Apple today has commemorated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a full homepage tribute on the company's website. The image on the site is accompanied by a famous quote from the African-American civil rights leader, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
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Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly expressed his admiration for Martin Luther King, Jr. in the past, telling journalist Charlie Rose that he keeps photos of Dr. King and politician Robert F. Kennedy in his office at Apple.
"I had the — just tremendous respect for both of them, and so I do," he said. "I look at them every day because I think for people — there’s still too many cases in the world and in the United States where there’s a class kind of structure or where voting or people are trying to convince each other that this other group of people don’t deserve the same rights. And I think it’s crazy, I think it’s un-American."
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Dr. King, and many employees in the country are given the day off. Last year, in lieu of a paid day off, Apple pledged to donate an additional $50 for each voluntary hour worked by employees on MLK Day.
Remembering #MLK: Life's most persistent and urgent question is "What are you doing for others?"
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 18, 2016
Top Rated Comments
Running tax avoidance havens out of Ireland while hiring the cheapest labor I can source from China while selling products at the highest possible point in the U.S. Oh wait, you meant to ask what we're doing for other people that aren't shareholders?
Every public, for-profit corporation has the responsibility to its shareholders/stakeholders to use every legal means possible to protect it's profits while reinvesting in itself and providing a return on investment. Apple goes far beyond that by voluntarily donating significantly to charities and organizations that make a real difference in the world.
Voluntarily donating extra money to the US federal government, or other governments, by paying taxes they are not legally required to is not a donation I'd personally like to see companies like Apple make.
And if you can't see the reason a gay man from Alabama has a picture of MLK on his desk, you need to go back and study the civil rights movement.
I'll give you Pfizer to start.
AND, while we are at it, please post the laws Apple is breaking by doing what they do.
Then add the politicians and countries who pass the tax codes, labor laws etc. and we have a start.
Please educate yourself instead of spewing non facts. They are being investigated. That's all for now.
Of course only AFTER many many years of doing the same as other companies.