 |
|
|
|
A longtime activist, sociologist Bob Ross reveals the persistence of sweatshops in the global economy, and encourages his students to confront issues concerning fair labor practices. |
|
 |
Sweatshops: Give us bread, but give us roses
Professor Robert Ross's research
Who made the
clothes you're wearing? Workers in the U. S.? In India? A child? An
illegal immigrant? At least if your clothes are made in the U. S. you can be
sure that the workers who made them are treated fairly. Can't you? Over the last five years
Professor Ross
and his undergraduates have been studying sweatshops,
especially in the context of the apparel industry."Our lives shall not be
sweated from birth until life closes.
Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread but give us roses!"
----from the labor song 'Bread and Roses' by James Oppenheim
- The
sweatshop problem
- A global problem
- Unions
and legislation
- Yesterday's conditions today
- How
to help
The sweatshop problem
Professor Ross and his students know that sweatshops are
not just a bad dream left over from the 19th century. Sweatshops continue to
exist in places as diverse as the U.S., India, and China, and Ross thinks that
the expanding global economy actually encourages the proliferation of
sweatshops. Ross will soon be publishing a book discussing their findings, and he
recently presented a paper titled 'Vulnerable labor in global capitalism' at a
conference in Hong Kong.
A global problem
Global capitalism creates a global labor market
Because restraints on international financial investment are loosening and
transportation and communication are improving
- businesses need no longer rely on local populations for their workforce,
but can seek out cheaper labor in other countries
- workers can more often move to the source of employment, even when that source
is in another country
Investment flows to places where labor is more vulnerable
Businesses often seek out labor that is cheap and vulnerable so that products
will be inexpensive to produce and so that they won't have to "waste" time and
effort negotiating with the employees.
- places where unions are forbidden or discouraged
- places that offer workers little or no legal protection
- places where the government is authoritarian and has little regard for
civil rights
- places where people are poor and desperate for work, or where they live
illegally, such that they will work without complaint in unhealthy
environments
- places where the labor force is composed of women,
minorities, children, or illegal immigrants
Protected workers become less protected
When investment abandons protected workers, those workers either loose their
jobs or, to compete and keep their jobs, indicate a willingness to work in
substandard conditions.
Promoter of growth: Not
Some economists argue that sweatshop industry can provide an impetus
to economic growth in developing countries. Ross cites research that suggests
that in fact Multinational corporation investment is associated with growth
slowdown and an increase in inequality.
A necessary evil: Not
Ross debunks the "trickle down" myth: that working conditions will
improve when the employers become wealthy and their prosperity "trickles
down." Some look to the history of the Western
industrial revolution and maintain that economic growth requires a period
where labor is exploited, after which conditions improve by themselves. In fact, it was
workers and reformers who fought to
improve their status by forming unions and promoting protective legislation.
The role of unions and legislation
It is unfortunate that workers
can't always rely for protection on the good conscience of the employer. Labor abuse
is most effectively curbed through legislation and unionization. In some
countries, usually those characterized as "developed," laws have been
enacted to protect the health of workers in different industries. Legislation
regulates the maximum number of hours that can be worked, minimum wage and
overtime pay, time allowed for rest breaks and meals, sanitary facilities and
the prevention of occupational hazards. Some governments allow workers to
unionize, enabling them to negotiate with employers to better their working
conditions. In many countries, however, protective legislation is absent,
inadequate, or ignored, and unions are discouraged. Even in countries like the U. S. where legislation is
fairly comprehensive, some categories of workers are left unprotected. And U. S.
legislation doesn't always help U. S. workers who loose jobs when their company
decides instead to employee workers in Mexico.
Yesterday's conditions today
A female El Salvadoran garment worker in
Manhattan testified in 1996:
"My boss doesn't pay any tax or
social security. I work
at least 56 hours a week, Monday to Saturday. Sometimes I go 66 hours a week.
I make $200.07 a week. If
there is a lot more I have to work on Sundays. I never get vacation.
I
never even get a whole weekend off. Sometimes I have to work on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The conditions are very bad. My factory is very hot in summer and very cold in winter.
My boss is screaming to me all the time. He is always very angry. I
can't ask him any questions because I'm afraid he's going to hit me.
All the time he hits me working, like that (she gestures
hitting her head with her fist). The factory is very dirty.
When I am working I'm afraid because there is big rats and mice
crawl on my feet."
How to help
Clark Students
interested in joining United Students
Against Sweatshops (USAS) can email either Kendra Fehrer at
or Matt Feinstein.
|
|
|
Additional Resources
|
|
|
|
Making "knee pants" at 45 cents a dozen; 
Making neckties; 
Making artificial flowers; 
Sewing; 
Cigar makers; 
August 1995: Work Station in Elmonte, CA where 72 workers were held in
slavery; 
Queens, New York City, 1994.
