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Sweatshops: Apparel/Department of Labor [4]
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FOIA Number: 2018-1072-F
FOIA
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This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Public Liaison
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Maria Echaveste
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12010
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Sweatshops: Apparel/Department of Labor [4]
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310 P01
DEC 12 '97 19:56
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
apparel UNITED OF MROX
Wage and Hour Division
Washington, D.C. 20210
UNITED STATES OF
FAX COVER SHEET
OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR
WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION
FAX NUMBER (202) 219-4753
COMMERCIAL (202) 219-8305
TO: Maria Echaveste
DATE: 12-12-97
456-2983
PAGES: 8
FAX NUMBER:
(include cover sheet)
LOCATION:
FROM
If NAME: you do Suzanne not receive all of the Seiglen pages/please call:
219-8305
NUMBER:
COMMENTS/INSTRUCTIONS:
Enclosed are the NYC press release and fact pheer
310 P02
DEC 12 '97 19:56
News Release
U.S. Department of Labor
Office of Public Affairs
Washington, D.C.
Office of Public Affairs
USDL: 97-449
Contact: David Saltz
FOR RELEASE: Immediate
1-800-759-8352
Friday, December 12, 1997
(pin #1252278)
Myra Dandridge
202-219-8211
RECORD BACK-PAY VIOLATIONS IN NEW YORK SWEATSHOPS LINKED TO
FOUR NATIONAL RETAILERS; RETAILERS AGREE TO TAKE ADDITIONAL
STEPS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH PRIVATE LABELS
Record back-pay violations uncovered by the U.S.
Department of Labor in New York City sweatshops have been
traced to four major national retailers, Wal-Mart, Kmart,
Nordstrom and The Limited, Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman
announced today. All four retailers have agreed to take
additional measures -- including more rigorous unannounced
monitoring -- to step-up efforts in their private label
fashion lines to ensure that apparel produced for them is not
made in sweatshop conditions in the United States.
"I am pleased that these retailers have pledged to
examine their policies and develop additional steps, beyond
the monitoring they now use, to ensure that the goods they
sell under their name are not made under exploitative labor
conditions," said Herman. "Our recent survey demonstrated the
seriousness of the compliance problem in New York. It will
take the cooperation and diligence of all the players in the
garment industry to improve compliance. We must value the
people who make the fashion we buy. I am pleased that these
four retail giants are committed to working with the
department. I will continue to keep the dialogue open on this
issue and will look for deterrent strategies toward this
goal."
-more-
310 P03
DEC 12 '97 19:56
-2-
Today's announcement follows the discovery by the U.S.
Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division of back-pay
violations totaling $214,000 in two sweatshops in New York
City's Chinatown section. The investigations are part of the
department's crackdown on garment shops that fail to pay
federal minimum wage and overtime, and comply with the child
labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The department found goods being produced for Kathie Lee
Gifford's apparel line sold exclusively at Wal-Mart; Jaclyn
Smith's and Basic Edition lines sold exclusively at Kmart; and
Nordstrom's private label Classique Entier. In addition, Wear
It Again, sold at Lerner -- subsidiary of The Limited -- was
also produced at the shop.
Although the shops had been subject to unannounced
monitoring, advance notice of a monitoring visit and an
inability to interview the workers in their languages may have
contributed to the violations going undetected. These
retailers have sent messages to their firms which oversee the
work done for them stressing the importance of unannounced
monitoring and about having translators on-hand to speak the
language of their workers.
The department found that a sewing shop operating as MSL
Sportswear, Inc., and Laura & Sarah Sportswear, Inc. at 446-
448 Broadway and owned by Lai Fong Yuen a/k/a Lena Mone, had
failed to regularly pay workers since August. Even when the
workers were paid, they did not receive overtime at time and
one-half their regular rates of pay as required. The
investigation determined that the shop maintained two sets of
payrolls designed to avoid paying the required wages to
workers and to conceal the violations. The back wages total
nearly $214,000 for 73 workers. To date, approximately
$50,000 has been restored to the workers, and $45,000 will be
paid in the near future. The department is working to obtain
the remainder of the wages for the workers. In addition,
civil money penalties of $36,500 have been assessed for
willful FLSA violations.
"It is unacceptable that these workers -- among the most
vulnerable -- were forced to work without pay," said Herman.
"The department is committed to guaranteeing every worker a
fair workplace."
-more-
310 P04
DEC 12 '97 19:56
-3-
Land 'n Sea, Inc., Next Day Apparel, Inc., and Profiles
Fashions have all agreed to sign the Labor Department's
monitoring compliance agreement. By signing the agreement,
manufacturers agree to:
Require all contractors, among other things, to comply
with the minimum wage, overtime and child labor
requirements of the FLSA, including the "hot goods"
provision; and to obtain approval prior to subcontracting
any work
Monitor contractors for compliance with the FLSA
Perform pre-contract review of pricing terms with each
contractor
Guarantee the payment of back wages to employees of their
contractors for violations of the FLSA
Submit semi-annual reports summarizing monitoring results
Maintain and make available records pertaining to
monitoring activities
Since the Labor Department uncovered these violations in
late October, the Wage and Hour Division has been working with
the manufacturers using the shops to remedy the violations.
Land 'n Sea, Inc., which was using the shops to produce the
Kathie Lee product line for Wal-Mart, has paid $26,611 in back
wages.
Next Day Apparel, Inc., which was using the shops to
produce under the Jaclyn Smith and Basic Edition labels for
Kmart, paid $21,207 in back wages.
Profiles Fashions has paid $6,756 and agreed to pay an
additional $29,000 of the back wages. That manufacturer was
repairing items of Nordstrom's private label Classique Entier.
Kmart has been working in cooperation with the Labor
Department on this issue and has a third-party monitoring
program in place for its private label and branded goods. The
department will participate in its training program for buyers
and merchandise managers which will take place early next
year.
