ocean sky sweatshop in el salvador: women paid just 8 cents for each $25 nfl shirt they sew

Women Paid Just Eight Cents

For Each $25 NFL Shirt They Sew

At Ocean Sky Sweatshop

In El Salvador

A Report by

Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights

(Formerly the National Labor Committee)

Mujeres Transformando/Women Transforming

(A Salvadoran women’s rights NGO)

January 24, 2011

U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement Ends in a race to the bottom

Workers denied their rights, paid below subsistence wages, and trapped in poverty

Women Paid Just Eight Cents For Each $25 NFL Shirt They Sew

At Ocean Sky Sweatshop In El Salvador

U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement Ends in a race to the bottom Workers denied their rights, paid below subsistence wages, and trapped in poverty

January 24, 2011

A Report by Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights (Formerly the National Labor Committee) Mujeres Transformando/Women Transforming (A Salvadoran women’s rights NGO) Author Charles Kernaghan Research Charles Kernaghan, Barbara Briggs, Sergio Chavez, Cassie Rusnak, and Robyn Roux

January 2011 0

Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights / Women Transforming

Contents

Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. i

How the Research was Done .................................................................................................. iii

Women in Salvadoran Sweatshop Paid Just Eight Cents for Each $25 NFL Steelers

Women‘s T-shirt They Sew ..................................................................................................... 1

Ocean Sky Apparel S.A. de C.V. ............................................................................................. 3

All ―Fun and Warmth‖ at Ocean Sky ...................................................................................... 5

Labels Produced at Ocean Sky: April through Mid-October 2010 .......................................... 8

What Must Be Done: An Appeal to the U.S. Government and the Labels To Meet with the

Ocean Sky Workers ............................................................................................................... 12

Workers Drenched in Their Own Sweat ................................................................................ 14

Filthy Drinking Water Not Fit to Wash With Let Alone Drink ............................................. 15

Surveillance Cameras Monitor the Workers .......................................................................... 18

Codes of Conduct and Corporate Audits Fail Miserably ...................................................... 18

Good Conduct Rewards ......................................................................................................... 19

Hours: Illegal Forced Overtime ............................................................................................ 20

Wages: Set Well Below Subsistence Levels .......................................................................... 23

Afterword: The Missing Link: Where Is the U.S. Government? ........................................... 27

Addenda

A. Ocean Sky‘s Buyers

B. Orders: NFL Reebok

C. Orders: Puma

D. Orders: Columbia

January 2011 i


Executive Summary

At the Ocean Sky Apparel Factory

In El Salvador

Women are paid just eight cents for every $25 NFL T-shirt they sew, meaning their

wages amount to just three-tenths of one percent of the NFL‘s retail price. The workers

are trapped in poverty. But it does not have to be like this. If the NFL doubled the

women‘s wages to 16 cents per shirt, their wages would still amount to just six-tenths of

one percent of the shirt‘s retail price. The NFL/Reebok should be able to afford this.

The 1,500 mostly women workers at Ocean Sky are locked in a Free Zone, surrounded

by barbed wire and patrolled by guards armed with shotguns.

Ocean Sky also produces garments for Reebok, Puma, Old Navy (GAP), Columbia,

Talbots and Penguin (Munsingwear). The clothing enters the U.S. duty-free, despite the

fact that El Salvador is in blatant violation of the labor rights standards in the U.S.-

Central America Free Trade Agreement.

Workers report being drenched in their own sweat, since afternoon factory temperatures

reach 98 degrees Fahrenheit.

Workers are constantly cursed at and humiliated. Supervisors hurl garments in the

workers‘ faces. A manager recently told the workers: “You might as well stick your

heads up your asses.”

Factory drinking water is filthy and contaminated with fecal coli which can cause

diarrhea, intestinal illness and infections. Six workers were fired for daring to alert their

colleagues that the factory water was unsafe to drink.

Security cameras inside the factory monitor the workers‘ every move.

Illegally, all overtime is mandatory. Under constant pressure to meet excessive

production goals, many women arrive early to start working before their shift begins and

work through most of their lunch break—unpaid.

Workers earn a base wage of 72 cents an hour, and 92 cents counting the attendance

bonus. No one can survive on such wages. Even the Salvadoran Ministry of the

Economy puts the workers‘ wages at one-quarter of a family‘s basic needs.

Anyone daring to even mention the word ―union‖ would be immediately fired.

January 2011 ii


The U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement has lead to a race to the bottom, where

workers are stripped of their rights, paid below-subsistence wages and trapped in

poverty.

Corporate codes of conduct and company audits have failed miserably. In fact, the

Ocean Sky workers have no idea what a corporate code of conduct is or how it could

help them.

The Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights and Women Transforming are calling

upon U.S. and Salvadoran government officials, along with representatives from the

NFL, Reebok, Puma, GAP, Columbia, Talbots and Penguin to meet with the workers in

the Ocean Sky factory to explain to them—for the first time—that they have rights and

should be treated with respect.

Ocean Sky factory by cell phone

January 2011 iii


How the Research was Done

This report is the result of a collaborative research effort by Mujeres

Transformando (Women Transforming), a Salvadoran women‘s rights advocacy

organization, and the Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights office in Central

America (formerly the National Labor Committee).

We became aware of the serious labor rights violations at the Ocean Sky apparel

factory when Ocean Sky workers began attending training seminars at Women Transforming.

For seven months, April through mid-October 2010, Women Transforming, the Institute

and—most importantly—the Ocean Sky workers themselves, conducted research into

factory conditions, including extensive interviews with workers, visiting workers‘ homes,

smuggling labels and pay stubs out of the factory, conducting lab tests of the factory‘s

drinking water and providing workers with thermometers to accurately track scorching

factory temperatures.

About Mujeres Transformando– MT.

Mujeres Transformando is a nonprofit women‘s organization that organizes, trains and

assists maquila workers to defend their labor and human rights. MT is based in the town

of Santo Tomas, El Salvador, near some of the country‘s largest Free Zones including the

International Free Zone, where Ocean Sky is located.

