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By Alina Braica
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Photo by Brian J. Morowczynski
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What would you do if you found out that your favorite restaurant treated its workers
so poorly that it is considered a sweatshop? Or if the workers in Chicago who
make the tortillas you love so much are forced to labor long hours in dangerous
conditions without so much as a bathroom break? Or if the fruit market that you
frequent in the suburbs forces its workers to work overtime without pay?
Sweatshops are alive and well in Chicago. The Center for Impact Research, a nonprofit
research organization that works toward the elimination of poverty, conducted
a survey of working conditions in low-income and immigrant communities, which
was published in February 2000. Of the 800 people the researchers interviewed,
more than a third (36 percent) reported conditions that qualify their workplaces
as sweatshops.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a sweatshop is a place of employment
that violates two or more federal labor laws. Violations include but are not limited
to: paying less than the hourly minimum wage of $5.15, not allowing employees
to take scheduled breaks, not having clean bathrooms, subjecting employees to
sexual harassment, having locked exits, having poor ventilation, forcing employees
to work overtime without pay, and forcing employees to work in dangerous conditions
without protective clothing or proper training.
Restaurant workers and janitors reported the highest incidence of sweatshop working
conditions, but even day-care workers and office assistants reported workplace
violations. So did drivers, sales clerks, machine operators, garment workers and
maids.
The survey represents people from Chinatown, Uptown, Horner Park, Pilsen, Portage
Park, Edgewater and Cicero. They include:
• A 15-year-old female cook who worked from 8 a.m. to midnight with only
one 10-minute break.
• A female food packer who was only permitted to use the bathroom when a
woman superior watched over her.
• A 24-year-old Vietnamese man who worked in a print shop from 7 p.m. until
7 a.m. “I had to be at the machine all the time,” he told the researchers.
“No breaks. No time for dinner or lunch. I worked all the time. No sleep.
If I needed to drink or eat, I can bring the food to the machine while working.”
• A factory worker who lost part of his finger at work and was not permitted
to take a sick day.
• A 42-year-old restaurant worker who worked from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
six days a week for $2.86 an hour. He made $900 a month.
• A female food packer who worked in temperatures as high as 90 degrees
in a room with no windows and no ventilation.
• A Hispanic grocery furnace worker: “They don’t have a respect
for us,” he reported. “They used names for us, nicknames like ‘Brazers’
or ‘Wetbacks.’”
• A 23-year-old female factory employee who shared one bathroom with 30
people.
• One in 10 of the respondents were employed in sites that violated four
or more federal labor laws.
Hidden exploitation
Most sweatshop employees are immigrants, new to this country and its language.
Many are undocumented and fear being deported if they call attention to themselves.
Work is hard to find, and they have families to support. Many don’t know
rights or their options, and employers prey on their fear.
“Immigrants are scared,” says Dr. Rebekah Levin, executive director
of the Center for Impact Research (CIR). “Some laws are not there for them.”
Because Chicago is so large and there are so few people enforcing labor laws,
many sweatshops go unnoticed for years, she says.
Jose Oliva, director at the Chicago Interfaith Committee Workers’ Rights
Center (CIC), which fights to improve wages, benefits and working conditions for
low-income workers, says that government agencies don’t make it easy for
workers to report violations.
“People like you and me are already intimidated by federal buildings,”
he says. “Imagine going downtown to file a complaint with the Department
of Labor and not even speaking English. There is no language accessibility, and
the documents are long and hard to read. And if the workers are not documented,
there is no way they’re going down there. Most immigrants come here with
a distrust of government, anyway.”
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Photo by Brian J. Morowczynski
Dr. Rebekah Levin, executive director, Center for Impact Research |
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The sweatshop survey gives this account of a Chinese cook: “I don’t
speak English and I cannot find anyplace to ask for help. I don’t have anyone
to talk to. Right now, I feel helpless.”
That feeling of helplessness can cause workers to lose their sense of self-worth.
“It dehumanizes them,” Oliva says. “It makes them feel like
they have no value and it destroys their self-esteem.” He tells of a group
of workers who referred to themselves as “las manos,” Spanish for
“hands.” When he questioned them, they told him that’s what
their boss called them. They were made to feel as little more than a group of
hands.
Fighting for justice
To expose the exploitation of sweatshop workers, the CIR explores how widespread
and how severe the situation is, documenting specific cases and compiling statistics
to verify the extent of the problem. The group reports its findings to the Department
of Labor, which ideally either cleans up the workplace or closes it down.
But nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Undocumented workers generally won’t
contact the Department of Labor because they are afraid of being deported. Even
though the Department of Labor does not share its data with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS), illegal immigrants don’t know or believe this.