-more-
310 P05
DEC 12 '97 19:57
-4-
Nordstrom has and will take additional steps for all
phases of its private-label production and recently hired a
new domestic compliance auditor to enhance its private label
compliance efforts.
"We want to do the right thing and we expect our vendors
to respect and obey the law," said Co-President Erik
Nordstrom. "We take this violation by our vendor very
seriously and have enhanced our private-label compliance
efforts so that we do our part to stop labor abuses."
Herman said that she will meet with Floyd Hall, Chair,
President & CEO of Kmart and Nordstrom early next year to
explore additional steps that retailers can take to ensure
that private-label garments are not made in sweatshops in the
United States.
The Limited has asked the Labor Department to conduct
briefings and training for the company's management, employees
and vendors on compliance issues. The company has also
committed to continue to work with the department to enhance
its compliance programs.
Wal-Mart has made changes to its vendor certification
program based on an on-going dialogue with the department and
has requested that the Wage and Hour Division provide the
company with training materials to be included in a mailing to
each vendor, and for use in Wal-Mart's training program.
The department initiated court action against a fourth
New York City manufacturer, Fashion Headquarters, Inc., which
did not cooperate to produce retailer and other information or
agree to refrain from shipping "hot goods." Under the FLSA's
"hot goods" provision, the department may prevent the shipment
of goods in interstate commerce produced in violation of the
FLSA.
On November 26, the U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of New York issued a temporary restraining order
against Fashion Headquarters and Paul Cascio to prevent the
shipment of "hot goods" and to enforce an administrative
subpoena seeking records regarding the manufacturer's
retailers and contractors. The department was forced to take
court action after Fashion Headquarters refused to submit this
information in response to a November 10 subpoena. Fashion
Headquarters was producing goods for Lerner, a subsidiary of
The Limited. Upon notification by the department, The Limited
immediately requested that the manufacturer correct all
violations and implement an effective compliance program.
-more-
310 P06
DEC 12 '97 19:57
-5-
On December 4, the department's suit against Fashion
Headquarters was amended to include the manufacturer's
activities at another garment shop, MF Fashion, in Brooklyn,
NY. Work was subcontracted to this shop by the Chinatown
sweatshop. The department's investigation of MF Fashion is
ongoing.
In October, the department announced the results of the
first-ever survey of the level of compliance with the FLSA
garment shops in New York City. The survey found that only 37
percent of the shops were in compliance with the minimum wage
and overtime provisions of the FLSA. In Chinatown, the survey
found that nearly nine out of ten shops were found in
violation. As a result of the survey, Wage and Hour has
implemented a new strategy to address the serious problems in
New York City.
Herman is working with retailers in this effort as part
of her addition to the No Sweat Initiative -- the partnership
prong. The department's No Sweat Initiative promotes
consistent, strong enforcement with education, in all garment
efforts.
310 P07
DEC 12 '97 19:57
Contractors
MSL Sportswear, Inc.
Laura & Sarah Sportswear, Inc.
New York, New York
On 10/30/97, Wage and Hour initiated an investigation of MSL Sportswear, Inc. (MSL),
and Laura & Sarah Sportswear, Inc. two commonly owned garment contract shops
located at 446-448 Broadway, New York City. These shops are owned by Lena Mone
a/k/a Lai Fong Yuen.
Wage and Hour's investigation found these shops had violations of both the minimum
wage and overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act throughout the entire
August 1, 1997 through November 1, 1997 investigation period.
Back wages in the amount of $213,700 have been computed for 73 workers. The
investigation determined that the workers were paid on a piece-rate basis. No regular
payroll payments have been made since August; although some employees received
payments sporadically. Even when the employees were paid, they were not paid properly
for overtime hours.
To date the workers have been paid approximately $50,000 of the back wages; Wage and
Hour will be disbursing approximately $45,000 through the back wage disbursement
process. Wage and Hour is working to recover the balance due.
The firm also falsified the payroll records to show straight time payments and overtime
premiums were made when in fact no such payments occurred. Because of the falsification
of the payrolls, civil money penalties amounting to approximately $36,500 were assessed
on December 11, 1997.
Wage and Hour determined that several manufacturers used the shop during the
investigation period. The back wages are proportioned according to the amount of the
goods produced in the shop for the individual manufacturer.
310 P08
DEC 12 '97 19:57
2
Manufacturers
Land 'n Sea
Back Wages Paid:
$26,611
Labels:
Kathie Lee
Retailers:
Wal-Mart
DOL Agreement:
Signed
Profiles Fashion, Inc.
Back Wages Paid:
$6,756 (agreed to pay balance of $29,000 by 2/28/98)
Labels:
Classique Entier
Retailers:
Nordstrom
DOL Agreement:
Signed
Next Day Apparel, Inc.
Back Wages Paid:
$21,207
Labels:
Jaclyn Smith; Basic Edition
Retailers:
Kmart
DOL Agreement:
Signed
Valerie Sportswear, Ltd.
Back Wages Paid:
$22,500
Labels:
None Identified
Retailers:
No national retailers identified
DOL Agreement:
Signed
Fashion Headquarters, Inc.
Back Wages Paid:
$15,666
Labels:
Wear It Again
Retailers:
The Limited (Lerner)
DOL Agreement:
Refused to Sign
On November 26, DOL was granted temporary restraining order to prevent the
shipment of "hot goods" and to compel the production of documents identifying Fashion
Headquarters' retailers and other information after the manufacturer failed to voluntarily
comply with an administrative subpoena issued on November 10. Negotiations are ongoing
and a hearing is scheduled for December 17.
There is a spin-off investigation of a garment shop in Brooklyn, NY, which is ongoing
and likely to have many of the same manufacturers.
12-02-1997 37PM
FROM ANA*HOTEL 415 543 8268
P.2
NOV. 28. 1997.: :33PM 212-:AKRON BEACON JOURNAL
NLC
approved
02
NATIONAL LABOR COMMITTEE
IN SUPPORT OF WORKER AND
HUMAN RIGHTS
275 Seventh Avenue, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Tel: 212-242-3002
Fax: 212-242-3821
www.nlcnet.org
Board of DIFECTORS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ellen Braune
Chairman
November 26, 1997
Phone: (212) 242-3002/hm. (212) 689-6842
Father Jawe Jayce
New York Province of Jesuice
GUESS WHO IS ON THE WORST COMPANIES LIST?
