Archive for October 2011
Say “NO” To Sweatshops And “YES” To Jobs With Dignity
October 31, 2011 | 
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Do you think that child labor is wrong? Do you think that children should be in school as compared to a factory making clothes that people wear? If you answered yes, to both of these questions, you are not alone. There are many educational institutions nationwide within our country that has a “Sweat free Policy” with their curriculum materials and modest clothing. These institutions adapted a “Code of Conduct for the Manufacturer of Apparel”. The apparel industry has been exposed to vigorous worker abuse. A man by the name of Andrew Ross reported previously in 1997 the following, “The textile and apparel industries are a showcase of horrors for the labor abuses sanctioned by the global free trade economy, where child labor, wage slavery, and employer cruelty are legion.” ~ NO SWEAT: Fashion, free trade, and the rights of garment workers, Andrew Ross, editor, 1997.
The following is some examples of garments made in sweatshops: Sports uniforms (This includes gym uniforms); school uniforms; shoes, athletic shoes or sneakers; sweatshirts, caps, and other imprinted clothing with school’s logos; academic regalia; lab coats and staff uniforms.
What is a sweatshop? A sweatshop is a workplace that suffers from systematic violations of one or more key workers’ rights have been violated according to international law and site-of-production laws and regulations.
The rights include:
Workers receiving a decent wage and benefits; Children not being subjected to working conditions that could hurt them physically, psychologically, or mental development; Freedom from unreasonable work hours and forced labor, freedom from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and protection of workplace health and safety hazards.
A code of conduct is utilized to hold companies accountable. Most companies of today have adapted their own “Code of Conduct”; unfortunately, organization codes are often inadequate to protect workers.
The following is a list of CEO’s and their compensation for year 1998. These CEO’s are employed by companies who utilize sweat shops.
Millard Drexler, GAP $660 million
Michael Eisner, Disney $177 million
Floyd Hall, Kmart $ 23 million
Phil Knight, Nike $ 3 million
Paul Charron, Liz Clairborne $7 million
David Glass $ 40 million
The following are samples of starvation wages around the world.
Guatemala 37 cents an hour
El Salvador 60 cents an hour
Nicaragua 23 cents an hour
Honduras 43 cents an hour
Haiti 30 cents an hour
Mexico 50 cents an hour
China 28 cents an hour
Indonesia 20 cents an hour
Burma 4 cents an hour
Bangladesh 13-20 cents an hour
These wages are called “starvation wages”. I use to believe that our economy cannot be compared to other countries; I was stating this believing that what US Companies were paying workers within these countries were fair wages within their economies. After viewing the evidence of what the company CEO’s are making and knowing that countries such as El Salvador and others, these families are not making enough to raise their families, I have indeed sustained a change of heart.
I do believe our own economy needs a serious face lift, but why can we not be charitable about it? I believe that consumers have more power than they even know. I think that consumers should keep corporations accountable to respect the rights of workers, but not only as workers, but as human beings and they need to be paid a “living” wage, not a “starvation” wage.
I do not believe we should boycott these corporations, for why should we? We appreciate their products, the reality here is that we love purchasing these items, besides; boycotting these corporations would only hurt jobs in developing countries. I support jobs for developing countries, but I believe that consumers should want the people of those countries to have jobs with dignity and fair wages. I think the CEO’s huge corporations could provide funds to ensure the people whom are actually aiding in their assets can work with dignity and support their families, and if the CEO’s refuse? The consumers should demand fair wages. What if these children were our own children? Our own families? This places a different perspective on things for every child performing these tasks is someone’s son/daughter or someone’s mother/father. This places a practical perspective on this epidemic.
For those of you whom are truly passionate about this issue, I have included some links that will educate you on this issue as well as direct you to organizations that are striving to end “starvation wages”.
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Can America Afford Free Health Care?
Many folks in the United States want the government to provide health care universally to all citizens and they expect the World Organizations to do this for the third world nations as well. Unfortunately, this is a huge cost and probably currently out of the realm of reality.
