Apple faces attention after worker mistreatment petition

Apple CEO Tim Cook outrage at allegations the company knowingly overlooked labor mistreatment among its suppliers may have satisfied some, but that has not stopped an online petition of near 150,000 Apple fans demanding the company take further steps in protecting workers. Accruing nearly 150,000 signatures within 48 hours, the campaign was started by Mark Shields on Change.org and demands greater transparency on suppliers found to have committed rights violations.

It also suggests that "Apple release a worker protection strategy for new product releases, which are the instances when injuries and suicides typically spike because of the incredible pressure to meet quotas timed to releases."

"Here is the thing: you are Apple. You are supposed to think different. I want to continue to use and love the products you make, because they are changing the world, and have already changed my life" Shields wrote. "But I also want to know that when I buy products from you, it is not at the cost of horrible human suffering."