Elaims Before, Ph.D.
Harvard University
PRESS CONFERENCE PLANNED TO RELEASE A LIST OF
Trade Union Program
"THE NEEDIEST AND GREEDIEST"
Reverend David Dyson
People of Faich Nerwork
On the busiest day of the shopping year-on "Black Friday," the day after
June Connelez
Daily News
Thanksgiving--the National Labor Committee will release a list of "The Neediest and
the Greediest--Companies That Continue to Abuse Human Rights." Naming names--
L. Hoghins
United Methodist Church
companies like Wal-Mart, Guess and others will be challenged.
General Board of Global Ministries
Women's Division
When:
Friday, November 28
Janiar Jackson
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
11:30 a.m.--12:30 p.m.
Glorib I. Johnson
Condition of Labor Union Women
Where:
In front of the Guess store in Soho, New York City
Juy Mazur
Broadway between Spring and Prince Streets
Union of Needlentades.
Industrial & Texule Employees
What:
Press Conference/Leafleting/Speakers include: Father James Joyce.
Josephine Moreno. Ph.D.
University of Rhode Island
Director of Social Ministries, New York Province of Jesuits; Charles
Department of Texase Fashion,
Merchandising & Design
Kernaghan, Executive Director, National Labor Committee: Helen
Petrozzola, student activist at SUNY Albany engaged in "No Sweat"
Karm
Working womes's
campus campaign.
AFLCIO
Michael Rather, E.g.
AS part of the Holiday Season of Conscience to End Child Labor and Sweatshops-a
Cerrer for Constitutions Rights
three-month international campaign endorsed by over 150 national organizations--we
Jack Sheinkmen
Amalgamsted Bank
are appealing to consumers to shop with their conscience by rewarding companies
moving in the right direction while challenging those that continue to violate human
rights. This is not a boycott, rather it is the beginning of a public dialogue challenging
Executive Director
Charles Kernaghan
corporations with the idea that human rights are every bit as important as the bottom
line.
As part of this Holiday Season of Conscience press conference. we will:
Release a list of the "Neediest and Greediest Companies That Continue to
Violate Human Rights." Current examples will be issued.
12-02-1997 3:38PM
FROM ANA *HOTEL 415 543 8268
P.3
INOV. LU. 15911 1.00 SOURBAL
NLC
"SGE
03
Release of petitions calling for an end to child labor and sweatshops addressed to the
President, Congress, and to the White House Task Force to Eliminate Sweatshop Abuses.
So far, over 100,000 people have signed the petition, which calls for independent
monitoring of factories to guarantee that human rights are protected, and that
corporations pay a living wage. This is just the first round--we expect hundreds of
thousands of additional people to sign on before the holiday season is over.
Announce that Roberta Karp, Vice President of Liz Claiborne and Co-Chair of the White
House Task Force, is now receiving between 90,000-120,000 phone calls and letters from
Working Assets members calling on the Task Force to include a living wage in setting
industry standards.
Leaflet, petition, and distribute "I Care" shopper cards.
"This is not call for a boycott or meant to hurt these companies financially. Nor is it an
effort to take jobs out of the developing world-but to ensure that these are jobs with justice and
that pay a living wage," says Charles Kernaghan, Executive Director the National Labor
Committee. "This is a challenge to our corporations to do the right thing. This is the beginning of
a grassroots national dialogue between the people and our companies."
"No one in America wants to purchase a product made by a child, or by a teenager forced
to work long hours under harsh conditions, or by any exploited worker stripped of their rights and
paid starvation wages. As a society, as an economy, we can do better than that. And it is not just
the right thing to do, the moral thing, it is also in our self-interest if we are to end this race to the
bottom, where American workers are pitted against desperately poor teenagers in the developing
world over who will accept the lowest wages and benefits and the most miserable working and
living conditions," says Kernaghan.
-30-
12-02-1997 3:38PM
FROM ANA *HOTEL 415 543 8268
P.4
1.00V. 20. 19511: 1.341m 212-ARRON DEROOD SOURNAL NLC
-GE 84
EMBARGOED UNTIL:
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 11:30 a.m. EST
"THE NEEDIEST & THE GREEDIEST"
CONCRETE CASE EXAMPLES OF
COMPANIES THAT CONTINUE TO VIOLATE HUMAN RIGHTS
Wal-Mart
Guess
Walt Disney Co.
Nike
Kmart
J.C. Penney
* Esprit
May Co.
Victoria's Secret/Limited
* Also listed in Trendsetters
List
258 P01
DEC 10 '97 13:33
apporel
Fax Cover Sheet
Wage and Hour
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room S3502
Washington, DC 20210
From Suzanne Seiden
Phone: 202/219-8305
Fax: 202/219-4753
email address: [email protected]
Today's date: 12/10/97
To:
Maria Echaveste
456-2983
Fax #:
Number of pages including cover sheet:
Notes:
Re: Guess letter d
articles for your info
Sizanne
Printed 05/09/97; 4:46 PM
258 P02
DEC 10 '97 13:33
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
OF
OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR
LABOR
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20210
STATES
OF
DEC
8 1997
Glenn Weinman, General Counsel
Guess? Inc.
1444 South Alameda Street
Los Angeles, California 90021
Dear Mr. Weinman:
The Department of Labor has received a number of inquiries, including questions from reporters,
regarding ads placed by your company in publications including the Washington Post, the New
York Times, Newsday, and the Los Angeles Times. These ads stated that "with the assistance, and
after review by the state and federal departments of labor during the last 12 months, GUESS?
CONTRACTORS ARE 100% GUARANTEED SWEATSHOP FREE and in full compliance with
fair labor standards laws" (emphasis in original).
