'work flawlessly'

Insider previously reported [businessinsider.com] that Apple stores were the most profitable shops per square foot in 2017, far surpassing other luxury brands with devoted followings, such as Tiffany & Co. and Lululemon. It arrived at its market cap of more than $2 trillion partly by telling a story that features the relentless pursuit of aesthetic perfection, a commitment to innovation, and a belief in making things simple.

These principles — as well as a seamless repair process — have lured shoppers into buying phones that cost more than a laptop and $1,000 monitor stands [businessinsider.com].

Longtime Apple analyst Gene Munster, a managing partner of Loup Ventures, said it's important for Apple to have a repair process in which customers do not experience service or shipping delays. Whether the repairs are done by CSAT Solutions or Apple's in-house technicians, "all of that has to just work flawlessly," Munster said. As its website says [apple.com], "Apple hardware, software, and services work together to deliver a seamless experience that just works."

But workers told Insider that they feel Apple's repair network can stretch its contractors to their limits.

"I feel like Apple's expectations are too high," a current repair technician at CSAT Solutions said. "It's really stressful. They want you to work so hard, but they will give you nothing in return."

It's not clear what percentage of MacBooks CSAT Solutions repairs for Apple. A CSAT representative declined to comment on customer relations, while an Apple spokesperson said CSAT is one of their third-party repair partners. Meanwhile, Munster said CSAT is the largest third-party laptop repair partner — and the only partner — he's aware of.

Before working at CSAT Solutions, current and former technicians told Insider that Apple's top-notch reputation made them think the working experience at CSAT would be plush, too. They said that made their experience at CSAT Solutions all the more jarring.

"Some people might have the expectation that because we're going to work on Apple computers, that things are going to be nice and shiny and clean all the time," a current manager at CSAT Solutions said. "It's not the case."

In response to a list of questions, an Apple spokesperson told Insider that they would investigate the claims in this story.

"We uphold the highest standards in the industry and regularly assess our suppliers to ensure they comply," the spokesperson said. "We have undertaken three assessments at CSAT in Houston in recent years, and Apple members regularly visit the site. We take all allegations seriously and will investigate. As always, our focus is on making sure that everyone in our supply chain is protected and treated with dignity and respect."

Inside the CSAT Solutions workplace

In the summer of 2019, a Houston native had just completed a nine-month computer-repair training program that cost him $7,500.

A recruiter from CSAT Solutions visited his training school. After a short interview process, he was offered a job at the company's warehouse where workers fix MacBooks for $12 an hour. There was the promise of a pay bump if he worked his "butt off," he told Insider.

At first, he said, CSAT Solutions seemed like a great place to work compared to his previous gigs in fast food. There was the promise of upward mobility, and he got the chance to develop his technical skills. He tried to ignore the "drab and dreary" environment of the warehouse, which he said had concrete floors and no natural lighting. (The CSAT representative noted that associates have the option to go outside during break and lunch periods.)

But over the nearly two years he worked there, he said the environment became stifling. He said if technicians chatted while repairing laptops, managers often told them to knock it off, a pattern another worker confirmed. Because they were not CSAT Solutions employees, the company did not provide paid sick leave or vacation time, either, two workers said.

The CSAT representative disputed this, and told Insider associates receive two weeks of paid time off after six months of full-time employment. He also said associates can speak freely to each other.

Former and current repair associates who spoke with Insider said they often waited in line up to 10 minutes to use the restroom, which put pressure on their repair quotas. The Houston native said that the facility's men's bathroom had two toilet stalls and two urinals for hundreds of workers. And, he said, the stalls were often in disrepair, making the crush worse.

A CSAT Solutions representative said the company complies with federal sanitation law [osha.gov] in all of its facilities, providing enough toilets for workers.

The women's restroom has four stalls, current employees said. There, one current technician said it's common to see feces on the toilet seat. There are additional bathrooms in an adjoining office building, workers said, but repair staff aren't permitted to use them. (The company representative said these restrooms are cleaned three times a day at a minimum.)

