Sweatshops

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Sweatshops

• Today

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• What is a sweatshop?
• A factory or other place of employment (e.g.
  agriculture) where workers are forced to work
  with low wages, no benefits, long hours,
  unsanitary and cramped conditions.
• The Shree Jee International shoe factory in Agra,
  India, caught fire in May 2002 and 43 workers
  burned to death. Windows and doors were locked
  and many safety laws broken.

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Asian sweatshop
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• Where can sweatshops be found?
• Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Burma, Cambodia, China,
  Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
  Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia,
  Jamaica, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua,
  Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Romania,
  Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, United
  States, Vietnam, just to name a few places

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Thai immigrants in Los Angeles
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• Who uses sweatshops?
• Nike, Keds, Phillips-Van Heusen, Disney, Guess?,
  the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Tommy
  Hilfiger, Reebok, Levi Strauss, Liz Claiborne,
  Ralph Lauren, Mattel, Wal-Mart, Roohsing (Hong
  King clothing company), Kohls, Puma

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Latin American sweatshop
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In many places, workers are provided housing by
the people for whom they work. Often the living
quarters are crowded, filthy, and rat-infested.
Some of the factories and living quarters are
located behind barbed wire fences that are
monitored by armed guards.
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These living quarters are in Indonesia ...the
dormitories are made from breeze blocks and
packing cases - when it rains, they flood, there
are open sewers and no clean running water..."
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Indonesian Sweatshop Living Quarters
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Frequently, women who work in sweatshops are not
allowed to come and go freely in fact, they are
forbidden from having visitors. the women are
always under the threat of corporal punishment.
They are verbally abused, spat on, and beaten.
They are not allowed to take breaks or go to the
bathroom during their shifts, and are fined if
they do so. (from Women and Global Human
Rights)
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".. you work 24 hour shift with just a couple of
breaks and then two hours later you start another
shift ... famous brands produced here Indonesia
include Nike Reebok, Adidas and Gap"
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Chinese immigrants working in sweatshop near Los
Angeles
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• Many employees in true sweatshops are beaten,
  raped or assaulted. This will scare the
  employees into staying.
• A 20/20 investigation in Saipan sweatshops
  discovered that pregnant employees were forced to
  have abortions in order to keep their jobs.
• In sweatshops there are no unions.
• The employers of a sweatshop will often hire
  children first they can pay them less.

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16-year-old making Keds sneakers. She applies
toxic glue with her hands and has no respirator
to protect her
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Pakistan child making products for Nike
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Women are often forced into indentured service.
They are charged fees to work, and then spend
years paying off their fees. They take the jobs
because they are promised wonderful opportunities
in foreign lands. Their wages are often only 10
20 cents per hour. If they leave without
fulfilling their contract, they are blacklisted,
fined or arrested.
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Mexican sweatshop -- maquiladora
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Maquiladora outside Guatemala City
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• Phil Knight. CEO and Co-Founder of Nike
  Corporation, was worth approximately
  3,800,000,000 in 2000 (Forbes magazine)
• In Nike sub-contracting sweatshops in Indonesia,
  workers made 56-58 per month (2002). A report
  in The Independent states that Nike has 11
  Indonesian factories producing up to 55 million
  pairs of shoes a year. Only 1 in 50 is sold in
  Indonesia the majority are exported to the U.S.

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Sweatshop making shoes
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