This language implies that the Department has in some manner certified Guess?'s compliance with
the Fair Labor Standards Act. As you are aware, that is not the case. The fact that the Department's
investigations have not revealed violations in those contractor shops investigated does not
demonstrate, and cannot guarantee, full compliance with the Act by Guess? contractors.
Further, it has recently come to our attention that, in other materials, Guess? has asserted that it has
"been repeatedly recognized as a 'Trendsetter' employer by the U.S. Department of Labor." As the
Department has made clear, the Trendsetter list is designed to recognize a company's past efforts.
It is not intended to serve as an endorsement of the companies that appear on the list. Moreover,
Guess? was placed on probationary status with respect to the Trendsetter list one year ago, based
initially upon the Department's investigatory findings that Guess? did not have an effective
domestic monitoring program and, subsequently, based upon questions arising with respect to
Guess?'s demonstrated commitment to labor laws.
Similarly, Guess? has recently disseminated statements made by William Buhl, Wage and Hour
Regional Administrator, after Guess? signed a long-form agreement in 1992. Those statements do
not necessarily reflect the Department's current views, in light of more recent developments. It is
inappropriate to suggest otherwise.
We would ask that, in the future, Guess? please refrain from representations that imply that the
Department has endorsed your company and that Guess? ensure that all references to statements
made by Department officials are accurate and in context.
258 P03
DEC 10 '97 13:33
Thank you for your assistance with this matter.
Sincerely,
Mawin Vislar
Marvin Krislov
Deputy Solicitor for National Operations
CC: Washington Post
New York Times
Newsday
Los Angeles Times
258 P04
DEC 10 '97 13:33
Government Berates Guess Over Ads on Labor Pr.
Page I of 2
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CHNOLOGY
Travelocity
Wednesday, December 10, 1997
Government Berates Guess Over Ads on Labor Practices
Apparcl: At issue are claims that contractors are '100% guaranteed sweatshop free.' Firm defends
its monitoring program.
By STUART SILVERSTEIN Times Staff Writer
PREV STORY
T
the Labor Department, in an unusual move, has sharply criticized West Los
Angeles-based clothing manufacturer Guess Inc. for saying in newspaper
NEXT STORY
vertisements that its sewing contractors are "100% guaranteed sweatshop
free."
In a letter released Tuesday, the department also scolded the company for claiming
in fliers distributed to shoppers that it is on the government's "Trendsetter" list of
clothing manufacturers and retailers. The Trendsetter roster, an initiative launched by
the Labor Department to combat sweatshop abuses, consists of companies deemed by
the government to be taking extra steps to ensure that their contractors are obeying
labor laws.
Guess had been a member of the list but was downgraded to probationary status a
year ago after federal inspectors determined that contractors working for Guess and
other clothing manufacturers violated wago laws and owed employees tons of
thousands of dollars.
For Guess, the biggest clothing manufacturer in Southern California, the Labor
Department's criticism is another in a series of disputes with government authorities
related to workplace practices. Just last month, Guess was accused by the National
Labor Relations Board of illegal firings and other unfair labor practices in an effort to
thwart a union-organizing drive among its workers.
Coming in the midst of the holiday shopping season, which is crucial to Guess and
its competitors in the clothing business, the Labor Department letter also could hinder
the company's effort to bounce back from its disappointing financial results recently.
Bill Barnes, a Guess spokesman, said the company is "giving serious consideration"
to the issues raised by the Labor Department. He said Guess has not decided whether it
will continue to run the ads and, if so, whether they will be revised to satisfy the
government's objections. The Guess ads began appearing last week in such papers as
the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post and Newsday.
Barnes added, however, that Guess' program for monitoring its contractors is
"exemplary." He said the Guess contractors have come under extraordinary scrutiny
because of "a political and public relations campaign of lies and misinformation" by
UNITE, the union seeking to represent Gucss workers.
Labor Department officials declined to say what they might do if Guess continues
with its "no sweat" ads and related publicity efforts. "We have made a good faith
request and assume that Guess will comply," said department spokesman David M.
Salez.
Guess' ads-and similar promotional tags on its jeans and other garments--aiso came
under criticism from union and state officials.
"Guess' use of a 'guaranteed 100% free of sweatshop labor' tag on its clothing is a
deceptive act that the public cannot rely on. Guess' contractors have broken the law,
and Guess is not in a position to give any kind of guarantee at all," said Steve Nutter,
Western regional director of UNITE.
Jose Millan, California's labor commissioner, objected to a passage in the Guess ads
that claim that after review by state and federal authorities over the last 12 months,
"Guess contractors are 100% guaranteed sweatshop free and in full compliance with
fair labor standard laws."
Millan said: "Tve never reviewed their [Guess'] program. neither has anyone in our
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/BUSINESS/1000111618.lnl
12/10/97
12/10/97
259 P01/05 DEC 10 '97 13:35
Government Bcrates Guess Over Ads on Labor Pr
Page 2 of 2
agency."
The newspaper ads carry the headline, "Guess Supports No Sweal' Campaign of
Alexis Herman, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor."
The ads also mention that Guess five years ago "initiated the very first voluntary
monitoring program of apparel contractors in the United States with the U.S.
Department of Labor." The ads, however, neglected to mention the federal
government found last year that the company's monitoring program was ineffective.
The government letter to the company, signed by Marvin Krislov, the
Washington-based deputy solicitor for national operations for the Labor Department,
asked Guess to "please refrain from representations that imply that the Department has
endorsed your company and that Guess? ensure that all references to statements made
by Department officials are accurate and in context."
Krislov wrote that the language of Guess' recent advertisements "implics that the
Department has in some manner certified Guess?'s compliance with the Fair Labor
Standards Act. As you are aware, that is not the case."
Mike Lange, communications manager for the Los Angeles Times, said if Guess
wants to continue running the ad, the newspaper "will check out the claims and talk to
the advertiser" before deciding whether to continue publishing it.
