Sweatshops Violations

463 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sweatshops in third world countries

In my opinion, as citizens and consumers of a more prosperous country, we should be concerned about the situation of sweatshops around the world. Sweatshop poses serious problems such as violations of human rights at work, child labor and sexual harassment. According to the definition of sweatshops, in sweatshops, workers must work long hours (16-20 hours/day), but pay very little. Their payments do not provide them with a decent life. The movies watched in the class show the lives of sweaty workers in Bangladesh. They live in sheds, and many use the same kitchen and bathroom. They can not afford to buy their own products. On the contrary, multinationals are getting higher profits when using sweatshops to produce their products. This increases the gap between rich and poor. However, due to sweatshops, people in industrialized countries have lost their jobs and paid less …show more content…

However, I believe there is another way to provide job opportunities for developing countries. Workers in most sweatshops may not have the opportunity to choose jobs in these places. They are forced by economic needs (Miller, 2003). In addition, in some sweatshops, workers have no right to organize unions, who are subjected to sexual harassment and physical and psychological abuse. Sweatshops violate labor standards, norms, and social values. This is immoral and unacceptable. The problem of a sweatshop is related to our life. Buying sweatshop products may help large companies squeeze out poor workers. Sweatshop may bring short-term benefits to developing countries. However, the problem of sweatshops will hinder the long-term development of developing countries. This will widen the gap between richer and poorer countries. Therefore, as citizens and consumers of a more affluent nation, we must do something to help sweat-laborers. They need better working

Show More
Related

  • Sweat, Fire and Ethics by Bob Jeffcott

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • the trounle with sweatshops

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sweatshops In The 1800s

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    Look down at the clothes you're wearing right now, chances are almost every single thing you are currently wearing was made in a sweatshop. It is estimated that between 50-75% of all garments are made under sweatshop like conditions. Designers and companies get 2nd party contractors to hire people to work in these factories, this is a tool to make them not responsible for the horrendous conditions. They get away with it by saying they are providing jobs for people in 3rd world countries so its okay, but in reality they are making their lives even worse. These companies and designers only care about their bank accounts so if they can exploit poor, young people from poverty stricken countries they surely will, and they do. A sweatshop is a factory

    Read More

  • Summary Of Sweatshops Choice And Exploitation By Zwolinski

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Taking a Closer Look at Sweatshops

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    With the continued rise of consumer "needs" in "industrial" countries such as the United States, and the consistently high price that corporations must pay to produce goods in these countries, companies are looking to "increase (their) profits by driving down costs any way possible... To minimize costs, companies look for places with the lowest wages and human rights protections" (Dosomething). Countries with lax or unenforced labor laws grant multinational corporations the leeway to use cheap foreign labor to mass-produce their commodities so that they can be sold in countries like America. These inexpensive, sometimes borderline illegal, establishments are known as sweatshops. In his book Timmerman discusses the topic of sweatshops in great detail. Originally in search of "where (his) T-shirt was made(;) (Timmerman) (went) to visit the factory where it was made and (met) the people who made (it)" (Timmerman5).

    Read More

  • Third World Sweatshops

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    To begin with, improve their working conditions. Promulgated mental and physical abuses sweatshops don’t delivered alleviate poverty. Poor working conditions have been around for centuries. Here in America, we have a stronger labor laws than most undeveloped countries, but it is not free of sweatshops. Reading I found out that many of the factory buildings are crowded, have windowless walls, filthy, back-breaking and hazardous. With little ventilations, heat, and stuffy some factory operators require their employees to work in bad working orders. In my opinion I feel that they are often unaware of their own rights, but have no choice but to continue to work because sweatshop managers threaten to punish them for insubordination. Now labor and human rights activists have been successful at raising public awareness regarding labor practices in both America and off-shore manufacturing facilities. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch, United Students Against Sweatshops, the National Labor Coalition, Sweatshop Watch, and the Interfaith Center of Corporate Responsibility have accused multinational enterprises (MNEs), like Nike, Wal-Mart, Disney, and others of the pernicious exploitation of workers (Arnold and Bowie 221). German philosopher Immanuel Kant said, " Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own ...

