Sweatshops have probably been around ever since man began working for man. The initial recognition of worker mistreatment was no

Although stronger laws have been passed and the government has a heightened awareness of the growing problem it is hard to monitor work violations in the globalizing economy. In the past couple decades American corporations have been moving their operations overseas to take advantage of lower labor and production costs. Companies began to outsource production at separately owned contract supplier facilities. This economic globalization prompted “country-hopping” by corporations from countries where labor rates are rising to less developed countries in search of ever-lower wages. (http://www.southendpress.org/books/SweatshopExcerpt.shtml) Third World labor is cheaper and substantially profitable to American corporations because the buying power of the dollar is so high in other parts of the world. Also the companies are not required to pay import tariffs and taxes. In 1998, the Nike Corporation was accused of providing abusive working conditions in their Vietnamese plants. A study at Dartmouth University found that although the workers only earned about $500 a year, it was far greater than the $240 per capita income in Vietnam at the time.(Malone & Ramey p.164) Corporations are getting away with paying third world workers much more than half the salary for the same amount, if not more work. Another attractive site for garment factories is the American territories overseas. At these locations, corporations can pay a minimum wage much lower than the main land and still stamp the clothes with the “Made in the U.S.A.” trademark and again avoid all taxes and tariffs.( New York Times, May 10, 2002) Although the factories in Guam, Saipan, and Samoa are U.S. territories they are exempt from U.S. labor laws, but the manufacturers still receive the benefits of being an American corporation.( http://www.sweatshops.org/buy/labels_made_in_usa.html)

t sparked by a real event but by a work of fiction. In 1907, a California socialist by the name of Upton Sinclair published a book called The Jungle. This novel detailed the atrocities an immigrant family faced working in a Chicago meatpacking plant. Immigrants were suffering from long hours, low pay, child labor and horrific work conditions, this book made society realize the eminent problem sweatshops evoked upon humanity. (http://www.online-literature.com/upton_sinclair/) This work of fiction would soon be followed by true-life tragedy that would introduce the problem of sweatshops to the world. March 25, 1911 was a turning point in the apparel business as well as the American public. On this date, a fire broke out on the 8th floor of the Asch Building in Manhattan. Among other businesses, the Asch Building was home to Triangle Shirtwaist Inc., which made women’s clothing. This particular business had five hundred employees consisting mainly of women, most of them immigrants from Europe.( Malone & Ramey p. 162) That afternoon when the fire started the workers frantically began to evacuate, but the elevator could only hold ten people and the exit doors were locked. It was believed that the owner of the factory kept the doors locked to deter the workers from leaving their sewing machines. Women also tried to use the fire escapes but they could not hold the weight of all the workers thus folding under the pressure. Trapped in the fiery factory the women soon felt their only escape was jumping out of the 8th and 9th story windows. The New York City Fire Department arrived minutes later to be greeted by a sidewalk filled with the bodies of the helpless victims. The firemen attempted to distinguish the flames but realized their hoses were too short and could only reach the 7th floor. The blaze lasted twenty-five minutes and took the lives of one hundred and forty-six workers. The story of the fire spread and the public responded with outrage and fiercely demanded answers. Not only were they upset about the lack of evacuation by employees and the exit doors being

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