Sweatchops
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Alexander Gourevitch, “No Justice, No Contract: The Worker Rights Consortium Leads the Fight Against Sweatshops”
In this June 29, 2001 online American Prospect article, Alexander Gourevitch examines the role of the Worker Rights Consortium in the anti-sweatshop movement. As part of this discussion, he investigates the history of the recent anti-sweatshop movement in the U.S. Gourevitch argues that one of the most important issues in the anti-sweatshop movement has been the full public disclosure of the location of factory sights. Monitoring is not possible without this disclosure. He also argues that the effectiveness of the Fair Labor Association is limited by its willingness to allow companies to monitor themselves. Gourevitch argues that the independent monitoring service provided by the Worker Rights Consortium is better able to illuminate abuses.
The Smithsonian Institution, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A History of American Sweatshops, 1820 – Present”
This website contains pictures of materials from the Smithsonian Institutions exhibit on the history of sweatshops in the U.S.
Business for Social Responsibility Education Fund, Investor Responsibility Research Center, and Dara ORourke, “Independent University Initiative Final Report”
This report examines the working conditions in firms at which university-licensed clothing is manufactured. The study was conducted through a joint initiative by Harvard University, the University of Michigan, Notre Dame University, Ohio State University, and the University of California. It was found that working conditions were relatively poor in apparel factories located in China, El Salvador, Mexico, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand, and the United States. This study suggests that the use of a variety of monitoring agencies with alternative “Codes of Conduct” results in duplicative monitoring effort and does not encourage greater compliance. Since different firms often adopt different standards, monitoring and compliance costs are higher for manufacturing firms that perform subcontract work for several companies that adopt different standards. (The Adobe Acrobat viewer plugin is required to view this document. You may download this viewer by clicking here.)
Pilot Project for Licensing Labor Code Implementation, “Final Report”
This October 3, 2000 report summarizes the result of a pilot program on labor code licensing implemented by representatives of Boston College, Duke University, Georgetown University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Southern California, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In this pilot program, monitoring programs for five licensees were implemented on a trial basis. The five factories that were monitored were located in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Korea, Mexico, and Taiwan. The audits found some shortcomings in each of the factories examined. Some, but not all, of these issues were corrected before follow-up audits. The Adobe Acrobat viewer plugin is required to view this document. You may download this viewer by clicking here.
International Labour Organization, “Labour Practices in the Footwear, Leather, Textiles, and Clothing Industries”
This October 2000 report on labour practices in the footwear, leather, textiles and clothing industries examines the effect of globalization on these industries. It is noted that production in these industries increased dramatically in the 1980s and 1990s in Asia and in both South and Central America while production fell in Europe. These industries have been a major source of employment for women in low-wage economies (74% of the workers in the global clothing industry were women in 1995). It is noted that wages had increased in these industries in the 1990s and the male-female wage gap had declined.
This report indicates that child labor appears to have been declining, but not eliminated, in the 1990s. A recent study was cited that indicates that there were approximately 250 million children aged 5 through 14 who were working in the late 1990s. A substantial share of this child labor appears to be in the footwear, leather, textiles and clothing industries. National governments, however, have been taking a more active role in restricting the use of child labor in most economies.
U.S. Department of Labor, “Wages, Benefits, Poverty Line, and Meeting Workers Needs in the Apparel and Footwear Industries of Selected Countries”
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