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Sweat, Fire And Ethics By Bob Jeffcott

    1601 Words  | 4 Pages

    The injustice that transpires within these workspaces evoke disparate responses from concerned citizens. From reading Bob Jeffcott’s article “Sweat, Fire, and Ethics,” the reader is challenged to urge their governments and educational institutions to condemn the exercise of exploitation of sweatshops be demanding evidence of improvements in working conditions. In Jeffrey D. Sachs excerpt “Bangladesh: On the Ladder of Development,” the working conditions of the women factory workers in Bangladesh is revealed yet the reader is persuaded to support these sweatshops because it is the only opportunity that these women have to gain a better life for themselves and their families. Upon reading both pieces, it is evident that sweatshops do not necessarily need to end completely, yet the business strategies employed within these facilities that negatively affect the workers must be monitored and addressed by the government in order for these companies to abandon labor

    Read More

  • Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas By Ursula Le Guin

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Sweat Shops are an Economic Stepping Stone

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    Linda Lim, a professor at the University of Michigan Business School, visited Vietnam and Indonesia in the summer of 2000 to obtain first-hand research on the impact of foreign-owned export factories (sweatshops) on the local economies. Lim found that in general, sweatshops pay above-average wages and conditions are no worse than the general alternatives: subsistence farming, domestic services, casual manual labor, prostitution, or unemployment. In the case of Vietnam in 1999, the minimum annual salary was 134 U.S. dollars while Nike workers in that country earned 670 U.S. dollars, the case is also the similar in Indonesia. Many times people in these countries are very surprised when they hear that American's boycott buying clothes that they make in the sweatshops. The simplest way to help many of these poor people that have to work in the sweatshops to support themselves and their families, would be to buy more products produced in the very sweatshops they detest.

    Read More

  • Issues Of Sweatshops

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    The lack of ethics concerning global issues can be found in the sweatshops of underdeveloped and third world countries. This issue has developed from the indiscretion of industries and employers. Industries treat their employees poorly; moreover, employees are subjected to extremely poor working conditions, poverty wages, and little to no benefits or union representation. The competition of industries has created these oppressive practices. According to research done by Jay Mandle at Cambridge, in countries such as Bangladesh, sweatshop workers are paid only 13 cents per hour in US money. These workers are subjected to extremely overpopulated sweatshops, being that an astounding 3.5 million workers make up the workforce of 4,825

    Read More

  • Negative Effects Of NAFTA

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Role of Sweatshops in the Global Economy

    2486 Words  | 5 Pages

    I. Introduction A sweatshop is a workplace where individuals work with no benefits, inadequate living wages, and poor working conditions (Dictionary.com). Sweatshops can be found all around the world, especially in developing nations where local laws are easily corrupted: Central America, South America, Asia, and in certain places in Europe (Background on Sweatshops). China, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Bangladesh are the main places where most sweatshop products are made (McAllister). Often, sweatshop workers are individuals who have immigrated and are working in other countries.

    Read More

  • Essay Benefits Of Sweatshops

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    Contrary to what many people believe, sweatshops actually improve the lives of workers and the surround community. Kristof is a personal witness to this phenomenon. In his words, “My views on sweatshops are shaped by years living in East Asia, watching as living standards soared… because of sweatshop jobs” (Kristof). Its one thing to notice a change in living standards, but how do sweatshops cause this change? In an interview with the Mises Institute on March 20th, 2017, Benjamin Powell reasoned, “Sweatshops bring with them the proximate cause of economic development- capital, technology, and the opportunity to build human capital” (Powell, “Sweatshops: A Way Out of Poverty”). He goes on to talk about how historically living conditions have risen rapidly in countries due to industrialization. Because of lower living conditions already, a sweatshop is no where near as harsh to its workers as it would appear to an outsider. Even

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech On Sweatshops

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Essay On Cultural Relativism

    2426 Words  | 5 Pages

    These concerns typically include the rights of the children, the responsibility of the parents and employers, and the well-being and safety of the children. In Stefan Spath’s “The Virtues of Sweatshops,” it is made very clear that he, like many others, feel that the general public is highly misinformed on what sweatshops are and what they actually contribute to their respective communities. In the eyes of someone from a developed country, sweatshops and child labor that takes place in them seem primitive and are interpreted as simply a means by which companies can spend less money on employers. He states that when labor unions claim that companies which establish operations in developing nations create unemployment in America, they aren’t really explaining the whole story. The author claims that those who are adamantly protest sweatshops are only telling half the story with a claim like this. He points out in this part that the American people can rest assured that high skilled jobs will not be taken over to developing countries because “– high-skilled jobs require a level of worker education and skills that poorer countries cannot

    Read More

More about Sweatshops Violations

Open Document