Calle Masferrer # 161, Barrio Las Mercedes, Santo Tomas, El Salvador

Phone: (503) 2220 9486

E-mail: [email protected]

Director: Montserrat Arévalo

About the Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights

The Institute for Global Labor & Human rights (formerly National Labor Committee) is

a nonprofit human rights research, education and advocacy organization whose mission

is to promote and protect worker rights in the global economy. Over the last 20 years,

the Institute has led many of the major anti-sweatshop campaigns across the United

States. Recently the Institute was asked by the world‘s first global union, Workers

Uniting, with over 2.5 million members in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Ireland to provide

solidarity to some of the poorest and most exploited workers in the world. Workers

Uniting was formed through a merger of the United Steelworkers union in North

America and Unite-the-Union in the U.K.

5 Gateway Center, 6th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Phone: (412) 562-2406

E-mail: [email protected]

www.nlcnet.org

Director: Charles Kernaghan

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.nlcnet.org/

January 2011 1


Women in Salvadoran Sweatshop

Paid Just Eight Cents for Each $25 NFL Steelers

Women’s T-shirt They Sew

orkers‘ wages amount to just

three-tenths of one percent of

the NFL‘s retail price of $25

for the T-shirt.

If the NFL doubled the workers‘ wages to

16 cents for each T-shirt they sew, the

women workers could climb out of misery

and at least into poverty. The hoped-for

16-cent wage would still only amount to

six-tenths of one percent of the NFL‘s

retail price of $25.

What is the problem? Are we missing

something else? Why can‘t the women

earn at least 16 cents for each NFL shirt

they sew? Would the sky fall in and the

NFL go under?

Why can‘t we be a little more decent to

the sweatshop workers who sew our

clothing?

W

An NFL Reebok label smuggled out from Ocean

Sky factory by workers

January 2011 2


Here’s How the System Works

Each sewing line, or module, has 14 workers who must complete a mandatory production

goal of 1,500 T-shirts in the standard nine-hour shift. Management sets the goals and the

workers have no say whatsoever. Each hour, the assembly line must complete 167 shirts,

which means, in effect, that each worker must complete 12 T-shirts in that 60 minutes.

The workers are allowed just five minutes to complete each shirt. That five minutes is

just 8.4 percent of an hour, which means the women earn just eight cents for each NFL

T-shirt they sew.

(1,500 T-shirts ÷ 9 hours = 166.66 T-shirts per hour; 166.66 ÷ 14 sewers = 11.93 shirts

per worker per hour; 60 minutes ÷ 11.93 T-shirts = 5.03 minutes per shirt; 5.03 ÷ 60

minutes = 0.084, or 8.4 percent of an hour; 0.084 x 92 cent wage per hour = 7.7 cents

per shirt.)

January 2011 3


Ocean Sky Apparel S.A. de C.V.

cean Sky International Limited,

established in 1995, is

headquartered in Singapore. It has

manufacturing hubs in El Salvador,

Cambodia, China, Vietnam, Malaysia,

Madagascar and Singapore.

In 2001, Ocean Sky began production in El

Salvador under the name Hoons Apparel

International, and in January 2008, changed

its name to Ocean Sky Apparel. In 2008,

Ocean Sky expanded from two plants to

three.

In 2008, the Ocean Sky facility reported

producing 1.2 million units—mostly T-

shirts.

Currently, Ocean Sky is sewing cotton T-

shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants for the

NFL, Reebok, Puma, Old Navy (GAP),

Columbia, Talbots and Munsingwear‘s

Penguin labels.

There are approximately 1,500 workers at

the Ocean Sky factory in El Salvador, the

vast majority—upwards of 75 percent—of

whom are women.

Organization of Production

Ocean Sky Apparel occupies three plants

inside the International Free Zone. Plant #1

houses the main production lines and the

packing department. Plant #2 contains the

cutting section, two small sewing lines to

produce samples and a storage warehouse.

Plant #3 houses the printing and embroidery

departments where NFL, Reebok and other

logos are silk screened or embroidered onto

the garments.

Plant #1 has 18 production lines, which are

each divided into two modules where the

garments are sewn. Each module has 14

sewing operators and a ―team leader.‖ If

they are sewing special styles, the size of

the module can either grow or shrink.

The packing department has approximately

180 workers, who are organized into 18

groups, one for each sewing line. Each

packing group has nine workers and one

leader. As in sewing, most of those in the

packing warehouse are women.

O

Ocean Sky Apparel S.A. de C.V.

International Free Zone

Building #2

Olocuilta, La Paz

EL SALVADOR

Phone: (503) 2302-9988

President: Mr. Edward Ang Boon Cheow

VP & General Manager: Ms. Ho Miew Leng

Secretary: Mr. Tai Fuey Chian

Chief of Human Resources: Ms. Isabel Sibrian

January 2011 4


“Free” Trade Zone?

The International Free Zone, where Ocean Sky is housed, is anything but free. The Free

Zone walls are topped with razor wire. Armed security guards carrying shotguns are

posted throughout the Zone. Workers must show their ID cards in order to enter the Zone.

Unlike other factories, Ocean Sky management does not even allow its workers to leave

the Zone to take their lunch outside.

In June, a former maquila worker who is now an activist was able to slip past the security

guards when a large number of Youngone factory workers were returning after taking their

lunch outside the Zone. She quickly walked about 100 yards to the Ocean Sky plant and

took several pictures with her cell phone, trying to disguise what she was doing. Just as

she was turning to leave, an armed security guard stopped her asking: ―What are you

doing? Are you a worker?‖ She responded she was a former worker at the Youngone

Factory and she was looking for her friends, hoping she could get work there again. She

asked the guard, ―Why are you asking me all these questions?‖ He responded that ―my co-

workers have been watching you and you looked suspicious walking to Ocean Sky and

then turning around.‖ He went on, ―In the Free Zone it is prohibited for outsiders to be

walking around and I must hold you and take you to my boss who may call the police.‖

Luckily, just at that moment, some friends she knew in Youngone came by saying hello to

her. The guard then said, ―OK, go, please.‖ and accompanied her to the gate carrying his

shotgun.

It is possible that she was being watched by surveillance cameras inside the ―Free‖ Zone.