Levin says the INS only gets involved if the employer calls them, but employers
may use this threat as an intimidation tactic.
The Chicago Interfaith Committee takes more direct action against injustice toward
workers. These include contacting offending businesses directly, unionizing workers
and taking legal recourse when necessary. For example, if a worker approaches
the CIC about violations at a small business, a representative will probably begin
by approaching the business and trying to convince the owner to remedy the workplace
violations. If the owner does not comply, the CIC would the take legal action.
The CIC also has succeeded in getting the Department of Labor to provide bilingual
translators and shorter documents so that immigrants are better able to file complaints.
The CIC succeeded in unionizing the workers in the restaurant mentioned earlier
— a fancy restaurant in downtown Chicago where workers complained of ongoing
sexual harassment, physical abuse and racist remarks. The families and business
executives who dined there didn’t realize the workers were reporting being
punched in the face and kicked in the back. A broken pipe flooded the dishwashing
area, so the dishwashers stood for hours in water up to their knees. They were
constantly sick and at risk of electrical shock.
The situation at this restaurant has been fixed, but many other sweatshops still
exist. The CIC is still working on the fruit market, where workers aren’t
always paid and the women report being locked in a freezer and touched by their
superiors. Task forces have been formed to tackle the problems of the tortilla
factory and other workplaces.
What you can do
Eliminating sweatshops is not impossible. Levin urges people to become actively
aware of what is going on in their communities by reading the newspaper and listening
when people complain about their working conditions.
“We have gotten used to a lot of products being made available to us. We
expect to be able to buy cheap clothes. We expect to be able to buy cheap food,”
she says. “At whose expense is this? Ask why things are so cheap.”
In some cases, she says, employers are able to offer their product for such a
low cost because they are paying their workers less than the minimum wage.
If you are suspicious of a particular institution, start by contacting the Center
for Impact Research or the Chicago Interfaith Committee to check whether they
have been investigating it. If so, write letters to the institution, saying that
you will not eat or shop there until workers are treated fairly. Also contact
reporters at local papers and other media informing them of what you have learned.
Oliva recommends that students become more educated consumers by researching the
companies they support. There are several Web sites and books that can steer concerned
consumers toward sweat-free products (see sidebar).
“You can be the one person who makes a company realize why their products
aren’t being sold. Get inspired to create things to inform others about
sweatshops,” he says.
Oliva also recommends volunteering at a local worker justice organization and
engaging in boycotts and protests, since workers don’t have much of a voice
on Capitol Hill. Boycotting products produced in a small business can harm workers
because the business may close and put them out of work, but huge corporations
may be more sensitive to their public image and have the resources to address
the problem and present a solution.
College students also can encourage their schools to join USAS, United Students
Against Sweatshops. USAS is an international organization of students and community
members at more than 200 campuses that fight for sweat-free labor conditions.
They have sent delegations of students around the world to support workers who
are fighting for their rights, and have waged national campaigns to demand that
school apparel is sweat-free. (Everything sold at the Columbia College bookstore
is sweat-free.)
“Never underestimate the value of your work. If you’re focused on
the right issue, there is a place for speaking out. Take a stand — everything
has a ripple effect,” says Levin.
And never forget who you’re fighting for.
“Remember that everything you touch is made by a worker,” says Oliva,
“support them — don’t make them invisible.” 
The Center for Impact Research
(773) 342-0630
www.impactresearch.org
Conducts research in the effort to eliminate poverty.
Chicago Interfaith Committee on Workers Issues
(773) 728-8400
www.chicagointerfaith.org
Provides direct assistance to exploited low-income workers.
United Students Against Sweatshops
(202) NO SWEAT (667-9328)
www.usasnet.org
Coalition of students and schools.
Co-op America
(800) 58-GREEN (584-7336)
www.coopamerica.org
A coalition of socially responsible consumers, investors and businesses.
UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees)
(212) 265-7000
www.uniteunion.org
Works for laborers’ rights.
Illinois Department of Labor
(312) 793-2800
www.dol.gov
Enforces federal labor laws.
Jobs with Justice
(312) 226-6340
A network of local coalitions that connect labor, faith-based, community and
student organizations.
CACOSH-Chicago Area Committee on Occupational Safety and Health
(312) 666-1611
Provides assistance on workplace safety and health issues.
www.unionlabel.org
Lists products and services made in America by union members and provides boycott
updates.
www.anitaroddick.com
Provides information about how to get involved in protests and campaigns.
www.abolishsweatshops.org
Includes a petition to end the abuse of workers.
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