July 24, 2008
Queens Sweatshop for Major Retailers Shut Down by State
The state Department of Labor closed a garment factory yesterday, citing sweatshop conditions. Jin Shun manufactured clothing for The Gap, Macy's, Banana Republic, The Limited, Victoria's Secret and more in a factory, and officials say mostly Chinese immigrants were working "66-hour, six-day weeks" for $250/week, cheating them out of $5.3 million. Jin Shun allegedly coached workers to lie about their working conditions at the Long Island City factory and made them use two time cards so it was unclear how long they worked each week. Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith described how one worker, while working 60-70 hours/weeks, "was paid 22 cents per garment or 40 cents for more complicated pieces." While the retailers said they had zero tolerance for the conditions, Smith said, "We think with aggressive enforcement they should have known."
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worker, while working 60-70 hours/weeks, "was paid 22 cents per garment or 40 cents for more complicated pieces."
Garments which the retailer probably sold for $250.
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The yunnies don't care who made the clothes they buy/wear. as long as they look good and can garner attention, the don't care about anyone else; it's all about them.
Good for the State; however, what took them so long to notice this? Also, these sweatshops will likely open again. The state needs to make sure they stay shut down or that the Jin Shun company, should they open again, will have to abide by the employment law, and not exploit these workers.
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sweatshops are getting scarce. they can't compete against the competition overseas short of not paying their employees. Lofts that used to be sweatshops are converted to luxury lofts.
the workers and manufacturers are not the one's getting rich. it's further up the chain, they are the one's who really run the show.
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Anyone who thinks major clothing retailers don't willingly turn a blind eye to sweatshop labor is fooling themselves.
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And those same people complain about all the knockoffs sold on Canal street. At least those profits are going back to the people in the community.
Is that sticker shown "DO NOT REMOVE THIS LABEL" carry the same penalties as those you see on mattresses and some pillows?
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Cost about 5-10 cents to make a shirt and the store sells for $80+ dollars.
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Thanks Gothamist for covering this important story about workers rights. Without unionized workplaces it is far too easy for clothing factories to fall back into the old sweatshop model. Especially given the profit margins that these companies make, the least they can do is follow the law and pay the minimum wage. Check out UNITE HERE’s behindthelabel.org site for more information on sweatshops and check out Sweat Free Communities to learn what you can do to help.