January 2011 5


All “Fun and Warmth” at Ocean Sky

ccording to Ocean Sky‘s website,

its ―Vision-Mission-Values‖

include ―Fun and Warmth.‖

Ocean Sky strives: ―To provide a happy

and caring environment. „Find a job that

you love and you’ll never have to work a

day in your life.‘‖ Ocean Sky is all about

―teamwork.‖ ―We encourage employee

involvement and participation, and

respect the individual contribution to our

success.‖ Ocean Sky management is also

committed: “…to enhance the quality of

life and protect the environment of the

communities in which we do our

business.‖

“Find Work You Love”

(Ocean Sky Management)

―We‟re treated like animals. I tolerate

working at the factory only because of my

children.‖

(A sweatshop worker at Ocean Sky)

Mayra, a supervisor in charge of the

Inspection Department, holds a short daily

meeting five minutes before each shift to

help motivate the workers. Recently she

motivated the workers telling them:

―You should pay attention to how many

bootlickers are at the gate waiting for

work. You are well paid here and you

should take care of your job. Years ago

people worked for a colón (11 cents) a

day.‖

Constant Shouting,

Threats and Abuse

Pressure to Reach

Excessive Mandatory Goals

According to the workers, the worst

supervisors are Fredy and Marta Arbizu,

who constantly shout at the workers to go

faster to reach their goals.

Talking during work is prohibited. If

workers are caught talking they are

shouted at and threatened: ―You shut your

mouth and keep working.‖

Supervisors who perceive some slight

flaw in one of the T-shirts will grab it

and hurl it in the sewer‘s face, yelling

A

January 2011 6


―God damn you, why don‟t you pay

attention?‖

―When I started in the factory, the group

leader would hurl the garment in my face.

I told her that I was not a dog and I didn‟t

like what she did. She responded: „You

can‟t say shit to me. Keep working.‘‖

Another worker told us: ―I feel my hands

shake because of the constant pressure we

are under. There is a man that is

constantly measuring the time we spend

on sewing a garment. Supervisors and

group leaders are the ones that mistreat

the workers the most. They tell us to quit

if we don‟t like the work.”

―We feel humiliated when the supervisors

shout at us in front of our co-workers,‖ a

worker told us. “Hurry up you idiots,”

they shout, “You‟re good for nothing; you

better make the goal.‖

Even the general manager of Ocean Sky

insults the workers who cannot reach their

goals. ―You‟re like shit,” she says,

“because you won‟t hurry up. You‟re just

shit.”

In October 2009, workers making samples

were humiliated when the manager from

Singapore—where Ocean Sky is

headquartered—told them: ―These

samples that you made are like shit. They

are useless. You might as well stick your

heads up your asses.”

Another common refrain is: ―You have to

fulfill your goals or there‟s the gate if you

don‟t want to work.‖

―We are told that we have no right to

demand anything, „because you‟re in the

factory to obey and work. If you want us

to respect you, earn that respect, and

don‟t ever contradict what we say

because we are your boss.‟‖

Ocean Sky‘s commitment to ―fun and

warmth.‖ Picture courtesy of Ocean Sky.

January 2011 7


Former Senior Worker Describes Abuse

And Exploitation at Ocean Sky

“It was an awful experience, working at Ocean Sky,” Ms. ―B‖ told us late Friday

afternoon, January 21, “because there was so much pressure and too much shouting.”

She went on:

“We faced injustice because if we didn‟t finish our [production] goals, we were

punished as if we were children. They took away our time for lunch… and if we

didn‟t fulfill the goals, they kept us until 6:30 p.m. without any paid overtime.”

We asked Ms. B about the price of the shirts she worked on and she replied:

“At the factory we used to laugh to see that the cost of a single shirt is enough to

pay for fourteen days of work, and a very tough fourteen days.”

Asked how the American people should feel about buying the shirts they made at Ocean

Sky, she said:

“What I would tell them, in their conscience, that they should not buy these

garments because of the exploitation and maltreatment all of us women workers

suffer. We sweat there [in the factory] so that the shirt can be sold for so much

and we are so exploited.”

We were surprised. Did she really want the production at Ocean Sky to be cut? Wasn‘t

she afraid of the loss of jobs? Ms. B was very smart…

“They always say that if we complain, no one will buy the shirts. But they are

always sold, because there are people who are not with us, who don‟t care and

those people always buy. I think maybe the people who know how we are

exploited will refrain from buying these shirts. Management always tell us, „if

that doesn‟t sell in there in the U.S., here we are going to be left without work

and with nothing to eat.‟ But in truth, we are always hungry anyway. If

someone has a conscience in the U.S., they should feel guilty to be wearing such

an expensive shirt while they don‟t understand what it costs us here, being

exploited.”

January 2011 8


Labels Produced at Ocean Sky

April through Mid-October 2010

NFL

According to the workers, beginning in

April 2010, they began sewing Reebok’s

NFL women‘s cotton T-shirts with three-

quarter length sleeves for the Steelers,

Colts, Cowboys, Bengals, and Broncos.

Steelers‘ and Cowboys‘ NFL women‘s T-

shirts retail for $25.00. Reebok also

produced NFL women‘s sweatpants for

the Patriots, Bears, Packers, Broncos,

Bucs, Bengals, and Browns. The logos

were printed just below the waist of the

pants.

Reebok

Reebok also produced basic short-sleeved

cotton T-shirts for men and women in

various colors including white, grey,

black, light blue, green, yellow and pink,

with brilliant ―Reebok‖ lettering across

the front of the T-shirts.

Heavy black sweatshirts for men and

women were also produced by Reebok.

In May 2010, Reebok—including NFL—

accounted for two production lines, which

surged to six lines by September.

January 2011 9


NFL garments were sewn at the Ocean Sky factory for at least four months—April, May,

June and July, 2010. It appears that Ocean Sky has been producing NFL clothing for

years. The workers were able to smuggle NFL production documents out of the factory

from as early as July 2008. (See Addenda B for orders in May 2010 and July 2008)

January 2011 10


Old Navy

Old Navy for GAP may account for the

majority of production at the Ocean Sky

factory. It is also the label that has been

in the factory for the longest period, at

least for the last five years. In May 2010,

Old Navy T-shirts were being sewn on six

production lines. In September, Old Navy

production was cut back to three lines.

