| The Merriam - Webster Dictionary defines a
sweatshop as: "a
shop or factory in which workers are employed for long hours at low wages and under
unhealthy conditions"
People who work in sweatshops
almost always receive paychecks that fall short of the standard minimum wage in the
country in which they work. Very often the amount is also less than the subsistence wage.
The subsistence wage is the minimum amount of money that an average person would require
to purchase enough basic food, clothing and hygiene items to survive in a somewhat healthy
manner.
| The sweatshop work-day may
last as little as 8-10 hours, but more often employees work 12-14 hour shifts. Some
sweatshops force workers to come in seven days a week, and some enforce 24 hour shifts
once a week. Laborers in
sweatshops may also be subject to verbal or physical abuse. There are accounts of women
being publicly ridiculed, slandered, and beaten by their employers. Some are made to pull
down their pants before leaving work so that the guards can check to see that they are not
smuggling any clothes outside the factory. Women are often forced to take birth control
pills or abort their babies, and in extreme cases are forbidden to marry or even fall in
love! |
Sweatshop Conditions Often
Include:
12-14 hour workdays, 6-7
days a week
Below minimum-wage or
subsistence-wage paychecks
Beating or other
physical abuse
Yelling, ridiculing or
other verbal abuse
Forced
birth-control/abortions
Unsanitary conditions
Unofficial prohibition
of unions
Sexual harrassment |
Often workers
receive only one or two bathroom breaks each day they work. Employees will wait in lines
during these short breaks to access the door-less, and often toilet-paper-less stalls. If
they cannot make it to the bathroom before it is time to start work again, they must wait
for the next break to use the restroom.
Unions are usually not
present in sweatshops. There are countless stories of workers attempting to band together
to form a union.. Most often the factory retaliates by firing its workers, or by
temporarily shutting down and re-hiring new ones after-the-fact. Union leaders are also
sometimes threatened into submission by beating, stabbing, or torture.
Sweatshops have existed for
centuries, but they don't need to. Human suffering is not a required ingredient for
producing a product. As consumers, we can make a difference by letting companies know that
we will not stand by while people are abused as they make the products we purchase.
What can I do?
(to top)
As a consumer, you have a powerful voice for
opposing sweatshops. Many companies purchase from sweatshops because the cost is much less
than regular factory production. They will continue to do so until their customers (or
potential customers) protest. There are many ways (with varying levels of time comittment
and involvment) in which you can make a difference. Please click the link below to access
the Action Against Sweatshops page.
Take
Action! |