Then there was the air-conditioner, which the Houston native said was rarely functioning during his tenure. He said that managers often claimed people were working to fix the air-conditioner, but even after they said it was fixed, the technician said the heat inside was "uncomfortable at best." Technicians said they spent much of the day sweating under their work smocks as they fixed MacBooks.

Workers told Insider they've handled laptops that arrived with the stench of cat urine or pancake syrup, and cockroaches that crawled through USB ports to snuggle with motherboards. They said they get two 15-minute breaks and one 30-minute lunch each workday, following federal regulations, which often happen around the same time. That means the few pauses in the workday are often spent waiting in lines — for the restroom, the security check to reenter the building, or for use of one of the dozen microwaves. (In response, the CSAT Solutions representative said rest times are staggered throughout the day.)

Parking at the facility is so limited that two current technicians said that workers arrive up to an hour before their shift just to snag a spot. Leaving the campus during lunch break is also out of the question. "If you leave at lunch, people are waiting to take your spot," one technician said.

Employees say a ban on cellphones inside the facility sometimes left them and their coworkers unable to connect with their families during emergencies. Family members can reach company technicians by contacting human resources, but four current and former staffers said the department doesn't always answer the phone. And HR employees typically leave at 5 p.m., hours before technicians on the floor are off the clock.

One former manager said that when her son was admitted to a children's hospital in Galveston with severe burns, she didn't find out until she could check her phone at 8 that evening after her shift ended.

The CSAT representative said the company is available via telephone from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., while a StaffMark representative is available from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. They added that associates have lockers to store their phones and other personal belongings, which they may access during break times.

Passing the buck

The majority of Apple's products are manufactured in Asia, particularly in China [wsj.com]. Critics have blasted [fortune.com] the electronics giant for low pay and poor conditions in those facilities, but Apple has responded to this criticism by noting that Foxconn, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer, runs the factories and also makes products for companies including Amazon, Sony, and Nintendo.

Apple appears to maintain a similar distance from the conditions on the ground at CSAT Solutions, which in turn relies on the StaffMark Group to recruit workers and manage employee relations. The result is a mishmash of accountability that leaves workers at a disadvantage, said employment lawyer H. Scott Leviant [moonyanglaw.com], a senior counsel at Los Angeles law firm Moon and Yang.

Leviant told Insider that using staffing agencies and temporary workers is typical for companies such as CSAT Solutions, which have contracts with electronic companies.

"They may have concerns that they don't know if they're going to get repair business when the next Apple product comes out, that they'll be the designated repair center," Leviant said.

But Leviant said there are downsides for workers. "It's a difficult situation for the employee to be in because they have two masters," he said. "Irritating either of them undermines their ability to earn wages and have regular work."

"At CSAT Solutions, we strive to create a safe, welcoming, and open work environment for our more than 2,000 associates and to provide ancillary service to our customers," the CSAT Solutions representative told Insider.

Workers said Atterro and StaffMark, which are both owned by the StaffMark Group, rarely solve concerns about the workplace in their experiences. Five people said they attempted to report workplace problems to these agencies, but added that, to their knowledge, nothing was resolved. A current manager at CSAT Solutions said that when he has asked the staffing agencies to issue warnings to workers in his department who aren't meeting standards, the agencies rarely take action.

"I don't think the contract company is as concerned as the main company would be," a technician said. When she tried to bring up concerns, it was a "'fill out the form and leave me alone' kind of thing." Meanwhile, all 10 workers said that when they tried to bring up concerns directly with CSAT Solutions, they were referred to Atterro and StaffMark. (None of the 10 workers attempted to directly contact Apple.)

The CSAT representative declined to comment on the StaffMark Group. They said technicians have multiple avenues, including their manager, human resources representative, and a confidential reporting hotline, to report concerns.

For as much as I work, I might as well get a cot to sleep there.

For those attempting to move up within CSAT Solutions, promotions are difficult to come by, people said. One former manager said she was hired at $12 an hour, with the promise she would earn a raise within her first six months if she met expectations. She said she became one of the more "respected" leaders in her division — staffers from other teams would often come to her with questions. But she says she never saw a raise or a promotion until she threatened to leave.