Workers sewed Old Navy basic T-shirts

for men and women in two styles, a V-

neck and a round neck. The Old Navy

label is stamped on the back inside of the

T-shirts, which were produced in white,

black, brown, and other colors. The

workers told us that Old Navy

representatives always demanded ―very

good quality for their products.‖

Puma

In May, basic cotton T-shirts for Puma

were being sewn on three production lines.

The Puma T-shirts for men and women

came in different styles—short sleeve,

sleeveless and long sleeves—in white,

black, blue, and red. The Puma T-shirts

were shipped to the retailers Marshalls

and T.J.Maxx. By the end of September,

Puma production was down to two

assembly lines.

Talbots

Talbots sleeveless T-shirts for men,

women and children in white, yellow and

grey were being sewn on four production

lines in May 2010, and continued to use

four lines through the end of September.

The workers commented that the Talbots

T-shirts were especially difficult to sew

because of a ―binding‖ or reinforcement

in the cotton.

Columbia

In May, two lines were sewing men‘s,

women‘s and children‘s basic cotton T-

shirts, some with long sleeves, in various

colors for Columbia. At the end of

September, two lines continued sewing

Columbia T-shirts, some printed with

various design and images including

flowers and two fish forming a circle.

Nor were the Columbia T-shirts cheap. A

Columbia hangtag which was smuggled

out of the factory showed a retail price of

$36.00.

Penguin for Munsingwear

From May through the end of September,

Penguin short-sleeve T-shirts for men and

women in blue and black were being

sewn on one line. The shirts sported a

small figure of a penguin on the left breast.

January 2011 11


January 2011 12


What Must Be Done

An Appeal to the U.S. Government and the Labels

To Meet with the Ocean Sky Workers

e invite the United States

Trade Representative’s

office and representatives of

the NFL, Reebok, Puma, Old Navy

(Gap), Columbia and Talbots to meet

with the workers in the Ocean Sky factory.

This is all we ask: Officials from the

United States Trade Representative‘s

office (USTR) should explain to the

workers that there is a U.S.-Central

America Free Trade Agreement and that

there are enforceable laws to guarantee

that the government of El Salvador and

the apparel companies respect the legal

rights of Oeaan Sky workers. This will

come as a great surprise to the 1,500

workers, who have never heard that there

are laws to prohibit forced overtime, that

they are to be treated with respect and

paid correctly, and that they have the right

to organize a union, bargain collectively

and negotiate a collective contract. The

Ocean Sky workers will be shocked! This

will be the first time they have heard such

words.

Representatives from the labels can

explain how they have good practice

codes of conduct that also guarantee the

workers‘ legal rights and that they carry

out surprise audits to guarantee those

rights. This too will surprise the workers

who have never heard of any such codes

of conduct by the companies.

The Fair Labor Association is welcome as

well to address the workers as Ocean Sky

is a ―participating supplier” of the FLA.

Moreover, “participating suppliers take

ownership of their compliance programs

and assume a leadership position by

directly committing to implement in their

facilities the same standards as FLA

participating companies.‖ And two of the

companies sourcing production at Ocean

Sky, Reebok/Adidas and Puma, have also

been accredited by the FLA for their good

practices. This will be another shock to

the workers, who have no idea how many

rights they have and how many people,

organizations, companies and government

offices are advocating on their behalf.

We offer a special appeal to the

Salvadoran Ministry of Labor to

participate in this meeting.

The Institute for Global Labour & Human

Rights‘ (formerly NLC) office in Central

America and the Salvadoran women‘s

rights NGO Women Transforming

(Mujeres Transformando) will host the

meeting. The research documenting

working conditions at Ocean Sky was

done by Women Transforming and the

Institute, and both organizations are

accompanying the workers in their

struggle to gain their legal rights.

W

January 2011 13


This is what we know: If the U.S. and

Salvadoran government officials refuse to

participate in the meeting with the Ocean

Sky workers, then we will know that the

labor rights provisions in the U.S.-

CAFTA are meant for show only, with no

intent to concretely implement any of the

worker rights. It is similar with the

companies: If they will not participate in

the meeting with the workers sewing their

garments, then we will know that the over

half dozen corporate codes of conduct and

attempts to monitor are actually designed

to fail.

It is possible that the labor rights

provisions included in the U.S.-CAFTA

and all the corporate monitoring efforts

are, in effect, just a smoke screen behind

which the corporations run the show lock,

stock and barrel.

The Salvadoran workers and the U.S.

consumers have the right to know. After

all, the garments sewn at Ocean Sky enter

the U.S. duty free. This trade privilege

must come with some qualifying

conditions.

January 2011 14


Workers Drenched in Their Own Sweat

Afternoon Temperatures Routinely Reach 98 Degrees

espite tropical temperatures year

round in El Salvador, Ocean Sky

management has had all factory

windows sealed shut and insists on

closing all doors once the workers are

inside to begin their shift. According to

the workers, the factory has dust

extractors but no ventilators to circulate

fresh air.

We asked several workers to carry in

small thermometers and record factory

temperature every hour. We did this for

four days from Tuesday through Friday,

April 20 to 23. In El Salvador, the period

from the end of February to May is the

hottest season of the year. When the

rainy season begins in late May,

temperatures moderate slightly. Workers‘

records show that afternoon temperatures

in the factory routinely reached 98

degrees in late April. Even at 8:00 a.m. in

the morning, the factory temperature had

already reached 90 degrees. Attempts to

continue monitoring factory temperatures

at Ocean Sky had to be stopped when

management began increasing the number

of body searches of workers entering and

leaving the factory. Workers were afraid

of being punished or fired if security

guards found them carrying thermometers.

In addition to the 98-degree factory

temperature, the workers explained that

the assembly lines were so closely packed

together that they could feel the heat on

their backs thrown off by the sewing

machines behind them.

―We feel dizzy from the heat‖ one worker

told us. Others complained of headaches

and being exhausted by 2:00 p.m., and if

it was not for the loud music blasted

throughout the factory many workers

would be dozing off due to the extreme

heat.

One sewing operator explained: ―We can

feel the sweat running down our legs.

