Sweatshops and Child Labor

Class Post. Enjoy!

Hello V:

It is good to be in class with you again! I hope all your travels are going well.

You posed a serious question to us in your post. According to O’Byrne (2002), continued consumer indifference to the conditions that sweatshop workers have to deal with perpetuates the sweatshop system. I remember when it was uncovered that GAP stores used sweatshops to make their clothing. I was embarrassed that I wasn't informed. I shopped there all the time.

As a result of this discussion question, I conducted more research and found that Nike has been accused of the same negligence. I believe that we have to educate ourselves as consumers and make ethical choices that can help to stop sweatshops. O’Byrne (2002) advanced the notion of shopper mobilization to shift the issue to the center of public attention. I believe this has happened in the past but we have to stay vigilant until some real progress is made.

Yoon Louie’s (2001) book, Sweatshop Warriors is about the stories of immigrant women sweatshop workers. The book describes their stories of exploitation as well as their role as activists for their own conditions. Yoon Louie (2001) conducted interviews with Mexican, Chinese, and Korean women who have worked in sweatshops in New York, Texas, and California. Indeed, these women became empowered to use their solidarity as a platform from which to challenge their bosses. Eventually, they received withheld back pay, recognition, and proper working conditions. Yoon Louie (2001) wrote about these women’s account of moving from sweatshop victims to sweatshop warriors.

In the U.S.A. it seems we have as much work to do as developing countries with regard to eradicating sweatshops. Thank you for your post!

References

O’Byrne, A. (2002). Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant women workers take on global factory.

            Regional Labor Review, 4(2), 38-39. Retrieved from

            http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/academics/colleges/hclas/cld/cld_rlr_s02_immiwomen.pdf

Yoon Louie, M. C. (2001). Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant women workers take on global

            factory. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.