Injured iPhone workers to petition Apple at shareholder meeting

Shareholder meetings in normal circumstances are rather boring affairs for those not interested in the nuances of corporate governance. But when Apple holds its annual meeting, there will be issues besides election of board members and potential dividends on people’s minds. Two former iPhone factory workers in China, who were critically injured at Apple supplier Wintek’s plant in 2009, are looking to take advantage of Apple’s yearly meeting by attracting attention to the conditions at factories where Apple’s most important products are assembled. SumOfUs.org is distributing a petition from Gou Rui-qiang and Jia Jing-chuan, both of whom suffered nerve damage from using n-hexane, a toxic chemical, to clean iPhone screens at the factory. One hundred and thirty-five of their colleagues also reported being sickened. Apple no longer allows the chemical to be used, and Wintek reportedly compensated some of the medical treatment, but Gou and Jia want Apple to pay up.