We sweat so much our shirts stick to our

bodies. It feels so uncomfortable. When

I get onto the shuttle bus I am ashamed

because I smell so bad every day.‖

Rather than install sufficient ventilation,

let alone air conditioning, Ocean Sky

management blasts loud music—

Reggaeton and Bachata—with a

deafening beat to keep the workers awake.

In addition to the music, workers are

surrounded by the droning roar of

hundreds of sewing machines as the

workers race to meet mandatory

production goals.

D

January 2011 15


Filthy Drinking Water

Not Fit to Wash with Let Alone Drink

he workers get their drinking

water from taps inside the factory.

The workers carry small plastic

bottles into the factory, which they fill up

at the tap and take to their workstations.

This helps them avoid being scolded for

getting up too often to drink water.

However, the workers have often

complained that the water has a ―bad

taste‖ and thought there was something

wrong. When the workers asked about

the water quality, supervisors always

responded that ―the water is filtered and

is good to drink.‖

We provided the workers with sterilized

lab bottles so they could gather water

samples, which could then be tested and

analyzed at a quality control laboratory.

We did this in April 2010 and again at the

end of August.

The lab results showed that the workers

were drinking water containing fecal coli,

which means the water was polluted with

sewage that can cause diarrhea and

salmonella. Two other bacteria were also

found in the water, the Pseudomona

aeruginosa and heterotrophic bacteria.

T

Water test results of April 2010

January 2011 16


The laboratory reported the following

regarding the drinking water at the Ocean

Sky factory:

“We have found a large amount of

bacteria in the water, and it is serious.

The water is totally polluted, and can

cause sickness in humans such as

diarrhea, stomach pain, stomach

infections, nausea, vomiting, and can

foster conditions for parasites and

amoebas. The Pseudomona aeruginosa

bacteria can grow in small cuts in the

skin and can cause skin infections even

for workers who have small cuts on their

hands if they wash with this water.”

“We recommend an investigation of the

water pipes, a cleaning of the pipes using

chlorine, and to check and clean the

filters, or install new filters.”

Six Workers Were Fired

for Daring to Mention That

the Factory’s Drinking Water

Was Seriously Contaminated

A woman in the packing section was

aware of the results of the water tests and

gave her co-workers the heads up to avoid

drinking the factory water, which could

make them sick. She suggested they

bring bottled water with them into the

factory.

Somehow management found out that a

handful of workers in the packing

department were aware that the factory‘s

drinking water had been tested in a lab

and found to be polluted and unsafe.

Fearing word would spread throughout

the factory regarding the unsafe water,

management fired six workers from the

packing department.

On Monday, May 17, at 4:25 p.m., a staff

person from the Human Resource office

went to ―Ms. A.‘s‖ work station and told

her:

―‗Ms. A‘ come with me to the Human

Resource office and bring all your

personal belongings.‖ When she arrived

the chief of Human Resources, Ms. Isabel

Sibrian, told her: “We know you are a

good worker but unfortunately we‟re

cutting the number of workers. Here you

have your check with the complete

amount we owe you.” She received her

yearly severance check of $188.00. She

was fired. The following day five more

workers on her line were also fired.

After firing the women, management took

to the loud speaker telling the workers

that management was going to improve

the quality of the drinking water and

install new filters as well as cleaning or

replacing defective pipes. Workers did

observe that work was done on the pipes

and filters.

Ocean Sky is run pretty much like a

minimum security prison where the

workers, or ―inmates‖, are prohibited

from speaking or questioning anything

regarding how management runs the

factory. Under such a system, doing the

right and natural thing—to alert your

friends and co-workers to beware of the

factory‘s drinking water because it is

polluted and can make them sick—must

be immediately stopped and punished by

firing the workers without cause.

In the last week of May, management

announced that new filters had been

January 2011 17


installed and that ―the water was now

purified and 100 percent safe to drink.‖

In August, we decided to test the drinking

water again to see if management was

telling the workers the truth.

Unfortunately, the lab results received on

September 2 showed that the water was

still laced with bacteria and is “too

polluted to be used as drinking water.”

The Pseudomona aeruginosa bacteria was

still present which can cause diarrhea and

stomach pain. The lab recommended that

the filters must be periodically checked

and water samples taken every month to

see if the pollution continues. If bacteria

persists, some of the pipes may need to be

thoroughly cleaned and replaced.

―Ms. A‖, the first worker fired for

revealing that the factory‘s drinking water

was dangerously polluted, told us she

never wants ―to return to the hell-hole

at Ocean Sky.‖

Water test results of August 2010

January 2011 18


Surveillance Cameras Monitor the Workers

cean Sky management has

installed surveillance cameras

throughout the factory, in the

locker area where workers enter; on the

production floor; in the packing

department; and even outside the

workers‘ bathrooms. Workers say they

constantly feel pressured and intimidated

knowing they are being monitored at all

times. They also try to use the toilet as

little as possible knowing that even their

trips to the bathroom are being recorded.

If they use the bathroom too often they

are chastised.

Codes of Conduct and Corporate Audits

Fail Miserably

hen asked, workers said they

were aware of just one

corporate code of conduct,

that of Puma, which is posted on a wall

near the bathrooms. Management has

never explained Puma‘s or any other

company‘s code of conduct, and ten or

more years into the corporate code of

conduct frenzy the Ocean Sky workers

still have no idea what a corporate code

of conduct is, let alone how it could

help them. All they know is that

surveillance cameras monitor the

bathroom area where Puma‘s code is

posted, and everyone is afraid to be seen

―wasting their time‖ looking at a piece of

paper that has never had a practical effect.

There may very well be other codes of

conduct posted by the different labels, but

the workers we spoke with had never

heard of them.

Corporate auditors however appear to

regularly pass through the Ocean Sky

factory. In a five-month period, from

May through the first week of October

2010, auditors from Reebok, Puma, Old

Navy, Columbia, and other labels visited

the factory. Sometimes the auditors do

not speak with the workers but rather

focus on inspecting their lines of

production, checking for quality control.

Other times auditors do try to speak with

the workers.