"Our general policy," Lange added, "is to question and, if necessary, reject ads that
contain obvious inaccuracies. Beyond that, we certainly respond to any challenges that
are brought to our attention regarding the accuracy of information or claims within
ads."
Last month, Guess reported that its third-quarter net income fell 20% from a year
earlier to $13.1 million on revenue that declined 7.8% to $142.4 million.
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12/10/97
259 P02/05 DEC 10 '97 13:35
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
OF
OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR
LASOR
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20210
STATES
OF
DEC 8 1997
Glenn Weinman, General Counsel
Guess? Inc.
1444 South Alameda Street
Los Angeles, California 90021
Dear Mr. Weinman:
The Department of Labor has received a number of inquiries, including questions from reporters,
regarding ads placed by your company in publications including the Washington Post, the New
York Times, Newsday, and the Los Angeles Times. These ads stated that "with the assistance, and
after review by the state and federal departments of labor during the last 12 months, GUESS?
CONTRACTORS ARE 100% GUARANTEED SWEATSHOP FREE and in full compliance with
fair labor standards laws" (emphasis in original).
This language implies that the Department has in some manner certified Guess?'s compliance with
the Fair Labor Standards Act. As you are aware, that is not the case. The fact that the Department's
investigations have not revealed violations in those contractor shops investigated does not
demonstrate, and cannot guarantee, full compliance with the Act by Guess? contractors.
Further, it has recently come to our attention that, in other materials, Guess? has asserted that it has
"been repeatedly recognized as a 'Trendsetter' employer by the U.S. Department of Labor." As the
Department has made clear, the Trendsetter list is designed to recognize a company's past efforts.
It is not intended to serve as an endorsement of the companies that appear on the list. Moreover,
Guess? was placed on probationary status with respect to the Trendsetter list one year ago, based
initially upon the Department's investigatory findings that Guess? did not have an effective
domestic monitoring program and, subsequently, based upon questions arising with respect to
Guess?'s demonstrated commitment to labor laws.
Similarly, Guess? has recently disseminated statements made by William Buhl, Wage and Hour
Regional Administrator, after Guess? signed a long-form agreement in 1992. Those statements do
not necessarily reflect the Department's current views, in light of more recent developments. It is
inappropriate to suggest otherwise.
We would ask that, in the future, Guess? please refrain from representations that imply that the
Department has endorsed your company and that Guess? ensure that all references to statements
made by Department officials are accurate and in context.
259
Fax Cover Sheet
Wage and Hour
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room S3502
Washington, DC 20210
From Suzanne Seiden
Phone: 202/219-8305
Fax: 202/219-4753
email address: [email protected]
Today's date:
12/10/97
To:
Maria Echaveste
456-2983
Fax #:
Number of pages including cover sheet:
Notes:
Re: Guess letter &
articles for your info
Sizanne
Printed 05/09/97; 4:46 PM
259 P04/05 DEC 10 '97
NEWS
certification vote, and the dispute is expected to be the
bor standards laws." The company also states that it ini-
subject of a challenge under the North American Agree-
tiated with DOL the first voluntary program of monitor-
ment on Labor Cooperation, McBrearty said.
ing apparel contractors five years ago in an effort to
"They are examples of the extreme abuse of work-
guarantee that all apparel workers working on Guess
ers' rights in a profoundly corrupt system which injures
garments are paid the minimum wage and overtime.
workers in Mexico and undermines the rights of work-
"Guess? supports responsible shopping during this sea-
ers throughout the hemisphere," he said.
son of conscience," the advertisement says.
Support for DOL Efforts Cited. Weinman, general coun-
Garment Industry
sel for Guess, told BNA Dec. 9 the advertisements tout-
ing the company's contractor monitoring program were
aimed at emphasizing its support for the Labor Depart-
DOL Says Guess Ads Misleadingly Suggest
ment's "No Sweat" campaign to end sweatshop condi-
Agency Guarantee of FLSA Compliance
tions for American workers and its own guarantee that
company contractors comply with the FLSA. The adver-
he Labor Department's acting solicitor has taken
tisement features a label stating "this is a 'NO SWEAT'
T
issue with Guess? Inc. for placing what he said are
garment guaranteed 100% free of sweatshop labor."
misleading advertisements in newspapers such as
"We did not mean to imply that the DOL specifically
the Washington Post and New York Times implying
endorsed our program" of monitoring contractors,
that the agency has guaranteed that the company is in
Weinman said. Rather, the company, in its ads, and
full compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act's re-
"hang tags" placed on most of its apparel. is guarantee-
quirements.
ing customers that the clothes carrying a Guess label
"The fact that the department's investigations have
are made by contractors complying with federal mini-
not revealed violations" in shops under contract to
mum wage and hour laws, he explained. It is the com-
Guess "does not demonstrate, and cannot guarantee,"
pany guarantee, rather than any DOL "seal of ap-
full compliance by those contractors, Marvin Krislov,
proval," that the ads sought to convey, Weinman said.
acting solicitor of labor, wrote Dec. 8. In a letter to
Weinman added that Guess remains in compliance
Glenn Weinman, Guess' general counsel, Krislov, also
with the terms of its agreement with the DOL, and has
head of national operations for the solicitor's office,
done everything the department has suggested. In fact,
asked that the company "refrain from representations
although the agreement calls only for Guess to submit
that imply" it has been endorsed by the Labor Depart-
reports every six months, the company does so on a
ment.
quarterly basis, Weinman stated.
In addition, Krislov complained that Guess has held
Guess received the DOL letter late Dec. 8, so has not
itself out as having been "repeatedly recognized as a
had time to decide whether to pull the ads in question,
'Trendsetter' employer" by the Labor Department. The
he added.
agency has issued two lists of apparel manufacturers
and retailers that have voluntarily taken extra steps to
"We have made a good-faith request and assume
ensure their goods are not made in sweatshop condi-
Guess will comply," Saltz said of the Labor Depart-
tions.
ment's request that it cease representing that the
agency has endorsed the company.
