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Impacts of sweatshops
Negatives about sweatshops
Sweatshops effect on the environment
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Sweatshops are factories or places that have people working in bad conditions for low pay. Big companies like GAP, Guess, and more own these sweatshops. They do this as a way to save money even though other people will suffer. I think there needs to be an end put to it. Mainly because the conditions and extremely low pay they get. There needs to be something done because peoples’ voices are heard but when an official or some sort of government power tells people about it or does something, then there is usually more done. So, governments need to do something about it. The wages are much to low for the price the items are sold at. In “The Power of Protest” by Marlene Spoerri it states that workers can get paid as little as ½ a cent an hour!
For instance, the reader may know how low this is but just think, say someone earned $ 9.00 an hour for a job over here in America, that would be 1800x the amount the worker getting paid ½ a cent at the sweat shop! Secondly, in the video “ Apple accused of failing to protect workers” workers it states that people will fall asleep during the jobs because they work so much and overtime is already in their normal shifts. This is very wrong because overtime should be a choice not a must. Last, according to the video “ Apple accused of failing to protect workers” it stated that fourteen workers killed themselves because of the harsh conditions. This is crazy, why should people be so stressed and overworked to lead to them killing themselves. In conclusion these are just some of many reasons why sweatshops should be banned. There are some arguments out there of why they should still exist but they’re wrong. One argument they are making is that the agreement between the employee and employer is mutual according to the video “Top 3 Ways Sweatshops Help The Poor Escape Poverty”. But, even though the workers agree it’s because they need to and what should happen is they are given better conditions to work in and higher pay. In addition, sweatshops are put in poor countries for a reason; the big companies know that the poor people there need jobs and the people there need to survive so they suffer just because they need to survive, and big companies take advantage of that. To continue, another argument stated in “Top 3 Ways Sweatshops Help The Poor Escape Poverty” is that sweatshop jobs should not be prohibited because they only help people in poverty. Well, if big companies were to keep the jobs over in poorer countries what they should do is increase pay because even though it helps with poverty, the risks with health these sweatshops take can lead to illnesses/death which means they should get paid more and put in better conditions. In conclusion, these are just some ways the arguments of why sweatshops should stay are wrong. Although there are many reasons why people think sweatshops should stay, they should not. I am still on the arguments’ side in which sweatshops are prohibited. My ideas work because people should all have equal opportunities if the work is put in. Also, these are just some ways that sweatshops are bad and why the arguments for sweatshops are right. As you know there will still be people who are for sweatshops. But, they should not exist. Therefore, this is why sweatshops should be prohibited.
It is often said that products made in sweatshops are cheap and that is why people buy those products, but why is it behind the clothes or shoes that we wear that make sweatshops bad? In the article Sweat, Fire and Ethics by Bob Jeffcott is trying to persuade the people and tell them how sweatshops are bad. Bob Jeffcott supports the effort of workers of the global supply chains in order to win improved wages and good working conditions and a better quality of life of those who work on sweatshops. He mentions and describes in detail how the conditions of the sweatshops are and how the people working in them are forced to long working hours for little money. He makes the question, “we think we can end sweatshops abuses by just changing our individual buying habits?” referring to we can’t end the abuses that those women have by just stopping of buying their products because those women still have to work those long hours because other people are buying their product for less pay or less money.
During the summer of 1881, African-American domestics organized a strike for higher wages and to maintain autonomy in the work place. In the article, Domination and Resistance: The Politics of Wage Household Labor in New South Atlanta, Tera Hunter examines the plight of newly emancipated black women domestic workers who actively resisted the terms of their labor in Atlanta. Her focus is on how these women shape the meaning of freedom through workplace resistance, the exercise of political rights and institution building during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The purpose of this essay is to examine the covert ways African-American women domestic workers constructed their world of work, negotiation, resistance and community.
The controversial issue of sweatshops is one often over looked by The United States. In the Social Issues Encyclopedia, entry # 167, Matt Zwolinski tackles the issues of sweatshops. In this article Matt raises a question I have not been able to get out of my head since I have begun researching this topic, “ are companies who contract with sweatshops doing anything wrong?” this article goes on to argue that the people who work in the sweatshops willingly choose to work there, despite the poor environment. Many people in third world countries depend on the sweatshops to earn what they can to have any hopes of surviving. If the sweatshops were to shut down many people would lose their jobs, and therefore have no source of income. This may lead people to steal and prostitution as well. this article is suggesting that sweatshops will better the economy by giving people a better job than what they may have had. Due to this the companies contracting with sweatshops are not acting wrong in any way. This was a deductive article it had a lot of good examples to show how sweatshops are beneficial to third world countries. Radly Balko seemed to have the same view point as Matt Zwolinski. Many people believe the richer countries should not support the sweatshops Balko believes if people stopped buying products made in sweatshops the companies will have to shut down and relocate, firing all of the present workers. Rasing the fact that again the worker will have no source of income, the workers need the sweatshop to survive. Balko also uses the argument that the workers willingly work in the current environments.