In preparation for the auditors‘ visit,

supervisors alert the workers to ―…Clean

your work station carefully and don‘t say

anything that could hurt your family. If

you‘re asked something difficult, say ‗I

don‘t know, you should ask the

supervisor.‘ Don‘t put your foot in your

mouth. Because if something goes wrong,

the factory could be closed and you need

your jobs.‖

As back up, Ocean Sky management has

trained a group of senior workers in how

to respond in interviews with the auditors.

O

W

January 2011 19


Management also selects the most

recently hired workers to speak with the

auditors. The new workers do not know

their legal rights and they are so

frightened of being fired that they are

easily manipulated by management.

Whenever possible, management selects

the workers who are ushered into the

factory‘s administrative offices to meet

with the auditors.

When all is said and done, at the end of

the day, all that really counts is that the

concrete impact of corporate auditing at

the Ocean Sky factory remains at the zero

level.

Good Conduct Rewards

n appreciation for workers who

exhibit ―good conduct‖ year round,

management rewards them with gifts

at the end of the year. Workers who do

not miss a single day of work in the year,

who always arrive on time for their shift,

who ―cooperate‖ with compulsory

overtime whenever management demands

it, who never question their supervisors

and always obey, and who do not use the

bathrooms or drink water too often will

receive a toaster or a set of dishes as their

reward.

I

January 2011 20


Hours: Illegal Forced Overtime

he regular work week in El

Salvador is 44 hours. The Ocean

Sky factory operates on a 9 ¾

hour shift, from 6:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Monday through Thursday, with a 45-

minute lunch break from 11:15 a.m. to

noon. On Fridays, the shift begins at 6:45

a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. There are no

breaks other than lunch.

According to Salvadoran labor law, all

overtime must be strictly voluntary.

Workers cannot be coerced or threatened

to remain working, they must volunteer of

their own free will. But Ocean Sky

management operates by its own set of

rules, demanding that all overtime work

be strictly mandatory. And to show just

how little Ocean Sky management has to

fear from the Ministry of Labor and its

dysfunctional Labor inspectors,

management forces the workers to sign a

clause which reads:

“Given the nature of the work

carried out, your work shift will

be, without further process,

subject to overtime work

according to the needs of the

company, whenever this is

required.”

T

January 2011 21


This illegal ―contract‖ obligating the

workers to remain for overtime whenever

management wants it was signed by

Ocean Sky‘s general manager and vice

president, Ms. Ho Miew Leng. At Ocean

Sky, management calls the shots. The

Salvadoran Ministry of Labor is not a

player, and the workers have no voice.

(According to the Salvadoran Labor Code,

the Ministry of Labor must receive a copy

of any work contract or clauses within

one week of its signing by management

and workers. Obviously, the Ministry of

Labor did not take the time to even glance

at the contract that blatantly violates its

own labor laws.)

The Salvadoran Labor Code is clear that

all overtime must be voluntary and

limited. Article 170 stipulates:

“Overtime work may only be agreed upon

on an occasional basis when unforeseen

or necessary circumstances demand it.”

In fact, almost all Ocean Sky workers are

desperate to work overtime to augment

their regular wages, which fall far below

subsistence levels. Often management

provides the workers just one hour‘s

notice before the shift‘s end that they

must remain working overtime.

Especially for families with small

children, this creates havoc for the parents.

Nor do workers know when they will get

out of the factory, as they must remain

working however long it takes to

complete the production goals.

Women who plead that they cannot

remain for overtime that day because they

have no back-up care for their young

children will be punished and prohibited

from working any overtime for the next

month.

Real Working Hours at the

Ocean Sky Factory in 2010

From April through June, 2010, routine

factory hours at Ocean Sky were:

Monday 6:45 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday 6:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday 6:45 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Thursday 6:45 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Friday 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Saturday 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

There is a lunch break of 45 minutes and,

when the workers are kept until 8:30 p.m.,

a supper break of 30 minutes. Under this

shift, the workers were at the factory 68 ½

hours a week and actually working 62 ½

hours, including 18 ½ hours of mandatory

overtime.

Ocean Sky workers take their lunch outside

the factory. They are not permitted to leave

the Free Zone during their break.

January 2011 22


But it gets even worse. Since many of the

workers feel pressured to reach their

excessive production goals, they race

through their lunch period, taking just 15

minutes and working the other 30 minutes

of their break without pay. Moreover,

many of the workers come to the factory

early and begin working at 6:15 or 6:30

a.m. rather than the 6:45 a.m. starting

time just to get a jump on their production

goal. This extra 15 minutes to half hour

of work is not paid. This means many

workers are putting in an extra four and

half to six hours a week of unpaid work.

These workers would be toiling 67 to 68

½ hours a week.

In the last week of April, workers sewing

large orders for Puma and Talbots were

required to work 13 ¾ hours a day,

Monday through Friday, which meant

they were at the factory 68 ¾ hours,

while working 62 ½ hours after deducting

the lunch and supper breaks. That week,

they were forced to work 18 ½ hours

overtime. But even those long hours were

not enough to complete the orders on time

for shipment. The following Saturday,

May 1—Labor Day, which is a major

national holiday in El Salvador and

throughout Central America—Ocean

Sky‘s general manager, Ms. Ho Miew

Leng, told the workers that, “The 1st of

May is like any other day and it is not a

holiday.” She went on to comment that,

“The only thing the Salvadorans want to

do is party.”

Factory management then forced the

workers to sign a ―bi-lateral agreement‖

in which the workers ―volunteered‖ to

work overtime on the May Day holiday.

By law, working on a national holiday

must be paid at a 200 percent premium, or

$2.16 an hour. Management refused to

pay the holiday premium and instead paid

the workers the regular overtime premium

rate of $1.44 per hour. Not only were the

workers illegally forced to work overtime,

they were also cheated of their full wages.

Just two weeks earlier, on April 14, 2010,

workers on the sewing lines producing for

Puma and Talbots as well as the packing

department were forced to work a 22 ½

hour shift from 6:45 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. the

following morning. Supervisors told the

workers that since the shipping deadline

was urgent, they “should give a little

help” to the company and stay working

all night.

In July and August 2010, production

slowed down slightly at Ocean Sky and

the workers were at the factory 63 hours a

week while toiling 58 ½ hours, including

14 ½ hours of obligatory overtime.