While Guess was included on the first list, issued in
November 1995, it was removed from the list a year
By DEBORAH BILLINGS AND TOM GILROY
later and placed on "probation" for having what the de-
partment said was an ineffective system to monitor
FLSA compliance of U.S. apparel contractors (230 DLR
A-11, 11/29/96). Subsequently, questions arose "with re-
spect to Guess?'s demonstrated commitment to labor
laws," Krislov wrote.
In Brief
With respect to the Trendsetter list, Guess remains
on probation, David Saltz, a Labor Department spokes-
man, said Dec. 9. The agency has not updated the list in
the past year, opting instead to wait for the Apparel In.
Hasbro Inc. Plans to Cut 2,500 Jobs
dustry Partnership's conclusions regarding consumer
BOSTON-Rhode Island-based toy manufacturer
information, which are expected shortly, Saltz said.
Hasbro Inc. said Dec. 9 it intends to eliminate 2,500 po-
Convened in 1996 by President Clinton, the
sitions worldwide as part of a global restructuring that
partnership-including representatives of labor, human
will allow the firm to focus on its core brands. The com-
rights. and industry groups-has been asked to develop
pany said in a statement the restructuring will include a
ways to assure U.S. consumers that the clothes and
continuing consolidation of its manufacturing opera-
shoes they purchase have not been made by employees
tions, a streamlining of its sales and marketing divi-
working under exploitive conditions.
sions, as well as the departure from certain markets.
Krislov specifically complained about a statement in
In the area of manufacturing operations, the com-
the company's full-page advertisements saying that
pany said it will close its factory in New Zealand and
"with the assistance, and after review by the state and
will shutdown and consolidate certain other facilities in
federal departments of labor during the last 12 months,
the coming months. This is in addition to a previously
GUESS? CONTRACTORS ARE 100% GUARANTEED
announced closing of a plant in the United Kingdom
SWEATSHOP FREE and in full compliance with fair la-
and one in El Paso, Texas.
12.10.97
COPYRIGHT 1997 BY THE BUREAU OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS. INC., WASHINGTON. D.C. DLR 0418-2693/97/50+$1.00
Line Angeles Times BUSINESS &.TECHNOLOGY
HELPY
Travelocity
Wednesday, December 10, 1997
Government Berates Guess Over Ads on Labor Practices
Apparel: At issue are claims that contractors are '100% guaranteed sweatshop free.' Firm defends
its monitoring program.
By STUART SILVERSTEIN, Times Staff Writer
PREV STORY
The Labor Department, in an unusual move, has sharply criticized West Los
T
Angeles-based clothing manufacturer Guess Inc. for saying in newspaper
NEXT STORY
advertisements that its sewing contractors are "100% guaranteed sweatshop
free."
In a letter released Tuesday, the department also scolded the company for claiming
in fliers distributed lo shoppers that it is on the government's "Trendsetter" list of
clothing manufacturers and retailers. The Trendsetter roster, an initiative launched by
the Labor Department to combat sweatshop abuses, consists of companies deemed by
the government to bc taking extra sleps to ensure that their contractors are oboying
labor laws.
Guess had been a member of the list but was downgraded to probationary status a
year ago after federal inspectors determined that contractors working for Guess and
other clothing manufacturers violated wage laws and owed employees tens of
thousands of dollars.
For Guess, the biggest clothing manufacturer in Southern California, the Labor
Department's criticism is another in a series of disputes with government authorities
related to workplace practices. Just last month, Guess was accused by the National
Labor Relations Board of illegal firings and other unfair labor practices in an effort to
thwart a union-organizing drive among its workers.
Coming in the midst of the holiday shopping season, which is crucial to Guess and
its competitors in the clothing business, the Labor Department letter also could hinder
the company's effort 10 bounce back from its disappointing financial results recently.
Bill Barnes, a Guess spokesman, said the company is "giving serious consideration"
to the issues raised by the Labor Department. He said Guess has not decided whether it
will continue to run the ads and, if so, whether they will be revised to satisfy the
government's objections. The Guess ads began appearing last week in such papers as
the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post and Newsday.
Barnes added, however, that Guess' program for monitoring its contractors is
"exemplary." He said the Guess contractors have come under extraordinary scrutiny
because of "a political and public relations campaign of lics and misinformation" by
UNITE, the union seeking to represent Guess workers.
Labor Department officials declined to say what they might do if Guess continues
with its "no sweat" ads and related publicity efforts. "We have made a good faith
request and assume that Guess will comply," said department spokesman David M.
Saltz.
Guess' ads-and similar promotional tags on its jeans and other garments-also came
under criticism from union and state officials.
"Guess" use of a 'guaranteed 100% free of sweatshop labor' tag on its clothing is a
deceptive act that the public cannot rely on. Guess' contractors have broken the law,
and Guess is not in 8 position to give any kind of guarantee at all," said Steve Nutter,
Western regional director of UNITE.
Jose Millan, California's lubor commissioner, objected to 8 passage in the Guess ads
that claim that after review by state and federal authorities over the last 12 months,
"Guess contractors are 100% guaranteed sweatshop free and in full compliance with
fair labor standard laws."
Millan said: "Tve never reviewed their (Guess') program. neither has anyone in our
12/10/97
259 P05/05 DEC 10 '97 13:36
Thank you for your assistance with this matter.
