Sweatshops in the US territories

[Kevin Robert Dean]

Last month a court in American Samoa ordered a garment
factory to pay $3.5 million to 270 workers from China
and Vietnam. The court described workers cheated of
wages, beaten and deprived of food, something that
should never have occurred anywhere, much less on
American territory. But while the exploitation in the
Daewoosa factory was egregious, it is not isolated. On
Saipan, the largest island of the American
Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, federal
investigators have documented mistreatment of workers.
.
American territories overseas are an attractive site
for garment factories producing for the consumer in
the United States. Minimum wage is lower than on the
mainland - $3.05 an hour in Saipan - and products can
come in without import quotas or tariffs and bear a
"Made in America" label. In Saipan, 30 factories make
clothes for dozens of American brands like Gap, Dayton
Hudson and The Limited.
.
The 15,000 garment workers in Saipan are largely women
from China. They pay recruiters and the factories up
to $8,000 to obtain their jobs. Some have mortgaged
home or farm to get the money. If they leave their
jobs before paying the debt - which takes years - they
saddle their families with a lifetime of penury. They
therefore put up with whatever treatment the factory
metes out. Recent scrutiny from Washington and
anti-sweatshop activists has brought some improvements
in health and safety conditions. But the high
recruitment fees remain, as does the practice of
cheating workers on overtime.
.
The Labor Department has recovered millions of dollars
owed to workers. Two 1999 lawsuits against the
contractors and the companies that buy their goods are
proceeding in California and Saipan. But lawsuits have
their limitations. The Daewoosa factory has declared
bankruptcy, so its workers may never see any of the
money.
.
More changes are needed, most importantly an end to
the system of paid recruitment. But over the years the
government of the islands has fought reforms. Bills to
bring the Northern Marianas under mainland minimum
wage or immigration laws have extensive support in
Congress but have been blocked by the House Republican
whip, Tom DeLay. Authorities in Saipan have argued
that the island is being unfairly singled out when
harsh working conditions can also be found in
California and New York. There are sweatshops on the
mainland, but in Saipan they enjoy official backing. 

=====
Kevin Dean
Buffalo, NY
ICQ: 8616001
AIM: KDean75206
Buffalo Activist Network
http://www.buffaloactivist.net
http://www.yaysoft.com

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