"I told them, 'Hey, I think I'm gonna try to find something else,'" she told Insider. "And they said, oh, you know, 'Here's a 50-cent raise' — after three years!"

The Houston native says he never got a raise, either. He told Insider that he eventually stopped putting in the effort at work, and the company let him go in March.

"To make my rent, I have to somehow come up with 60 hours by Saturday," one current technician said on a recent Thursday. "Why should I be here from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. just to make my ends meet?"

"I've worked till I couldn't work anymore," another current technician, who said she spends 50 to 60 hours a week at CSAT Solutions, said. "For as much as I work, I might as well get a cot to sleep there."

How workers have pushed back

One former manager, who is Vietnamese American, said CSAT Solutions is a particularly popular workplace among Houston's Vietnamese community because the work does not require English-language skills. Workers can also quit to take weeks or months to visit family back home, and be rehired when they return, the former manager said.

But many Vietnamese-speaking workers have complained of low pay. According to a report by BYNTV, a Vietnamese-language Houston news channel, "hundreds" of workers went on a strike in 2013 to demand better compensation. (Workers at CSAT are not unionized.) One worker, Phuong Tran, told the news network [youtube.com] that they earned less than $5 per device fixed. "Our incomes are already low and not adequate to support us," Tran said.

In 2014, a former CSAT Solutions manager named Edward Ngo sued the company in Harris County civil court, claiming employment discrimination. Ngo alleged that management targeted him after the 2013 strike, though he was not part of the demonstration. He was demoted from a role overseeing 150 workers to a manual-labor job, which he found challenging because of back pain, the complaint said.

Ngo claimed that CSAT Solutions — using the company's previous name, PCS-CTS — deliberately paid Vietnamese workers less than their non-Vietnamese peers. "Originally, the workers were paid approximately in the range of $5 to $7 per computer part repaired until PCS-CTS management reduced the pay of the Vietnamese workers to the range of $3 to $5 for each computer part repaired," said the 2014 suit, which was settled in 2016.

The repair company responded in a 2015 filing that Ngo failed to "exhaust" the options to remedy his situation before the lawsuit. It maintained that all employment actions against Ngo were non-discriminatory and taken in good faith.

Joseph Seefen, the former technician, said he'd witnessed this kind of treatment toward Vietnamese workers play out himself. "They push these people to work like slaves," he said.

Ngo is not the only former worker to bring the repair company to court. Insider found seven additional lawsuits filed against the company since 2009. Four alleged failure to pay overtime, two said the company did not promote two Hispanic women based on their ethnicity and gender, and one claimed a former IT employee was fired after he reported sexual harassment of female coworkers by the company's chief operating officer.

All seven suits were settled. CSAT wrote in court filings responding to each of these suits that it denied any discriminatory or retaliatory practices.

The CSAT representative declined to comment on the lawsuits and strikes.

Apple's reliance on CSAT Solutions appears to have only grown in recent years

Three current technicians said Apple has recently added two lines to its work with the company: battery replacement and reviving dead units. "They keep on hiring more people to do more units and more testing," the current technician said. "It's a good thing — it helps keep the flow going."

Several workers said they understand that Apple employees tour the facility at least twice a year. The employees sometimes carry a clipboard and ask technicians questions. When Apple auditors pay a visit, five current and former workers said, their managers instruct them to do certain tasks differently.

Three technicians said that although Apple expects them to use a machine that opens a laptop's shell, there's usually a line to use it. To meet their repair quota, workers typically use what's called a black stick [businessinsider.com] — a tool that can damage the bottom case if used with too much force — to pry open MacBooks instead. When the auditors visit, they're less likely to use the black stick, the technicians said.

"They want you to work an inhumane amount of time, getting calluses on your hands, pushing and pushing, as long as you get those units out," a current technician said of her overall experience.

The punishing pace ultimately boosts Apple's sparkling brand image. "I'm always surprised when I send something in — it's always back faster than I think, and it seems to work," said Munster, the Apple analyst.

"I don't know what it's like from the inside, what it's like trying to deliver that service," he added. "But from the outside, from a consumer standpoint, that's a win."


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