Most of us probably reacted with horror when we read about the Los Angeles garment worker sweatshops raided in August by government officials. The women told of being forced to work 17-hour days, of never being allowed to leave the sewing/living compound, of being paid far less than the minimum wage. The clothes these women made were sold at hefty prices in popular department stores such as Filene’s, Hecht’s, Sears, J.C. Penney, and Montgomery Ward.According to the garment industry itself, the three sweatshops that were recently raided are just the tip of the iceberg. A 1994 garment industry compliance survey in California found that 51% of cut-and-sew contractors were not paying minimum wage and 93% were not complying with safety and health standards. In addition, cut-and-sew contractors frequently close up shop and move to a new location, leaving behind unpaid workers. It is estimated that 85% of garment workers are Hispanic and Asian women.
After years of neglect, the U.S. Department of Labor appears to be cracking down on this problem. Following the Los Angeles raids Secretary of Labor Robert Reich held a "garment summit," after which retail industry groups said they would encourage their members to buy from suppliers which complied with the law. To help consumers avoid sweatshop goods, the Department of Labor will publish names of manufacturers and retailers who buy from sweatshops..
While the Department of Labor’s actions are a step in the right direction, some women’s groups say Secretary Reich has not gone far enough. "The retailers’ voluntary compliance measures will look good for a while," said Miriam Ching Louie of Asian Immigrant Women Advocates (AIWA), "but the effects won’t last for long."
"Even if the law is followed, the women are still only getting paid the minimum wage," pointed out Professor Edna Bonacich of Common Threads. Neither group feels that the Department of Labor has the staff to effectively police the garment industry. Both groups encourage consumers to become educated on the issue and support the empowerment of garment workers.
Common Threads, a group of middle-class women, hopes that by "standing arm-in-arm with strikers, as feminists did in 1909, we will help improve working conditions." Common Threads has supported a union-led boycott of Guess? Jeans, with the result that Guess? is no longer using two contractors who slashed wages and fired workers who protested.
Asian Immigrant Women Advocates is leading a boycott of Jessica McClintock apparel because the upscale manufacturer used a contractor that did not pay workers. Write to Common Threads at: P.O. Box 962, Venice, CA 90294. To contact AIWA, write 310 8th St. #301, Oakland, CA 94607.