Jessee.Sweatshops by Caleb

Feitelberg, Rosemary. "REPORT: PUMA MAKERS IN CHINA WORK IN SWEATSHOP CONDITIONS."

yaboiizlit00 — 2024-10-30 15:53:10 UTC

"NEW YORK -- Employees making Puma sneakers in a Chinese factory operated by a company contractor are forced to work as long as 100 hours a week in sweatshop conditions and live in rooms housing as many as 12 people, according to a report released Thursday by two nonprofit groups that campaign for workers' rights.

The workers at the Pou Yuen manufacturing plant are paid the equivalent of 35 cents an hour, the National Labor Committee and China Watch said."

"STUDENTS AND LABOR PROTEST SWEATSHOPS."

yaboiizlit00 — 2024-10-30 15:53:10 UTC

"Organized by the National Labor Committee for Human Rights, New York Public Interest Research Group, People of Faith Network and UNITE, protesters charged that in a Nike sweatshop in China, young women are locked in a factory for 12 hours a day, six and seven days per week. They said workers are paid 20 cents per $135 pair of sneakers they produce and are fired at the age of 25."

Feitelberg, Rosemary. "REPORT: PUMA MAKERS IN CHINA WORK IN SWEATSHOP CONDITIONS." WWD,

yaboiizlit00 — 2024-10-30 15:53:10 UTC

"Using documents provided by factory workers, Kernaghan calculated that Puma makes a gross profit of $34.09 for every $70 pair of sneakers. Increasing hourly wages by 20 cents would result in a 54 cent increase to the retail price of $70 sneakers, he said.

"If they took the necessary steps, they would be applauded across the country," Kernaghan said. "We're not going to get freedom of association overnight. But there is overwhelming fear and repression there. They can correct the overtime and no hot water."

"STUDENTS AND LABOR PROTEST SWEATSHOPS."

yaboiizlit00 — 2024-10-30 15:53:10 UTC

Bob Mitchell, senior manager for USA communications at Nike, said Thursday that the company has been working for years to improve conditions in their factories. Mitchell said he personally visited some of these facilities and is pleased with what he sees compared to what they were like previously.

"In Asia, the conditions are terrific, and in Indonesia, wages have been increased by 66 percent," he said, noting that these shops have improved in many other ways as well. "We now provide health care and full meals for the employees

Clark, Charles S.. "Child Labor and Sweatshops". CQ Researcher

yaboiizlit00 — 2024-10-30 15:53:10 UTC

Women who shop at upscale clothing stores have a connection with Nancy Penaloza. She makes the clothes they wear to work. For the past nine years, the thirtyish seamstress has been sewing business suits that retail for $120 and up. Her cut: $6 per outfit. She is able to feed her family by putting in at least 56 hours a week, usually taking home $207. Unlike the women who wear her suits, Penaloza gets no vacation or holidays off. And her employer does not pay her Social Security taxes.

“The shop is hot in the summer and cold in winter, and the boss is angry and screams,” she says in halting English. “I cannot ask him questions because I am scared he will hit me. There is one bathroom for 100 people. If I were to ask for overtime pay, I would be fired.”

Clark, Charles S.. "Child Labor and Sweatshops". CQ Researcher

yaboiizlit00 — 2024-10-30 15:53:10 UTC

Around the world, there are at least 73 million child laborers* ages 10-14, according to the United Nations' International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The ILO puts the figure for working children of all ages at up to 200 million, noting that 25 percent of all the children in Africa are working. In Asia the figure is 18 percent, in Latin America, 7 percent. *

Connection

yaboiizlit00 — 2024-10-30 17:43:36 UTC

These two quotations connect to the global issue of exploitative sources of labor with vulnerable populations—namely, children and poorly compensated persons in dangerous occupational settings. The ILO report about child labor and the study about employment standards where Puma shirts are made connect across socioeconomic vulnerability and lack of employment standards from country to country. Thus, this issue will persist until countries that are mostly poorer and developing seek out profit at any cost of the persons doing the work or more employment protections and additional regulatory enforcement exist.

Connection

yaboiizlit00 — 2024-10-30 17:52:45 UTC

Both quotes speak to the effort to improve factory labor standards in the sneaker industry for major athletic sneaker companies. Kernaghan notes that Puma makes so much money that a fractional increase in wages would do nothing to their bottom line but everything for the quality of life for the workers. The rebuttal from Nike's representative Bob Mitchell is that Nike has already done such a thing and added health benefits for its laborers, so Nike is actually ahead in labor standards.

Connection

yaboiizlit00 — 2024-10-30 18:00:32 UTC

Both of these quotes indicate that the conditions which these high designer garments and footwear are produced are inexcusable. Penaloza could be just another Nike factory worker in China. She is just a tired, underpaid, female trying to scrape by. And her contributions or complaints therefore, these two quotes coincide to denote that such labor violations happen on a globalized scale and it's happening everywhere from here to China even if it's a separate factory with uniquely different dreams of better treatment.