Their working hours during this period

were:

Monday: 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday: 6:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday: 6:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Thursday: 6:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Friday: 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Saturday: 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

By September and October, production

slowed down considerably and the

workers seldom worked overtime. This

brought its own problems, since the

regular wage for 44 hours a week

amounts to just $175.41 a month, just a

fraction of what a family needs to survive.

January 2011 23


Wages: Set Well Below Subsistence Levels

he base wage in El Salvador‘s

garment factories is just 72 cents

an hour. However, if workers do

not miss any workdays or arrive late, they

are paid an attendance bonus, which

brings their wage to 92 cents an hour.

These are below subsistence wages,

trapping the garment workers and their

families in poverty.

Garment Workers Wages

in El Salvador

Base Wage

72 cents an hour

$5.76 a day (8 hours)

$31.68 a week (44-hour week)

$137.70 a month

$1647.36 a year

In El Salvador, as in much of Latin

America, workers can receive a ―Seventh

Day Attendance Bonus.‖ If workers do

not miss a day and are not late for work,

they will be paid the minimum wage for

eight hours a day, seven days a week.

Base Wage Plus the Attendance Bonus

92 cents an hour

$7.36 a day (8 hours)

$40.48 a week (44-hour week)

$175.41 a month

$2104.96 a year

By law, all overtime must be voluntary

and paid at a premium. Regular overtime

work is paid at a 100 percent premium

based on the base wage of 72 cents, which

comes to $1.44 an hour. Overtime work

on a holiday must be paid at a 200 percent

premium, or $2.16 an hour.

Other benefits include an annual vacation

pay of $26.05. Workers with one to three

years in the same factory will receive a

$57.76 Christmas bonus, while those who

have been there longer can receive a

higher bonus of $86.85.

Ocean Sky workers are paid every two

weeks through a direct deposit in an

account at a local bank. The workers can

access their wages through an ATM

machine.

At the Ocean Sky factory workers are not

allowed to keep their pay slips. They are

allowed to only briefly review their pay

slips, sign them, and return their slips to a

supervisor. The workers complain that

the pay slips are very complicated, with

writing in Spanish and English, and many

columns and abbreviations. They have no

real idea if they are being paid correctly,

especially the overtime, as management

has never taken the time to explain on

what basis the calculations are made.

Instead management allows the workers

to keep a tiny pay stub with no details on

their regular wages, overtime, or

incentives.

T

January 2011 24


Thought no one takes the Salvadoran

government‘s Ministry of the Economy

too seriously, their data is indicative that

Ocean Sky garment workers are paid well

below subsistence levels. In December

2009, the Ministry of Economy calculated

that the typical Salvadoran family of 3.81

people would need to earn $759 a month

to meet their most basic needs. (The

Ministry of Economy has not yet posted

its 2010 data on its website.) The basket

of necessities put together by the Ministry

includes housing, food, utilities, transport,

education, shoes and other necessities.

At Ocean Sky the workers earn a regular

wage of $175.41 a month, which is just 23

percent of the ministry‘s estimate that a

family needs $759 to meet their basic

needs. Let‘s suppose both parents work at

Ocean Sky, earning a combined $350.82,

this is still less than half–46%–of what

the family needs to survive.

The workers themselves estimate that if

they cut every corner and stretched every

dollar they could scrape by on $600 a

month. But again, even if both parents

were working, their combined regular

wage would come to $350.82, which is

just 58.5 percent of what they need. To

hang on by their fingertips, both parents

would have to earn $69.23 a week and

$1.57 an hour. It is really not too much to

ask for. Their demands are incredibly

modest.

The surest way to judge Ocean Sky‘s

wages is to visit the workers in their

homes. Garment workers basically have

two choices, either rent tiny two-room

apartments near the factory for $60 a

month, with one bedroom and a combined

kitchen and living room, or move outside

the city to live in semi-rural slum areas,

where you can have a little more space for

less money. On the other hand these are

often dangerous neighborhoods, with the

―homes‖ built of corrugated metal with

―outhouses‖ for toilets.

Sleeping and kitchen

area in Ocean Sky

workers‘ home

January 2011 25


Workers and their families survive on a

diet of rice and beans, with cheese and a

lot of corn tortillas, which are cheap and

cost just five cents. For lunch, to save

money, the workers eat just tortillas and

cheese.

Whether the tap water is safe or not in the

Ocean Sky factory, the workers drink the

tap water since bottled water is too

expensive.

Workers who sew NFL and Columbia T-

shirts for export to the U.S. duty free and

cost $25.00 to $36.00, can only afford to

clothe themselves and their children in

second-hand clothes shipped back from

the U.S.

The only thing that saves the workers is

overtime. In April 2010, workers were

receiving sufficient overtime pay along

with production incentives that allowed

many workers to earn $50 to $75 a week,

or $200 to $300 a month. Those earning

$75 a week were only the most skilled

and fastest workers.

No matter what they do or how many

hours they work each week, the Ocean

Sky workers always come up short. They

sew expensive T-shirts for the NFL,

Reebok, Puma, Gap, Columbia and others

but they live trapped in poverty.

It does not have to be this way! The

workers are paid less than eight cents

for every NFL T-shirt that they sew.

Can‘t we do a little better than

that?

Ocean Sky workers‘ home

January 2011 26


Latrine and outdoor washing area

of Ocean Sky workers‘ home

January 2011 27


AFTERWORD

The Missing Link

Where Is the U.S. Government?

Charles Kernaghan

t took significant pressure over many

years, by scores of human and labor

rights activists across the world, to

convince multinationals outsourcing their

work in the developing world not to hire

12-year-olds, allow rape or gross sexual

harassment, not to allow workers to be

beaten or to be forced to work 100-plus

hour work weeks. These are just some of

the human rights gains over the last 20

years. Corporations have learned that

child labor, rape, beatings are the third

rail they never want to touch.

But efforts to further promote and protect

human, women‘s and worker rights in the

global economy have hit a brick wall.

Over time, corporations and their PR

machines responded by coming up with

their own good practice codes of conduct

and corporate audits of factory conditions.