Sincerely,
Mawin Vislar
Marvin Krislov
Deputy Solicitor for National Operations
CC: Washington Post
New York Times
Newsday
Los Angeles Times
12/16/97 TUE 14:21 FAX 2022195122
WAGE & HOUR
001
Cheld Letor
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
Wage & Hour Division
Washington. D.C. 20210
a LAMOR
FAX COVER SHEET
UNITED PTATES & )
OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR
DIVISION OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
FAX NUMBER (202) 219-4753
COMMERCIAL (202) 219-8305
TO: mary Tarmey/ Maria_Echaveste DATE: 12/16/97
FAX NUMBER: 456-2983
PAGES: 17
(include cover sheet)
LOCATION: White House
FROM: RAE EILEEN GLASS
if you do not receive all of the pages please call:
NAME: RAE EILEEN GLASS or VERONICA SUTSON
NUMBER: 202-219-8305
COMMENTS/INSTRUCTIONS:
marge
John asked that Isend
these to maria
Working for America's Workforce
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CHILDREN #
HOME
12/09/1997 15:37 EST
America's Secret World of Child Labor
By DAVID FOSTER and FARRELL KRAMER
Associated Press Writers
Fifty-nine years after Congress outlawed child labor in its most
onerous forms, underage children still toil in fields and factories
scattered across America.
The poorest and most vulnerable among them start working
before other children start kindergarten. Many earn wages below
the legal minimum, often in exhausting, or even hazardous, jobs.
These children live in a world apart from most Americans,
hidden from consumers and even the companies that buy the
products of their labor. Yet those products can sometimes be as
Field worker after school.
close as the local mall or the corner grocery.
(AP/Amy Sancetta) [23K]
In the past five months, The Associated Press found 165 children working illegally in 16 states,
from the chili fields of New Mexico to the sweatshops of New York City.
They are children such as Angel Oliveras, 4, who stumbled between chili pepper plants as tall as his
chin in New Mexico's fall harvest. Children such as Vielesee Cassell, 13, who spent the summer
folding and bagging dresses in a Texas sweatshop. Children such as Bruce Lawrence, at 8 already a
three-year veteran of Florida's bean fields.
The AP was able to follow the work products of 50 children to more than two dozen companies
including Campbell Soup Co., Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurants, ConAgra, Costco, H.J. Heinz,
Newman's Own, J.C. Penney, Pillsbury, Sears and Wal-Mart.
All the companies that responded condemned illegal child labor. Many launched investigations
when told of suppliers employing underage children.
If they are, that's against the law and they're gone -- they don't supply to
Campbell Soup Co.," said spokesman Kevin Lowery.
Although the number of children traced to any one company was small,
there are uncounted thousands of boys and girls like Angel, Vielesee and
Bruce. No one knows just how many because no one, the federal
government included, has tried to count them all.
To make an estimate, the AP had Rutgers University labor economist
Douglas L. Kruse analyze monthly census surveys and other workplace and
population data collected by the federal government.
Laura takes a breather
His study estimates that 290,200 children were employed unlawfully last
(AP/Amy Sancetta) [23K] year. Some were older teens working a few too many hours in after-school
jobs. But also among them were 59,600 children under age 14 and 13,100
who worked in garment sweatshops, defined as factories with repeated labor violations.
Other estimates:
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Close to 4 percent of all 12- to 17-year-olds working in any given week were employed illegally.
Employers saved $155 million in wages last year by hiring
underage children instead of legal workers.
"Someday, I want my
children to be treated
Kruse's study could not account for all children who work illegally
because available data are limited. For example, census-takers,
like human beings, not
like labor enforcement agents, have trouble finding the very kids
like animals."
who are among the most easily exploited: children of migrant
workers, illegal immigrants and the very young.
Even so, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman called the study
- Pasqual Mares,
more comprehensive than anything her department had produced.
cucumber picker
She said the AP's numbers, and the young faces behind them, highlight a home-grown version of
what the Clinton administration and corporate leaders have addressed largely as a foreign problem.
I don't think that we can lead from a position of integrity and be a world leader if our own
domestic house is not in order," she said.
Jim Sinegal, president of Costco Wholesale Corp., said his company has monitored overseas
suppliers for years to avoid products made with child labor.
However, the company acknowledged buying cherries from a packing plant in Washington state
where Flor Trujillo, 15, and six other child workers under 16 were sickened by carbon monoxide
last July. Children under 16 are prohibited by federal law from working in such plants.
We obviously have to take a look a little closer to home," Sinegal said.
Look to a bustling street in New York City's borough of Queens,
where Koon-yu Chow, 15, was found stitching dresses at a
garment factory sewing machine last summer. Dresses were
being made for Betsy's Things, a label sold at Sears, until state
labor investigators inspected the place and Betsy's Things took
its business elsewhere.
Walk into Grayson Sewing in Sherman, Texas. There, Vielesee
was one of seven children federal investigators found folding
and bagging dresses up to 12 hours a day. All seven were under
Playing outside the camp house
14; the youngest was 9. J.C. Penney acknowledged making two
(AP/Amy Sancetta) [25K]
purchases of garments from Grayson, a company investigators
called a sweatshop.
Rise before dawn to join Angel and six other children under 12 in a New Mexico field.
Hurry up, son," Angel's mother called. It's time to pick."
The 4-year-old pushed back an adult-sized baseball cap from his eyes and turned to the work that
would occupy him for the next eight hours on this October day: yanking chilies from the plants and
dropping them with hollow thumps into his mother's bucket.
Follow the chilies, and the trail leads to Texas, to a processor that
makes Old El Paso salsa for Pillsbury. The processor also supplies
"Migrant laborers
a California plant operated by Cantisano Foods, which makes salsa
want their kids out
for the Newman's Own label.
there. They get more
Told of this by the AP, actor Paul Newman, founder of the
produce picked."
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company, flew to New Mexico last weekend to investigate.
Cantisano said that, at Newman's request, it had stopped doing
business with the Texas supplier.
- Tim Reynolds,
If his company can't ensure that ingredients are produced without
family owner of a cucumber
child labor, Newman said, we'll have to eliminate the product."
farm
Newman said the situation is ironic, considering that his company gave $9 million to charities this
year, much of it to help children.
Even though we weren't aware of these infractions, I suppose we should have been," he said. In a
later interview, he added, ``What you found is probably significant."
A century ago, more than 2 million children labored in
America's factories, fields and mines. The wisdom of the day
regarded them as miniature adults, each one a potential Horatio
Alger hero who could rise to riches through hard work and
perseverance.
