Sweatshops and labor exploitation in the United States and abroad

Unfair labor laws and sweatshops have been a topic of debate for many years. The existence of sweatshops is particularly prevalent in third world countries. The purpose of this paper is to discuss sweatshops and their impact on the world. Let us begin this discussion with a definition of sweatshop.

Definition of a Sweatshop

Sweatshops are factories that produce apparel, shoes and other merchandise where employees work under extreme conditions for very little pay. Most sweatshops employ women, children and other unskilled laborers. (Sweating System)

In addition, employees work for very long hours as much as 18 hours per day and the conditions are often unsanitary. (Sweating System)

An article in the Yale Law Journal asserts that a sweatshop "is a business that regularly violates both wage or child labor laws and safety or health regulations.(10) the terms "chronic labor law violators" or "multiple labor law violators" have been used synonymously with the term "sweatshops."(Foo)

Sweatshops became illegal in the United States with the passing of the Fair Labor Standards Act. (Sweating System)

However, many American companies sell and purchase products from sweatshops in other countries. In addition, some American companies still run sweatshops in America and prey upon immigrants to supply the labor.

Sweatshops and the underground economy

According to an article found in the Yale Law Journal, several California Companies have engaged in operations with the underground economy. The article explains, "Hundreds of thousands of California workers, primarily immigrants, who toil in "sweatshops" in the garment and restaurant industries, have been cheated out of billions of dollars in wages owed to them under federal minimum wage and maximum hour laws. (Foo)

The article asserts that these factories are not really underground and that they abuse labor laws in a very flagrant manner. (Foo)

The article also explains that they prey on immigrants because many are in the country illegally and fear reporting the abuse to the authorities. (Foo)

In addition, many of them are from countries that have even lower wages and much of the money they receive is sent back to family members in their countries of origin. (Foo)

The article explains that in addition to the easy exploitation of immigrants, there are also other reasons why sweatshops exist. (Foo)

One such reason is the subcontracting structure that exists in the country. The article explains that subcontracting has grown rapidly and has had a debilitating effect on wages. (Foo)

The author explains that as much as 50% of women's apparel that is made in the U.S. is created in sweatshops. (Foo)

Although there are several labor laws that prohibit labor abuses, these regulations have proven unsuccessful in many places throughout the world. Acccording to an article found in Policy Studies Journal

Recent accounts of the proliferation of "sweatshops" and deplorable conditions of work in both developing and industrialized countries call into question the effectiveness of existing systems of governance over labor practices (Chan, 2001; Block, Roberts, Ozeki, & Roomkin, 2001; Compa, 2001; Jeffcott & Yanz, 1999). Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), unions, consumers, and even some firms -- for different reasons -- criticize current systems of labor standards and enforcement for their opaque processes, limited scope and coverage, weak capacities of regulators, limited leverage over recalcitrant firms, and general ineffectiveness (Nadvi & Waltring, 2001). These critiques have grown louder in the face of new challenges of regulating global firms and their mobile supply chains. Traditional labor regulations and the government-implemented monitoring and enforcement systems on which they depend appear simply to be outpaced by changes in the global economy."(Foo)

Indeed, changes in the global economy have added to the proliferation of sweatshops. The robust economies of the west and in Asia have created a great demand for apparel and electronics. This coupled with the increases in the costs of living have made sweatshops very difficult to stop. In addition, large discount chains are able to provide consumers with high quality products at extremely low prices. Many consumers do not take the time to investigate why the price of these products are so low.

According to sweatshop.org, many of these prices are so low because Wal-Mart's products are manufactured in sweatshops. According to the site Wal-Mart get a grade of F. For the use of sweatshops in the manufacturing of products that it sells. Stores like JcPenney and Sears received a D- on the retailer scoreboard. While stores such as Target and Kohl's both received D+ on the retailer scoreboard.

The site explains that these retailers have frequently and routinely used sweatshop labor to supply products to consumers. The site explains that Wal-mart, the world's largest retailer, has along been associated with sweatshop labor and for mistreating its workers. (Ten Ways to end Sweatshops) the site asserts that is very difficult to know which stores sell products that were made from sweatshop labor. (Ten Ways to end Sweatshops)

For this reason, the organization has listed the retailers that use sweatshop labor and compiled ten ways to end sweatshop labor.

Conclusion

The purpose of this paper was to discuss sweatshops, the impact that they have on the world and what can be done to end the proliferation of sweatshops. We began this discussion with a definition of sweatshop. We found that sweatshops are places of employment where people are exposed to horrendous conditions for very little pay. We also found that many American companies use products that are produced in sweatshops. We akso found that there are many things that Americans can do to place pressure on companies that choose to utilize sweatshop labor.