What is a sweatshop, and where are sweatshops found?
- A sweatshop is a workplace that violates the law and where workers are subject to:
- Extreme exploitation, including the absence of a living wage or long work hours,
- Poor working conditions, such as health and safety hazards,
- Arbitrary discipline, such as verbal or physical abuse, or
- Fear and intimidation when they speak out, organize, or attempt to form a union.
There are thousands of garment factories alone employing millions of workers in conditions that are in direct violation of basic human rights all around the world. Some exist even in the U.S.
How much of the retail price goes to the worker versus the corporate executives?
In general, workers sewing garments are paid only a tiny fraction of the sale price of these garments, usually only 6% or $6 from a dress that retails for $100. Each worker gets less than 1% of the sale price. In the pricing and profit hierarchy, retailers (those who sell the clothing) are at the top while workers trail behind at the bottom. Here is an example of where the dollars go when you buy an article of clothing:
Workers Get a Tiny Fraction of the Sale Price of a Garment
Retail Price: $100
Retailer: $50
Manufacturer/Brand Name Label: $50
Keeps $12.50 to cover expenses and profit
Spends $22.50 on textiles
Pays $15 to the contractor
Contractor/Factory: $15
Keeps $9 to cover expenses and profit
Pays $6 to the workers
Workers: $6
Why do companies use child labor, and don't these jobs help the child's family survive?
Sometimes parents have a difficult time sending their children to school so sometimes they are forced to send their children to work. In other instances, children are forced, not by their parents, to work as slaves or even kidnapped. The conditions they work in are poor with nearly no benefits or educational opportunities. The conditions are also poor for physical and emotional development as a child. The bottom line is that these conditions are unacceptable for children.
What laws protect garment workers? Are they being enforced?
One of the main U.S. labor laws is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) adopted in 1938. The basic requirements are:
- Payment of the minimum wage. Today, the federal minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, but this can vary from state to state. For example, Washington state adopted a minimum wage of $7.16 per hour, and California's minimum wage is $6.75 per hour.
- Overtime pay for covered employees who are not exempt from receiving such pay, calculated as time worked over 40 hours in a workweek, at a rate of not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay.
- Restrictions on the employment of children. The child labor provisions include some restrictions on hours of work for youth under 16 years of age and lists of hazardous occupations too dangerous for young workers to perform.
- Recordkeeping. Employers are required to keep records on wages, hours, and other items which are generally maintained as an ordinary business practice.
In addition, the international community has recognized several core labor standards. These are based on international human rights law and are contained in the International Labor Organization's (ILO) 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its corresponding conventions. The Declaration lists the core labor standards as:
- Freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively,
- The elimination of forced labor,
- The abolition of child labor, and
- The elimination of discrimination in employment.
The standards express the fundamental rights that all human beings have in the workplace. While the ILO does not have power to enforce these standards, member countries must respect them.
For more information, see the U.S. Department of Labor and the International Labor Organization.
Source
http://www.sweatshopwatch.org/
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