I was wondering what everyone thinks about buying slave made surf products from China ? Seeing people like Hurley being bought out by Nike which uses slave labor in China and the third world and knowing Bob Hurly is a good Christian boy just like Al Merrick who puts little fishes on his boards and is now making boards with Surf Tech that builds there boards in the third world that pays it’s workers 22 cents and hour .How are we to compete with this kind of unbriddled capitalist greedyness. Look at Costco and the boards that are being brought over from China . I read in the LA Times and artical last summer where Steve Pezman the ex- editor of Surfer Magazine along with Mark Richards of Val Surf Mc Crystals uncle complain about Costco selling boards made in China when they sell wetsuits made in China along with almost everything else in their store,and as for Pezman I hear he rides a Surf Tech and his magazine is not even prrinted in the USA ,it’s printed in Thialand . So what right do any of these guys have to complain about Costco and Realm surfboards that Tommy Curren and some bud’s of his started. They are all just as bad as companies such as Nike and have sold out the whole surf industry. Not to mention they are SOULED OUT.
If they actually get paid, it’s not techically slavery. Try thinking about it this way, the workers in the western world are all overpaid. Why should the manufacturers pay more for the same amount work for people with the same level of education and/or training? Why should you pay more for a product because the workers in the western world will not except a lower standard of living? Why not spend our money in the 3rd world to increase their production to help them develop and in the end break out of the 3rd world regime? China is the fastest growing economy in the world. Unless you can be better then them on something, you loose. The fine laws of unregulated capitalism… regards, Håvard
Western workers are not overpaid. Have you been to Disneyland lately? Have you been to the movies over here? Everything here is so expensive. We are told to spend spend spend… Keep the economy going! The greedy merchants keep raising the prices trying to squeeze every last dime from us. Are western workers lazy? Yes. How do you think we have the time to visit Swaylocks and talk about fishes and rocker templates. Have fun guys SteveA
I think the author forgot to add the fact that at wages like the they are SLAVE LABOR WAGES and who could breakout of the third world on thoses huge paychecks of maybe 20 dollars a week. Shame on you for thinking that when most of the people are children . There are laws in this country on child labor so it should not be allowed in this country and we did have a law and a war to free the slaves and end slavery which is against the law here so these items shoould not be sold here . But thanks to greedy rules like NAFTA ,WTO, FTAA, and MAI if any of you have a clue breaks down thelaws and superseeds American law thanks to GREEDY WHITE CORPORATE TYPES . DID any of you here of the Battle of Seattle where people protested the WTO to protect jobs and the environment ? Guess not .
“Intelligence is universal. Economic oppritunity is not.” Bill Clinton. Welcome to a world economy and all the good and bad aspects of it. Americans want to work for $25 and hour and buy from countries who pay $.25 and hour. Therefore American products can only compete by being better. Technologically we are more advanced. But if we refuse to embrace our advantage then we will be run over by price.
Well stated Greg. We’ve experienced several customers experiment with the Asian labor advantage. Time and again they end up coming back due to lack of control and flexability. Sometimes we’ve just had to win jobs back through innovation. But, on the net we’re doing better due to Asian competition as opposed to worse. One unanticipated benifit has been numerous manufacturers boycotting FCS for their participation in the Realm/Costco debacle.
Henry Ford new if he downsized his workforce and rasied the cost then nobody could buy his cars . In these times the head of the Federal Reserve just made a statement if you had been listening lately and it goes like this there are not enough people to keep Social Security going this means people in this country have been downsized a better word for it would be fired. With nobody working this means no Social Security . Why do I say this ? Cause not everyone has a high tech job and there needs to be some low tech jobs not that everyone builds surfboards but in califorina the industry has been hit hard and put many out of work starting with shaping machine and then with people to the north being laid off like in Washington state at Seatrend when they lost their jobs to Slovakia then they lost their jobs to the people in Thialand at the Cobra factory. Then there are the windsurf companies like Bic , Mistral ,F2 Starboard and so on dominating the sailboard market keeping the small guy out of the picture. The last time I checked they were not giving small business loans out to board builders so they could compete with 10 thousand dollar ad’s in the mags. What do you want THE SURFBOARD COMPANY only by ONE COMPANY ? Thats where it’s going. Pitting workers with no rights against people in the USA that have clean air acts labor laws to keeep the people protected while the third world has none of the . How un-patriotic .I’m not for buying only USA products but concerned about workers around the planet as a whole .
I have to agree with Robert that these guys shouldnt be complaining about foreign made products. It seems its ok for them to use foreign products just as long as it doesnt step on their toes in some way. If those complaining were to dig down deep and come up with a superior product at a fair cost, they wouldnt have to worry about foreign competition. How many things in your home are made in the US?