Corporate monitoring efforts have, by and

large, failed miserably. A case in point,

in 2001 the U.S. Government signed a

free trade agreement with the country of

Jordan. At the time, it was hailed as the

best FTA ever negotiated since it

contained enforceable worker rights

protections at the core of the agreement

and not in some sidebars as was the case

with Mexico and NAFTA. However,

over the course of the next five years and

in broad daylight, the U.S.-Jordan FTA

descended into the human trafficking of

tens of thousands of foreign guest workers

to Jordan, who were stripped of their

passports, forced to work grueling hours

seven days a week, while being cheated of

their pay, beaten and housed in filthy

primitive dorms. The foreign guest

workers were treated like indentured

servants.

What happened to all those corporate

codes of conduct and factory audits over

those five years? The sad truth is that

nothing happened. The corporate codes

existed side by side with slave labor

conditions. Nor are we speaking about

small players. Among the labels being

sewn under criminal conditions in Jordan

were Wal-Mart, Kohl‘s, Sears, GAP, L.L.

Bean, Hanes, Gloria Vanderbilt, Wrangler,

etc. In other words, over five years, with

more than a dozen of the largest U.S.

retailers and apparel companies

monitoring their hearts out, they could not

find a single one of the torrent of

violations that were taking place right

under their noses.

I

January 2011 28


Corporations of course have a perfect

right to their codes of conduct and their

self monitoring of factory conditions. All

we are saying is that their audits do not

work.

All progressive change in the U.S. to

protect human, women‘s and worker

rights has come from either social

movements or legislation and government

policy. The anti-sweatshop social

movement did its job helping to end child

labor and slave labor conditions.

However, when it comes to the everyday

worker rights issues enshrined in the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

and the ILO‘s internationally recognized

worker rights standards—decent working

conditions, no child labor, freedom of

association, the right to organize a union

and bargain collectively—the social

movement has hit a brick wall. Under the

U.S.-Central America Free Trade

Agreement, Central Americans sewing

garments for U.S. companies—which

enter the U.S. duty-free—still have no

rights or voice. Workers daring to ask for

change are routinely fired and blacklisted.

Far from guaranteeing their legal rights,

the U.S.-Central America Free Trade

Agreement has not resulted in a single

gain for the hundreds of thousands of

workers in Central America producing

goods for export to the U.S.

The missing link in protecting worker

rights has been the U.S. government and

its agencies—the United States Trade

Representative‘s office, State, Labor and

Commerce Departments and U.S.

embassies across the world. What we are

finding is that our government has

negotiated some very important treaties

which, on paper, have expanded core

labor rights protections for workers in

many countries, especially those we have

free trade agreements with. The worker

rights standards are there, but they are

suspended in space somewhere, unable to

touch the ground.

January 2011 29


This is the problem. No matter how hard

the United States Trade Representative‘s

office and other agencies try to promote

and protect worker rights standards, the

impact is very limited. The reason the

U.S. Government is failing, despite very

well-intentioned staffs is that it has no

direct contact with the workers on the

ground, who desperately need the labor

rights protections the U.S. Government

says it wants to implement. So we are

stuck in a vicious cycle. The government

is offering rights, but the workers on the

ground in the developing world have no

voice and no rights, and in fact have no

idea that the most powerful country in the

world supports core labor rights standards.

Until the U.S. Government takes the next

serious step—to truly condition access to

our vast market on respect for

internationally recognized worker rights

standards—nothing will change. In fact,

conditions are getting worse. We are

settling into a world where we can claim

good laws and intentions, while the reality

on the ground is exploitation and the

creation of a permanent underclass to

service our economy.

The only way to break through is to have

direct contacts with the workers. The U.S.

Government has the power to open a

space that will give workers across the

developing world a voice and empower

them to exercise their legal rights. Will

our government take this critical step?

January 2011


Addenda

A. Ocean Sky’s Buyers

NFL

280 Park Ave., 15th Fl.

New York, NY 10017, USA

Phone: 212-450-2000

Fax: 212-681-7573

www.nfl.com

Annual Revenue: $6.5 billion (2010)

Commissioner: Roger Goodell (Annual salary $11.2 million)

Reebok

1895 J. W. Foster Blvd.

Canton, MA 02021, USA

Phone: 781-401-5000

Fax: 781-401-7402

www.reebok.com

Annual Revenue: $3.8 billion

President: Uli Becker (Annual salary $1.2 million)

Puma

Puma-Way 1,

91074 Herzogenaurach, Germany

Phone: +49-9132-81-0

Fax: +49-9132-81-22-46

www.puma.com


CEO: Jochen Zeitz (Annual Salary: $9.7 million / 7,200,000 EUR)

January 2011


Old Navy (GAP)

2 Folsom St.

San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

Phone: 650-952-4400

www.oldnavy.com


President: John Wyatt (Annual salary $900,000)

Columbia

14375 NW Science Park Dr.

Portland, OR 97229, USA

Phone: 503-985-4000

Fax: 503-985-5800

www.columbia.com


CEO / President: Timothy Boyle (Annual salary $900,000)

Talbots

1 Talbots Dr.

Hingham, MA 02043, USA

Phone: 781-749-7600

Fax: 781-741-4369

www.talbots.com


CEO / President: Trudy Sullivan (Annual Salary $1.24 million with a $240,000 bonus)

Penguin of Munsingwear

3000 NW 107th Ave.

Miami, FL 33172, USA

Phone: 305-592-2830

Fax: 305-594-2307

http://www.originalpenguin.com/

Annual Revenue: $863.87 million (2008)

CEO of Perry Ellis International: George Feldenkreis (Annual Salary: $1 million)

http://www.originalpenguin.com/

January 2011


B. Orders: NFL Reebok

January 2011


January 2011


C. Orders: Puma

January 2011


January 2011


D. Orders: Columbia

January 2011


Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights

5 Gateway Center, 6th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

(412) 562-2406

[email protected]

www.nlcnet.org

http://www.nlcnet.org/

ocean sky sweatshop in el salvador: women paid just 8 cents for each $25 nfl shirt they sew

Documents

ocean sky workers

ocean sky sweatshop

ocean sky apparel

poverty women

salvadoran sweatshop

nfl shirt

ocean skys buyers

subsistence wages