(MintPress) — Most label-conscious consumers in the U.S. believe that a “Made in the U.S.A.” label guarantees that basic workers rights have been met. However, industry experts contend that a number of illegal sweatshop facilities continue to operate inside U.S. borders.
Textile factories in Los Angeles, Calif. have come under intense scrutiny for maintaining sweatshop conditions, depriving workers of a living wage and decent working conditions. Foreign laborers and some U.S. citizens continue to receive as little as $2 an hour while working 13-hour shifts in some facilities. Despite strong legislative oversight, industry experts maintain that there may be more than 250,000 workers subject to sweatshop-like conditions in the U.S.
U.S. sweatshops today
Labor activists and people within the California Fashion Association are calling for reform and legislation to expand upon the 1999 Sweatshop Reform Bill, including stronger policing of California’s $8 billion a year industry.
Robert Ross commentator and author of “Slaves to Fashion,” contended in 2000, that there are still upwards of 250,000 U.S. textile workers in sweatshop facilities.
Ross asserts that “the rise of globalization, weak unions and an influx of undocumented immigrants gave rise to the modern era of U.S. sweatshops. Consumer demand for inexpensive garments created a “race to the bottom” to cut costs and provide Americans with the most competitively priced products.
Some experts believe that the 2012 presidential election could further erode union membership in America. Philip Dine, a reporter for the Washington Times, wrote in a recent article:
“Romney and Ryan share a desire to slash government, reduce public services, consolidate or eliminate programs and take on entitlements. Each of these puts them at odds with unions. That’s especially so as regards public-sector unions, now the majority within labor.”
Regardless of the election outcome, some manufacturers, including designer brands selling $300 blue jeans and other costly garments, have been accused of major labor violations. In March, New York designer Alexander Wang was served with a $50 million lawsuit from former employees claiming gross misconduct and workplace abuse.
Wenyu Lu, the main plaintiff in the case describes being forced to work for 25 hours straight without a break or overtime pay. The facilities in New York City’s Chinatown were unventilated and windowless, prompting Lu to complain to management about the poor quality of work conditions.
After being fired for his complaints, Lu and around 30 other employees filed a suit against Wang for labor violations, lost overtime pay and for physical injuries suffered from unsafe working conditions. The case has yet to reach a settlement.
El Monte crisis reform?
“Paris, Milan and New York may have cornered the catwalk experience, but Los Angeles dominates the business side of American fashion,” writes Gendy Alimurung in a recent edition of LA Weekly.
Labor violations persist in California, the heart of the American textile industry as well.
Although there have been major advances in the past 15-20 years, the California Fashion Association, the main group calling for reform, believes sweatshops persist, even after the 1995 El Monte crisis.
The incident occurred in 1995 when Federal and State authorities raided a sweatshop just outside of Los Angeles. Factory owners were running a “textile prison” complete with razor wire fencing and spiked bars to prevent the factory’s 70 imprisoned workers from escaping.
The workers, mostly undocumented workers from Thailand, were forced to live in cramped quarters with as many as 16 people squeezed into a single non-air conditioned bedroom. Some of the workers were imprisoned in the facility for as long as seven years and were not allowed to contact family members or loved ones.
Even though the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 instituted a 40-hour workweek, overtime for most industries and strict bans on child labor, concerns persist as a bevy of unregistered companies continue to operate illegal facilities in and around Los Angeles, the textile manufacturing capital of the U.S.
Gendy Alimurung notes that there are 3,000 registered businesses in the L.A. fashion district accounting for more than $8 billion a year in U.S. sales. All of these manufacturers are required to register with the Office of the Labor Commissioner to ensure that facilities meet basic labor requirements, however, violations persist in both registered and unregistered facilities.
Ethical shopping: the growth of conscious consumption
With lack of adequate policing, some consumers have started to compile lists of companies violating labor and environmental regulations to raise awareness and direct business toward more ethical companies.
Better World Shopper, among other groups, has created a comprehensive list of major retailers, ranking them on how well they uphold environmental and labor regulations. Consistent violators Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Macy’s and Polo, among others, received an “F,” while those with excellent track records, including Patagonia, Autonomie and No Enemy, received an “A.”
Wal-Mart produces 85 percent of its goods in overseas sweatshops despite marketing their company as being “All American.” Several studies of Chinese Wal-Mart facilities reveal slavery-like conditions in which workers are locked inside factories, forced to work upward of 70 hours per week for little pay.
A 2008 report by SweatFree reveals that Wal-Mart workers at a facility in Bangladesh were forced to work 19 hour shifts for as little as $20 per month. SweatFree, a non-profit watchdog group dedicated to fair labor practices, has also drawn attention to the poor working conditions for Wal-Mart workers in the U.S. as well.
A June review of 18 Wal-Mart manufacturing facilities found 622 federal citations for safety, health and wage hour violations.
Conversely, American Apparel, a growing company based in Los Angeles received an A-, just missing top marks on the list. However, the company has built a loyal following of customers compelled to purchase ethically produced clothes.
American Apparel promotes ethical consumerism as a positive development in its company history, saying on its website:
“For us ‘sweatshop free’ was never about criticizing other business models; it was about attempting something new. It comes down to this: not blindly outsourcing, but rather knowing the faces of our workers and providing them the opportunity to make a fair wage.”
American Apparel has been accused previously of “union busting” and other smaller labor violations. However, many contend that its practices by and large outweigh the negative aspects of the company.
For example, American Apparel boasts that its average textile worker earns on average $25,000 a year, or around $12 an hour. These salaries, while still classified as “low income” are almost twice the federal minimum wage and well above the federal poverty level.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services a single person earning less than $11,170 a year and a four person household earning less than $23,050 are classified as “living in poverty” for the year 2012.
A growing number of consumers also look to see whether a company allows workers to unionize as a litmus test for ethical production. UNITE Here, a union representing workers in the U.S. and Canada, publishes an online list admonishing non-union facilities, while directing conscious consumers to unionized hotels and clothing manufacturers.