Since Apple products have become so integrated into our every day lives, the friendly, quotidian feeling of plugging in an iMac or fiddling with an iPad makes it difficult to imagine the ethically gruesome past that brought them to our fingertips. A scorching article from The New York Times last Wednesday has exposed this past, rendering the public conscience of labor rights violations which surfaced after an explosion at the Apple construction plant in Chengdu, China. The gory mental picture of building A5’s explosion paired with the records of negligence on Apple’s part have cast a dark shadow on the international corporation. Yet the media’s delay in reacting to this Apple public relations nightmare further reminds us that Apple has likely reached a place on the corporate pedestal where it can emerge with its sales unfettered from these reputation-tarnishing events.

It took a major, culminating event for the information on the labor law violations to garner enough media attention. But the sluggish media response harkens back to the ignored cries for help that shaped the American worker’s revolution after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. It is unlikely that Apple sales will take a hit now that the information has surfaced. But the frightening historical parallels serve as a reminder that the ethical operations of the largest and most trusted American corporations still need to be kept under surveillance, particularly in their international outposts. According to the New York Times report, employees had been working excessive hours with sub-par, dangerous living and working conditions. Yet international law and the Alien Tort Statute still do not hold corporations liable for international crimes. Even if the media is comfortable pointing the finger at corporations, the concrete ramifications of situations like Apple’s are still limited.