California deals with long ignored sweatshops

How ironic that as L&T apparel factories here receive certification by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) meaning it is sweatshop-free, the $30 billiion apparel industry in California has just started dealing with sweatshop conditions in over 5,000 garment factories in the state, according to the Sweatshop Watch Group in the US mainland.

L&T officials welcome good tidings in the ISO certification saying it is a “simple declaration that our company is true to its commitment to treating our employees FAIRLY with dignity AND RESPECT while ensuring that quality control of apparel products are adhered to in our daily efforts to serve the needs of the global markets”.

Said Ben Fitial, vice president for Tanholdings Group of Companies: “No longer can the national media willfully malign our apparel industry with an ISO certification. We have worked diligently to attain ISO’s certfication proving once and for all that our company is sweastshop-free and is poised to continue apparel manufacturing of high quality products for markets between Asia, Europe and the US.”

The ISO is an international standard body being used by manufacturing companies worldwide to guarantee that its products are of the highest quality for its customers and buyers AND ARE BEING PRODUCED BY WORKERS LIVING AND WORKING UNDER HEALTHY AND SAFE CONDITIONS. It means companies have formal organization structures, clearly defined responsibilities, procedures for all important activities, record keeping and a systematic review and provision of audit of performance with corrective action and monitoring. It establishes confidence in business dealings between manufacturers and buyers. The ISO is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.

California’s travails with sweatshops

The California garment industry is an over $30 billion industry. It is one of California’s largest industries with over 6,400 employers and the largest garment manufacturing area in the US. More than 160,000 workers are employed officially with tens of thousands more work in the underground economy, according to SweatshopWatch.

But the California garment industry is riddled with federal violations of minimum wage and sweatshops conditions throughout the industry. For instance, even with increased labor law enforcement since 1992, conditions have hardly improved the plight of garment workers. A 1998 federal survey (US Department of Labor) found that 61 percent of Los Angeles garment factories violated minimum wage and overtime compensation laws. Earlier surveys found that 90 percent of sewing shops did not comply with health and safety laws, and more than half have serious violations that could lead to severe injuries or death.

The very nature of the industry in California encourages the creation of workshops. There are 5,000 sewing contractors and in LA, 184 manufacturers have 3,000 sewing contractors that cmopelete for their work. Competitive bidding by these contractors for work drives contract prices down so low that they cannot pay minimum wages or overtime to their workers.

In fact, in today’s industry, very little bidding takes place. Most contractors are put in a “take it or leave it” position and must accept whatever low price is given to them by manufacturers or see the work placed in another sewing shop. The contractors must “sweat” profits out of their workers, cut corners and operate unsafe work places. The most egregious example of a sweatshop was the Thai garment workers who were found behind barbed wires, sewing private labels of major retailers in conditions of involuntary servitude in El Monte, California.

Law enforcement by the government isn’t enough and state federal agencies are to underfunded and understaffed to investigate the 5,000 garment shops in the state. The federal labor agency has a total of 800-900 investigators, cut from a high of 1,600 in 1980. Even with their combined efforts, in 1997 state and federal agencies inspected 1,300 garment firms, or one in four shops.

At that rate, the state will not be able to reinspect a shop to ensure continuing compliance until four years later. California must also contend with the relocation of its apparel industry to offshore venues. One of the reasons is the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Cheap labor in Mexico, Latin America and other offshore venues is the primary reason for the relocation of North America’s garment industries given the marginal profit that manufacturers make annually or deal with no profits at all if they continue to pay US federal minimum wage. But as California’s garment industry begins cleaning up its mess, the NMI has gone past that stage as shown in the certification by ISO of L&T apparel companies recently.