In 1985, the first man committed to picking up trash on a two-mile strip of a Texas highway. This was the start of the Adopt-A-Highway program, an initiative that has since been one of the most successful government partnerships of all time.
Seeing this success has motivated some very large industrial players to make their own private programs similar to the initiative, Adopt-A-Worker.
Apple has taken the opportunity (that they are creating) to make its sweatshop workers available for supportive adoption. Of course, they can’t allow their workers to be really adopted because then they would run out of people to be grossly underpaid.
A statement from Apple says, “We truly believe this will help our workers overseas to feel more appreciated in their work. We are obviously not going to do anything more for them, but if charitable people want to support these workers they can. Honestly, we don’t really care if people are still going to buy the phones. So, do whatever you want.”
Starbucks is also opening a very similar program. They are advocating for people to help their workers in South America who may or may not be getting paid.
“We’ve kept our unpaid workers a close-knit secret, but after many accusations and the realization that we aren’t going to stop, we came up with an idea. The idea is to take a worker under your wing. Not literally, of course, because you cannot get into the facility to see them and they cannot leave. But, you can learn all about them, and it might make their lives worth living.”
Both of these billion-dollar companies see a massive opportunity for hands-off improvement. Their goal is to be as hands-off as possible because they can’t afford to put any real time or effort into it.
By “can’t afford,” they mean they aren’t able to spare any of their million-dollar salaries for the higher-ups in the company. They are focused strictly on ways to save money in order to pay the truly important workers as much as they want and need.
They don’t see their small workers as the most important people in the operation. They understand that their operation might not be at its full potential without them, but, of course, real important people are here in the U.S., where they can do their important work without being bothered about a few people being unhappy about their pay, or lack thereof.
The pressure has been on both of these companies. For Apple, it was the mysterious deaths of 14 Chinese employees, though they did invest in nets to put up so that no more workers would be lost, and that did show their love for their employees. But now, 13 years later, the pressure has built up slightly. Not to say they’re not doing a fantastic job of keeping it out of sight.
For Starbucks, they held off until now because they don’t even own the plantations as they buy from many different farms. So technically, they’re not even doing anything close to deplorable. But they’re a company that prides themselves on the “limitless possibilities of human connection” as they say in their mission statement, so the Adopt-A-Worker program was an obvious choice to connect themselves with.
Companies like these two are the reason the American people enjoy life so much. They do great work because they care about making a difference. Sure, they’re worth about $3 billion combined, but that doesn’t mean they can’t side with the regular people of the world. They just have chosen not to, until now.
So, take advantage of the Adopt-A-Worker program. It’s up to everyday people to get involved. Apple and Starbucks are just providing the opportunity to help the workers they pretend are invisible. They’re worth about $3 billion combined, but that doesn’t mean they can’t side with the regular people of the world. They just have chosen not to, until now.
So, take advantage of the Adopt-A-Worker program. It’s up to everyday people to get involved. Apple and Starbucks are just providing the opportunity to help the workers they pretend are invisible.
