DEFENSE MANAGEMENT. Industry Practices Can Help Military Exchanges Better Assure That Their Goods Are Not Made by Child or Forced Labor
Abstract
Protections for workers in the United States were enacted in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which established three basic rights in American labor law: a minimum wage for industrial workers that applied throughout the United States; the principle of the 40-hour week, with time- and-a-half pay for overtime; and a minimum working age for most occupations. Since 1938, the act has been amended several times, but the essentials remain. For many years, the act (combined with federal and state legislation regarding worker health and safety) was thought to have played a m%or role in eliminating sweatshops in the United States. However, we reported on the "widespread existence" of sweatshops within the United States in the 1980s and 1990s.6 Subsequent to our work, in August 1995, the Department of Labor and the California Department of Industrial Relations raided a garment factory in El Monte, California, and found sweatshop working conditions-workers were confined behind razor wire fences and forced to work 20 hours a day for 70 cents an hour. Leading retailers were found to have sold clothes made at this factory. According to the National Retail Federation, an industry trade association, the El Monte raid provoked a public outcry and galvanized the U.S. government's efforts against sweatshops. Concern in the United States about sweatshops has spread from its shores to the overseas factories that supply goods for U.S. businesses and the military exchanges. With globalization, certain labor-intensive activities, such as clothing assembly, have migrated to low-wage countries that not only provide needed employment in those countries but also provide an opportunity for U.S. businesses to profit from manufacturing goods abroad and for consumers to benefit from an increasing array of quality products at low cost. Various labor issues (such as child labor, forced overtime work, workplace health and safety, and unionization) have emerged at these factories.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA398576
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office