Top: Tim Cook and Steve Jobs; photo credit to James Martin/CNET. Bottom: Mike Daisey at the Public Theater; photo credit to Mike Daisey.

[Editors’ Note:  This letter to Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, is one of several written by participants in the Fall 2011 Theater Teen Reviewers and Critics program after attending a performance of THE AGONY AND ECSTASY OF STEVE JOBS at the Public Theater.  At the end of Mike’s Daisey’s solo performance, fliers are distributed with information about the labor practices he discusses in the show, along with Tim Cook’s email address and a call to action.  Mr. Daisey suggested emailing Mr. Cook with concerns.  He politely asks that you do not send SPAM.  We obliged, and decided to publish them as open letters as well.]

Dear Mr. Cook,

I recently saw THE AGONY AND ECSTASY OF STEVE JOBS by Mike Daisey at the Public Theater, and I was appalled by what I heard about the working conditions of employees at Foxconn who probably made my iPhone. I’m sure you are aware of Mike Daisey’s show and his horrific stories of child labor and crippled workers. As a devoted Apple customer, I was deeply disturbed by what I heard. But I am also hopeful, because I know that you can change the lives of the Foxconn workers for the better.

You have been praised for recently introducing a program to match employee contributions to nonprofit organizations of up to $10,000 (something Steve Jobs was reportedly opposed to doing). Imagine the boost to Apple’s image if you led the crackdown on inhumane working conditions! You could change the world for the better, as Apple has done time and time again. Apple has always been incredibly successful at marketing itself—surely you can see how enforcing reasonable working conditions in the factories that make your products would be a great marketing ploy since it would generate considerable free (and very positive) press for Apple. And it’s the right, responsible thing to do.

Apple has long shone as a beacon of inspiration for tech geeks everywhere. Unfortunately, as more and more people learn of the methods by which your beloved products are made, more and more of us feel like Apple has let us down. I’d love to see Apple as an unstoppable force of good, a shining beacon of hope for ALL people, all around the world.

Sincerely,

Logan Erickson