Can America Afford Free Health Care? We just cannot afford the costs of Universal Health Care at the present rate or current costs. So the costs have to come down first, we must deal with the other issues too such a Social Security.
The 2042 drop dead date of the on-paper bankruptcy of Social Security also looms and in essence it is bankrupt now and needs increased pay-ins to keep it going, as the first baby boomers have already started to retire.
Yanklevich and other thinking demographers along with the warnings of the last two Fed Chairmen and the current one, warn of this. Population Expansion as a factor of GDP equations are highly predictable at least based on theory. There might be a solution to this and if there is we had better find it.
Looking at Japan, negative growth, an aging Europe and the influx of immigrants that demand services, do not speak the language, we may have a problem with a social revolution of haves and have nots; France Riots, a foreshadowing of things to come?
Well? The EU has problems too. The US comes next as our average population grows, retires and is not providing productivity or paying in but rather soaking up services for longer, due to their longer life expectancies.
This is an issue that must be addressed and we need a national discussion now. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.
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How to Check the Reliability of Online Shops
Online shops, including those hosted on Blogger and LiveJournals, are springing up like flowers after the spring rain, thanks to the widespread availability of the internet. Off-line shops have also found it de rigeur to have an online presence. While the internet opens up to shoppers a wonderful array of choice and styles at our fingertips, there are also cases whereby shoppers are cheated by scam websites.
Here are 10 tips to help you establish the reliability of online shops that you are not familiar with:
#1. Do not be anxious to purchase from the online store if you are not sure if it is safe. Observe its online activities for a while. Does the store update new items regularly? For fast paced consumer goods like ladies fashion, the updates are usually made weekly, if not every few days. If the shop has no updates for months on end, then, probably nobody is manning it.
#2. Sign Up to be on the store’s mailing list. A legitimate store will want to garner potential customers to be on their mailing list. After signing up for the shop’s mailing list, you should receive updates from the store. If all seems quiet, then I may have some question marks on the store.
#3. A good way to check if the store is ‘legitimate’ is to send an email to the customer service to test their response. Did you receive any reply from the store? Was the reply prompt or did it take, say 2 weeks to get to you? A prompt response of between 1 to 3 days (maximum) is usually the expected response time.
#4. Another good way to reduce the risks of online clothes shopping is to purchase from shops with positive feedback. Testimonials are a way of finding out if the customers are generally happy with their purchase. Usually the stores will publish the testimonials online.
#5. Google the name of the shop and see if the store is discussed by forums and websites / blogs. Such discussions may be helpful in finding out if there are any complaints and problems the store may have.
#6. Check for reviews and ratings of the shop. Some online shops are reviewed by online shopping directories, which is likely to show up when you Google for the shop (see Tip#5). Follow the links of these online directories that the store is listed on to see if there are any reviews made.
#7. Look at the merchandise of the store. Are there sufficient details provided to help you make an informed selection? Serious stores should provide the necessary information to help their customers select their merchandise. For example, does a fashion store provide specific measurements of the clothes made? Are there efforts taken to ensure that the shopper knows what he/she is getting?
#8. Read the payment details.What kind of payment methods are available? Does the shop accept PayPal or even better, are they PayPal Verified? PayPal Verified means that PayPal has conducted a verification process on the reliability of the PayPal account that you are paying to. If you are not sure about the store, avoid paying via direct wire transfer. Paying via a secured means like PayPal allows you the opportunity to dispute the charges if indeed there were problems with your purchase.
#9. Does the shop venture beyond its online shopfront to the social networking sites like Facebook? Social networking sites are another means of garnering customers, so legitimate shops would want to be part of it. With the many ‘Friends’ of the shops out there, it is hard for an online store to be of dubious standard.
#10. Last, but not the least, check if the shop is registered with any local authorities. For example, in Singapore, stores are required to be registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and as a consumer, you can request for the details of the shop from the ACRA.
Armed with these tips, it shouldn’t be difficult to choose the reliable stores from which to purchase. Just be alert to the above, and you’ll enjoy a safe online shopping experience!