Hello, I can help shed a little light on this subject since there is so much poor information available. Remember the fiasco that WalMart had when it was discovered that some of their exclusive products were made in Asia with child labor? The PR alone to deal with that situation cost over 20 million dollars. Trust me, no retailer like WalMart, Costco or any other organization wants that kind of headache. Both Wal Mart and Costco employ independent auditors and inspectors to audit each and every factory that supplies them goods. Consider that WalMart has about 5,000 factory suppliers currently. Now consider that China has labor laws a bit different from our in the US. They vary wildly by province, and how the factory is owned. Chinese Government owned factories sometimes employ prison labor in China. In the US, Government owned prisons make consumer goods. Every single person in the US has payed for US made Prison labor. License plates really are made in some prisons and local jails. There are prisons in the midwest US that produce blue jeans and other work uniforms. However in China, non-government factories are prohibited by law from using prison or forced labor. They may not use child labor. But guess what? They must pay overtime for any worker (salary or time based wage)that works overtime. They must provide or pay you for housing (for you and your family), all health care, and even food during working hours. So who enforces the law? Independent Auditors above. They inspect every factory every year. They inspect at random unannounced. They interview workers at random to see if they are being treated according to the law. Some factories are inspected at random 10 times per year. I can promise you, if these auditors were to inspect every manufacturer in the US, half of them would get shut down. Any factory that does not pass inspection is suspended until it is deemed satisfactory. Do you think the people that pick the berries you put on your cereal get minimum wage, food, health benefits, housing, or overtime? What about the girl that brought you your hamburger at lunch? In the US for instance, if you make a SALARY of 40,000 dollars per year, then you make that amount. You are not hourly, and so you work 37 hours per week or 47 hours per week and still get paid the same amount every week. Out of this salary you pay rent, insurance, food, whatever. At the end of the month, you have no money right? Why? Because your new truck, and that pizza and beer with your buddies, and the rent. As Americans, we want to make more money. We want to buy things cheaper. We want more, but are willing to give less to get it. We bitch about gas prices! Go anywhere in the world and buy gas. Then come back here and bitch about it. The best thing that could happen in the US is quadrupling gas prices. Maybe then we could break our itching desires to drive 40 thousand dollar SUVs two blocks to get a pack of beer. If the surfboard makers in the US want to survive and prosper, they need to do exactly what Greg suggested. Make better product than Asia. You will never be cheaper. Make a surfboard that lasts longer, and performs better. Also recognize your own problem. For every good shaper, there are 2 more in the same town making crap and selling it cheap. Just because you have a planer and some blanks does not earn you the right to make a living as a shaper. If Costco boards help cut down on the number of hacks making boards and selling them for “bro deals”, those of you with talent, desire, and innovation should be thankful.
BTW - Johnny Cantbury, high tech workers are far from immune from this new world order. Did anyone notice the classified ad right here at Swaylocks for the Pakistani based search engine optimization company?..GL got it right. Compete or die.
Yeah right if you really think Wal Mart gives a dam about people over proffits I have some swamp land in my bros state . Nice try yuppie. I guess you were not in Seattle for the WTO ? There is no proof of auditors in China and besides how come when Michael Moore asked Phil Night of Nike to inspect his factories in China he would not let them . Wal Mart just moves it’s operations from factory to factory just like Nike . Wal Mart is the biggest retailer doing business in China . If you even sweat on a pair of Nikes in China you get your pay cut. Besides the whole thing with these corporate ratbasters is that they are union busters and for the prisons here and in China it’s the same union busting . There has not been a surfboard builders union as far as I know ,maybe there should be with some of the people I have read their responces to . Sounds like a bunch of republicans to me or better yet what ever happen to family values ?
Maybe you should ask Clinton about family values.
Clinton’s first law signed as president was the Family and Medical Leave Act.
It seems to me that a lot of youhaven’t been reading the papers or even our own “fine” surf mags…the Surftech factory pat=ys it’s workers byond the regional average wage and the factory it’s self is run to a higher environmental code than ANY of the US factories doing surfboards , the european code is that much stricter. Greg was right, build a better board and people will buy it…i refuse to buy a polyester build board ever again…my customs are from Point Blanks and Campbell bros./Cliyde Beatty’s glass house—they are simply stronger more durable boards…O and i had a surftech for 4 years , to help pay for my daughter’s wedding i sold it for $100 more than i paid for it…show me a four year old poly-board that can offer that return on investment!
Hi Chuck, what do you mean pat=ys ? Oh I get it you tryed to spell pay . And byond ? Another attempt to spell beyond , well this subject must be beyond the truth. What is the pay in China and since shipping to Asia is cheaper than Europe and they pay duty on labor only and pay no health care & or benifits . Do you have proof of what you say? Prove it . I don’t think the EPA standards are as strick in Asia as the USA , maybe Europe . Pay is around 22 cents to 44 cents and hour. What a high standard. Let’s see you live on those wages? NOT ! My advice to anyone in here is to go to Asia and check the contidtions themselves. See ya Chuck. Special ed teacher
ok, special ed----yes i had spelling errors, i’m coming back from the flu, excuss me!----the EU factory requirement for the handeling of toxic materials is much thghter than our (USA) rules in place at this time, shipping is not an issue, as to the Pay scale , i don’t have to live on it, i don’t live there. however, those who do are earning more than three times the normal rate of pay for where THEY live, this for them is a major step upward…And EDDIE, i’ve lived and worked in the southeast arena as a teacher living on the ecomony, now i happen to live HERE and teach AP chem and physics…I still say, build a better board and the $$ will come, till then you better learn to deal with the concept of the global marketplace. build with 50 year old technology and except to be business roadkill. At surftech, there are no slaves, noone is holding a gun to the workers heads, all theywant is a job and a chance to improve themself’s …Stop whinning and learn some chemistry and modern technology…see you in the surf? today it’s up to 40 in the water and 55 on the beach…were you therre? didn’t see ya…
Surftechs seem like a good idea until you ride one. They surf so poorly the controversy and debate all seem comical. Oh well.