Sweatshops started around the 1830’s when industrialization started growing in urban areas. Most people who worked in them at the time were immigrants who didn't have their papers. They took jobs where they thought they'd have the most economic stability. It’s changed a bit since then, companies just want the cheapest labor they can get and to be able to sell the product in order to make a big profit. It’s hard to find these types of workers in developed areas so they look toward 3rd world countries. “sweatshops exist wherever there is an opportunity to exploit workers who lack the knowledge and resources to stand up for themselves.” (Morey) In third world countries many people are very poor and are unable to afford food and water so the kids are pulled out of school and forced to work so they can try to better their lives. This results in n immense amount of uneducated people unaware they can have better jobs and that the sweatshops are basically slavery. With a large amounts uneducated they continue the cycle of economic instability. There becomes no hope for a brighter future so people just carry on not fighting for their basic rights. Times have changed. 5 Years ago companies would pay a much larger amount for a product to be made but now if they’re lucky they’ll pay half, if a manufacturer doesn't like that another company will happily take it (Barnes). Companies have gotten greedier and greedier in what they’ll pay to have a product manufactured. Companies have taken advantage of the fact that people in developing countries will do just about anything to feed their families, they know that if the sweatshop in Cambodia don't like getting paid 2 dollars per garment the one in Indonesia will. This means that there is less money being paid to the workers which mean more will starve and live in very unsafe environments. Life is
In his article “Sweatshops, Choice, and Exploitation” Matt Zwolinski attempts to tackle the problem of the morality of sweatshops, and whether or not third parties or even the actors who create the conditions, should attempt to intervene on behalf of the workers. Zwolinski’s argument is that it is not right for people to take away the option of working in a sweatshop, and that in doing so they are impeding on an individual’s free choice, and maybe even harming them. The main distinction that Zwolinski makes is that choice is something that is sacred, and should not be impeded upon by outside actors. This is showcased Zwolinski writes, “Nevertheless, the fact that they choose to work in sweatshops is morally significant. Taken seriously, workers' consent to the conditions of their labor should lead us to abandon certain moral objections to sweatshops, and perhaps even to view them as, on net, a good thing.” (Zwolinski, 689). He supports his argument of the importance of free choice by using a number of different tactics including hypothetical thought exercises and various quotes from other articles which spoke about the effects of regulation business. Throughout the article there were multiple points which helped illuminate Zwolinski’s argument as well as multiple points which muddle the argument a bit.
The mere idea of sweatshops, let alone their existence, seems cruel and unusual to people like us, especially in today's day and age. After all, in sweatshops "workers are subject to extreme exploitation. This includes... (not) enabling workers to cover ...
...e their product. Sweatshops are found usually all over the world and need to make a better decision as in more labor laws, fair wages, and safety standards to better the workers' conditions. It should benefit the mutually experiences by both the employers and the employees. Most important is the need to be educated about their rights and including local labor laws.
The wages are very low compared to Americans doing similar work, even if they work the hardest out of all the employees of the business. Shipler in his book talks about a young woman named Candalaria, who works for a sewing company and receives payments by sewing jeans and makes only 5 cents for each fly she sews on the jeans. But, since she is an illegal immigrant she barely receives the minimum wage for her work. According to Shipler, “To make California’s minimum wage, which was $5.75 at the time, that added up to 767 flies an hour, allowing her just under 5 seconds for each fly” (Shipler). The work, Candalaria has to do, is twice as much work as any other worker does; in order for her to live on a low-budget. Giving workers less money for a lot of work may seem like a dream for the boss of the company, but it could be the polar opposite thought. Shipler states “Paying so little may seem like a boon for a boss, but he isn’t always delighted” (Shipler). Shipler points out that people who run the company and notice a person that does a lot of hard work; only to be paid in such low amounts of money can be upsetting to witness. But, as of late, California has been taking a better shape for illegal immigrants that come into the country looking for a better life. According to Greenblatt, “California was the most active state last year,
What are sweatshops? The Miriam-Webster dictionary defines sweatshops as: A shop or factory in which employees work for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions. These factories are mainly located in Third-World countries, although there are still a few in the United States. Many popular, name brand companies like Nike, use sweatshops around the world. Today there is much controversy about sweatshops and whether they should be banned and closed. In reality, the conditions of these factories are terrible. The employees are paid very little, even after working long, hard hours. The supervisors of these shops are often cruel, malicious, and brutal. Sadly, these factories are often the only source of income for Third-World workers. As bad as these sweatshops might be, they have pulled many countries and individuals out of poverty. So, are sweatshops beneficial?
