A Look into Sweatshops

Researched by Scott Jenkins, Janisa Jenkins, and Daniel Bowers

Introduction What is a sweatshop?

“-a shop or factory in which employees work for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions.” We didn’t know very much

about this issue Had heard that some

companies were guilty, but

to what extent were they guilty?

What we will cover…• History of Sweatshops• Guilty Companies• Why are they using them?• Countries that benefit• Conclusion• Solutions

History of Sweatshops

In the 1800’s we had sweatshops here in America We were Europe’s “China” back then, as “China” is

to America Immigrants coming from Europe Factories popping up all over the eastern United

States Chances of becoming a landowner higher for

immigrants Sacrifice pay for the chance to come over here,

future generations

Irish and German Immigration

½ of the population of Ireland came to the US Less than ½ of the population of Germany came Due to civil unrest, severe unemployment, and famine From 1820 to 1870, over 7 and ½ million immigrants

came to US That’s more that the entire population in 1810 Came with nothing but their skills and labor America exploited this to the fullest

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, who survived by fleeing to roof

Surviving family member got $75 for their family member deaths

These two men were prosecuted for manslaughter, 146 people died

They were acquitted by the jury

The insurance company paid the owners $60,000 or about $400 per causalty

71 people where injured

Unions

“The Great Revolt” 60,000 workers united to fight for their rights

International Ladies Garment Workers Union Beaten, shot, scolded by family, but still prevailed Successful in obtaining those rights Rights included wage and hour standards Progress in stages

Public Eye Exploiting workers in America started to become unacceptable

In 1938, President Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Enforced to this day

Set minimum wage

Required that after 40 hours of work each week you would earn overtime

These were all good steps for American jobs, but the US Dept of Labor says,

“…that over 50% of registered garment contractors are paying less than the minimum wage, many do not pay overtime and some allow workers to operate in unhealthy and unsafe conditions. Anyone who tries to protest these unacceptable conditions are fired.”

In 1995, 72 Thai immigrants worked under slave-like conditions in LA

What companies are guilty of using sweatshops and why?

Greed is the answer

They hire slaves for pennies an hour to maximize profits

Example of this

In the US, a sweatshop worker makes about .25 cents per garment, they sell this garment for $18. That is roughly 70 times more than what the worker was paid to make the garment.

If they were to raise their wages to .50 cents per garment it would be a livable wage for those workers

Nike in the Spotlight

In 1998, faced allegations of worker abuse in Vietnam

Reporting showed that Nike couldn’t control how the workers were treated because they didn’t directly run the factories

Supervisors were found abusing workers

Salary for the workers only provided enough for food and shelter

96% of workers said they could not meet basic needs because they didn’t make enough money.

Even if the wages were competitive compared to other foreign shoemakers, in 1998, this didn’t make it right

Pros and Cons of Sweatshops

Cons

Infringing on basic human rights

Being asked to work extended hours without overtime pay

Being charged or fined for not doing work or overtime

Quotas very high, difficult

No sick days or vacation

Unhealthy conditions

Unsafe conditions

Unpopular

Pros

Cheap labor

Cheap overhead costs

No HR department

Created jobs market in 3rd world countries

Lowered unemployment

Creating hope for poor

Alternate to crime and prostitution

Conclusion

Supply Chain Vicious Cycle Going after sweat shop is harder than it

looks Fight must come from within Corporations need to have more

responsibility for their supply chain

What can we do?

Get educated and know more about current events Check the labels for “Made in XXXXX” Join an organization to fight against sweatshops Boycott companies who participate or hide behind

the “We didn’t know” Buy locally or only “Made in USA”, but even if you

buy everything from here that doesn’t make it a guarantee that it wasn’t made in a sweatshop

Spread the word