Globalization has helped to create millions of jobs in export processing zones, which produce goods for mostly European and North American markets. But the huge wealth created by the garment sector has made little improvement to the lives of ordinary workers, mostly women, and their families. The Central American Network has drawn attention to the issues facing women working in export processing zones throughout Central America. Often workers are discriminated against because of their gender. Women receive lower wages than men; there is no maternity leave; pregnant employees may be sacked without warning; there are no childcare facilities; no time for attendance of ante-natal clinics; and no time off to care for sick dependants. Such conditions make it difficult for women to work and care for family members. The double productive and reproductive role they have forces many women to work between 16 and 20 hours a day. Abusive behavior by management, such as sexual harassment, physical violence and verbal threats, is common. Not only are wages low but there is often very little job security. Most workers have not been given written contracts and may be sacked for the smallest of offences. In many areas workers who try to organize unions are blacklisted. This means they will not be hired in other factories in the area. In addition, there is a widespread lack of respect for health and safety regulations. As well as high levels of noise, factories are overcrowded and there are restricted rest periods, inadequate toilet facilities and no provision of eating areas. The Central American Network is made up of organizations in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador. It aims to improve conditions for workers in export processing zones in the region. Sure, the clothes is high-quality and brand name... companies like GAP, Nike, Disney, Guess?, Tommy Hilfiger, Old Navy, Levis and many more have made a fortune by selling high-quality, brand name clothes made using sweatshop labor. By paying poor women (and children!) in third-world countries pennies-a-day and forcing them to work 16 to 20 hours per day just to make ends meet, these companies take advantage of the poor people in countries where the economy is to weak to resist the bribery and extortion of a big corporation. The Disney Company, despite its family friendly image, is actually a destroyer of families in third-world countries where they make their products. Disney products, if you've ever went to the Disney Store in your local mall, are actually relatively expensive. The cost of manufacturing and shipping a Winnie the Pooh stuffed toy is less than $1/each, but they sell the product for $35/each. The women, and sometimes children, who work in the sweatshop factories in countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are paid less than a couple dollars per day, work 7 days per week, work even when sick, have no holidays, obscene 16 to 20 hours/day work schedules and are practically SLAVES. That’s what sweatshop labor is: Slavery. No ifs, ends or buts about it. Slavery. It takes advantage of poor people and forces them into a situation where they are forced to work just to survive. Work for the Disney Corporation or your family will die of starvation on the streets. And the fashion industry isn't the only companies doing this: Your computer, parts in your car, even your Fine China dishes are regularly made in sweatshops. Most of the parts are made in legitimate "normal" factories, but in order to cut costs companies regularly outsource to "dumb corporations" which build and manufacture clothes, computers, car parts and electronics in illegal factories using sweatshops. Over the years, boycotts have been very successful, but you can return your products and demand a refund. These companies and the CEOs who run them KNOWINGLY use sweatshop labor because it increases profit margins and ends up boosting their stock value. That’s all they care about. The value of their stocks. So which do you care more about? The value of some fat cat's stocks? Or the women who deserve to be paid more and have decent working hours? It would cost less than 1% of their profits just to DOUBLE the pay they are giving the "slaves" who work in these sweatshops. But they don't do it because that 1% is hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes millions, of profit for the company that the CEOs and stockholders are unwilling to part with. And it’s not just the brand name companies that we have to blame: Its also the department stores like Walmart, Zellers, Target and huge shopping malls where you can find cheap goods bought and sold in bulk, goods that are 50% likely to have been made in a sweatshop. Latin star Tego Calderon recently vetoed P. Diddy’s offer to model for his Sean John Spring Collection, in light of the company’s alleged use of sweatshop labor in Central America. Under the conditions of the deal, Calderon was scheduled to appear in several ads across the country including a large billboard posted in Times Square. But according to Tego, he felt disrespected by the company’s reputation and the offer in its entirety. “I heard about the human rights violations in his clothing factories in Central America, but frankly there was more," Calderon confessed to the New York Post. "Me faltó el respeto, [he dissed me] with his offer. I just did a $75,000 commercial in Puerto Rico with Nydia Caro. Someone like Puffy could have offered more mula— but again, it wasn't about the money. I was not persuadable. It was about the principle." After his passing on the offer, Caldreon was shocked to see that fellow Reggaeton artists - most notably Daddy Yankee - weren’t as reluctant to oppose to the deal. “It's the principle. I don't think he knows what I am about. What hurts me the most is that my colleagues accepted the offer thinking that it was a great opportunity. This was about respecting us, and what we do," Calderon exclaimed. "Forgive me, but I don't need Time Square, I don't need a billboard. I am not trying to conquer white Middle America. I already won the hearts and respect of those I wanted to win — mi gente Latina, my people, the street, my black brothers and sisters.” In response to the allegations, P.Diddy revealed in a statement that his company has never violated any human and/or worker’s rights since its launch in 1999.Stop Modern Slavery! Latinos Stand Up!
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