Some people of North America know about these sweatshop workers, they feel bad and some also protest. They set up NGOs, send funds and donations but they never try to break the tradition of sweatshop working. They all assume that this is best for the society. An Idea can be drawn from William
Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn are Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalists who spent fourteen years in Asia doing research on the country as well as the sweatshops of that country. In their article "Two Cheers for Sweatshops" they sum up clearly the misunderstanding of sweatshops by most of the modern world. "Yet sweatshops that seem brutal from the vantage point of an American sitting in his living room can appear tantalizing to a Thai laborer getting by on beetles." The fact of the matter is that sweatshops in the eyes of the actual workers are not as bad as they are made out to be, by many activists. Though many organizations that oppose sweatshops and their labor practices try to make the point that sweatshops do not have to exist. But one must consider the fact that, the companies that use sweatshops are creating at least some type of jobs for people that gladly accept them.
What is found at sweatshops though, is quite the opposite. The highest wage within a sweatshop goes to the senior operators. The already low salary of a sweatshop worker, is actually decreasing, as the median wage for a senior operator at a sweatshop decreased by 29 percent from 1994 to 2010. These senior operators are of the highest rank, and according to Niagara Textiles, located in Bangladesh, now earn only 20 cents an hour, or 488 dollars per year. In fact, the same sweatshop have reports of workers being beaten for asking to receive their pay on time. They are also forced to work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, with one day off at most. These workers have the longest hours, worst treatment, and most tedious conditions and still barely get paid enough to sustain themselves, let alone families. Sweatshops are completely immoral, and are under complete violation of the codes of
Sweatshops are factories that violate two or more human rights. Sweatshops are known in the media and politically as dangerous places for workers to work in and are infamous for paying minimum wages for long hours of labour. The first source is a quote that states that Nike has helped improve Vietnamese’s’ workers lives by helping them be able to afford luxuries they did not have access to before such as scooters, bicycles and even cars. The source is showing sweatshops in a positive light stating how before sweatshops were established in developing countries, Vietnamese citizens were very poor and underprivileged. The source continues to say that the moment when sweatshops came to Vietnam, workers started to get more profit and their lives eventually went uphill from their due to being able to afford more necessities and luxuries; one of them being a vehicle, which makes their commute to work much faster which in turn increases their quality of life. The source demonstrates this point by mentioning that this is all due to globalization. Because of globalization, multinationals are able to make investments in developing countries which in turn offers the sweatshops and the employees better technology, better working skills and an improvement in their education which overall helps raise the sweatshops’ productivity which results in an increase
In the article, “Where Sweatshops Are a Dream,” Nicholas Kristof describes the dumps in Cambodia, “The miasma of toxic stink leaves you gasping, breezes batter you with filth, and even the rats look forlorn” (Kristof). This garbage dump is where many people in Phnom Penh, Cambodia are forced to scrap together a living. When compared to life in a dump, sweatshops are actually considered safe and clean. Kristof goes on to explain the local view of sweatshop work as, “[A] cherished dream... the kind of gauzy if probably unrealistic ambition that parents everywhere often have for their children” (Kristof). The second important thing to note is that people are not forced to work at a sweatshop. This fact alone implies that a factory job is no where near the worst working situation. As Matt Zwolinski points out in “Sweatshops, Choice, and Exploitation” published by Business Ethics Quarterly, “For the most part, individuals who work in sweatshops choose to do so. They might not like working in sweatshops, and they might strongly desire that... they did not have to do so. Nevertheless, the fact that they choose to work in sweatshops is morally significant” (Zwolinski 2). One of the major reasons people believe sweatshops are harmful is because they pay very little for grueling labor. From the perspective of most Americans, the equivalent of two dollars a day seems cruel, but when compared
“I am, somehow, less interested in the weight, and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived, and died in cotton fields, and sweatshops.”- Stephen Jay Gould. Sweatshops exploit people, and children. They take advantage of their poverty, and there need, for a better life. Sweatshops are one of the worst things that ever happened to the business world, and poor people around the world. Sweatshops should be stopped, and ended.