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Finally!  And I hope I never hear about that ridiculous "Apple Car" again.  It never made any sense for a computer and mobile phone maker to get into the car space.  It's a completely different sort of thing altogether, and that would have made the company "too diverse."  I think it would have harmed Apple in the end, so good riddance.  No doubt they'll glean money off all the patents they filed in the years to come.  That's enough.

New hardware doesn't appeal to me personally because I want something groundbreaking to happen in iPad OS first.  I've not purchased in iPad in YEARS, and have no plans to buy one until I see real SOFTWARE INNOVATION happen. From the sound of it, a lot of would-be iPad buyers are just like me.

News like this always brightens my day.

Patent Trolls are SCUM.

Fred257 said:

9secondkox2 said:

Signing contracts isn’t illegal. 

And if a union is crushed by it, that’s also not illegal. 

Nothing to see here. 

Unions are responsible for your 8 to 5 and your five day work week. They are also responsible for your higher salaries. Otherwise we all would be working 24 hours a day 7 days per week. These are facts. Just go to China where there are no unions and this is the reality.  Capitalism requires communism to exist for their own slave work forces and no unions.

China? Such an extreme example is clearly being used by a very pro-union person here.

I'm a US citizen originally from California but who has lived in Japan for the last 30 years.  I can tell you that unions are NOT responsible for the current legal framework that governs working conditions in Japan.  And although Japanese people have a stronger work ethic than most Americans (in modern times, anyway), a full time worker is legally allowed to work for only 8 hours per day, 40 hours in total per week. Anything beyond that requires overtime pay.  You can read more of the ins-and-outs here.

Do Japanese people work long hours?  Yes.  Do they do that because their company officially demands it?  In most cases, no.  But there are strong feelings of cultural obligation (especially for men), which go back to what I said about "work ethic."  Most workers here in Japan (including women working only part time) treat their employers with a high level of respect and seek not merely their own best interest in mind.  They try to take the bigger picture and if they can help out in a way that can better ensure their employer still exists 30 years hence, they'll do what they can to realize that goal.

Labor unions in Japan exist, but membership is at an all time low:
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15249462

Labor unions in Japan were NOT responsible for 40 hour work weeks, 8 hour work days and overtime pay. Japan's Labor Standards Act of 1947 is responsible for worker protections.

Labor unions in general, whether in Japan or the USA, focus their efforts on helping the worker, not in helping the company who pays the worker.  As such, unions really couldn't care less if their efforts ultimately undermine employers or cause them go to out of business.  Labor unions only care about the increased flow of money and benefits to workers, as well as work hours and working conditions.  That is primarily the reason average people don’t really hold unions in high regard.  If unions cared about both sides of the equation (similar to how individual workers in Japan care about their pay as much as the stability of their employer who gives them that pay), things really would change for the better.  Your average company doesn't pay their employees $500 per hour "because of corporate greed."  They don't pay $500/hr because it isn't sustainable for the business.

Work for Apple, even in retail, is really an outstanding opportunity.  Yet, few people in modern times (in the USA anyway) tend to give thanks for the goodness they have.  It's all about getting more.  It's about what you think you deserve.  And a lot of that is based on what your fellow man is screaming in protest at any given moment.  

All of this unionization and calling Apple horrible names only amounts to biting the kind and generous hand that feeds you.  It's unfortunate that all those COVID payouts ultimately triggered outrageous levels of inflation in the US.  But the fact is that even though a company is very large and takes in a lot of money doesn't mean it too can pay all of their employees, including janitors, $500 per hour.  And while I deliberately exaggerated that sum to emphasize a point, the fact is that there is a proper balance to compensation that unions don't necessarily believe in.  If they could strong arm a firm to pay $500 per hour, unions would, the employer be darned.

Robotic Arm, eh?