In the early 1900s, however, public opinion moved toward a
dimmer view of child labor: Too much work, too young, robs
Outside the cherry packing shed
children of an education and condemns them to a lifetime of
(AP/Elaine Thompson) [19K]
poverty and missed opportunity.
In 1938, Congress declared an end to oppressive child labor," the most onerous forms of children's
work, by enacting the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Since its passage, child labor has declined, although it is far from eradicated. Kruse's study, which
began with 1970s figures, shows the number of illegal child workers dropping until recently, but
leveling off since 1995.
The 1938 law set age minimums designed to ease children into the adult world of work Those
minimums remain at the heart of federal child labor law:
Children must wait until age 16 to work in factories or during school hours.
Children under 14 are barred from most jobs except farming.
Children under 12 are banned from most farming jobs but can work on their parents' farm or on a
small farm exempt from federal minimum-wage laws.
Children under 18, or under 16 on farms, are barred from a list of jobs deemed hazardous.
"Even though we
Responsibility extends beyond the child's employer. Under the
federal law, the taint of illegal child labor clings to a product from
weren't aware of these
the workplace to the final packager or distributor
infractions, I suppose
we should have been."
Toss a bucket of cucumbers picked on an Ohio farm by
10-year-old Laura Mares into a truckload harvested by adults, and
the entire load becomes hot goods." So do any pickles or relish
made from it.
- actor Paul Newman,
owner of Newman's Own
Even with such strong laws, America's youngest workers remain
label
among us. Drive past the right farm at the right time of year, walk
down the right street, and there they are. In New York City, for
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example, young teens in work boots wait on a busy Brooklyn boulevard, peddling their labor to
construction bosses who cruise by in vans.
Despite agriculture's more relaxed labor standards, it was on farms that the AP most often found
illegal child labor, including the most extreme cases: the youngest workers toiling the longest hours
for the least pay.
Reporters saw 104 children working illegally in agriculture in the past five months -- nearly three
times the 35 that U.S. Labor Department inspectors witnessed nationwide last year, according to the
department's computer records.
Underage children picked cucumbers in Michigan, green peppers in Tennessee, and apples in
upstate New York. Their grape-cutting knives flashed in the sunny vineyards of California, and
their head lamps bobbed in the gloomy mushroom sheds of Pennsylvania They packed peaches into
crates in Illinois and hoed sorghum in Lubbock, Texas.
On a simmering July day near Bowling Green, Ohio, Pasqual
Mares looked sadly at his 10-year-old daughter Laura, her back
bent over a row of cucumbers. In a full week of harvest work,
Mares said, he and his wife and their two working children had
earned just $120 far below the normal minimum wage.
`Someday, I want my children to be treated like human beings,
not like animals," he said. "It's not right that the children work.
But we have to do it."
In a New Mexico field, Maria Perez watched her 10-year-old son
Young field worker counts a day's pay
(AP/Eric Draper) [22K]
Victor pick chilies. "I like him to work in the fields with me
because I want him to learn that this work is hard, hot and laborious," she said. ``I want him to hate
this, to stay in school and to study hard so he doesn't have to do this work."
Victor was one of 35 children under age 12 seen picking chilies in the fields of New Mexico and
west Texas. Laura Mares was among 34 kids under 12 spotted in Ohio's cucumber rows.
In the bean fields near Homestead, Fla., the Lawrence kids Bruce, 8, Angie, 10, and Benjamin, 11
- were among eight children under 12 picking beans one November morning.
No kids in the field - especially when we've got reporters here," a crew boss at one Homestead
field yelled out. Surprised parents said it was the first they'd been told that children weren't allowed.
Some employers on whose property the AP saw underage children working denied breaking the
law, even when presented with photographs of the activity. Others blamed the kids and their
parents.
"We tell them that we don't want children in the fields," said Tim Reynolds, whose family runs the
farm where Laura worked. "But you know, migrant laborers want their kids out there. They get
more produce picked."
Far from being anomalies, those young faces are windows into a larger, seldom-seen population of
child workers, say those most familiar with child labor, including migrant-education workers, union
organizers, priests and school teachers.
"They are in the dark alleys of the big cities," or down a dirt road," said Linda F. Golodner,
co-chairwoman of the Washington-based Child Labor Coalition.
But the products they produce can make their way to the store down the street.
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Some Wal-Mart supercenters" sell Sugar Lake Farms chicken nuggets and patties produced by
Braselton Poultry in Braselton, Ga. That's where David Osorio, 15, used a fake ID saying he was 21
to get a job cutting up chickens instead of going to school. Asked about David last month, Braselton
found that his ID was fake and fired him.
H.J. Heinz buys some of its chicken from Chestertown Foods, according to Chestertown plant
manager Jack Laird. Filomena Simon Perez, 15, worked cutting up chickens at the Maryland
processing plant, which also sells to Campbell. She was one of six undocumented workers under 16
found when U.S. immigration agents raided Chestertown in September.
ConAgra, which makes Rosarita salsa, acknowledged buying chili peppers from a distributor
supplied by a New Mexico farm where eight children, ages 3 to 11, were seen working in
September. Chi-Chi's, a Mexican restaurant chain owned by Family Restaurants, said it gets chilies
from the same source.
Campbell confirmed it buys mushrooms from a farm in Chester County, Pa., which this fall
employed Jose Ortiz, age 14. While other kids his age were in school, Jose picked mushrooms eight
hours a day in a dark building that smelled of manure.
For some companies, this was not their first alert to child labor.
The U.S. Labor Department says Grayson Sewing, the J.C. Penney supplier, has been the subject of
three workplace investigations since 1993.
"Hurry up, son. It's
Ohio cucumber growers supplying Campbell were sued in 1993 by
migrant workers who claimed the farmers concealed child laborers
time to pick."
by assigning their earnings to adults. The suit was settled for
$200,000.
- mother of 4-year-old Angel
At Heinz, purchasing agent Ronald Brooks said the company has
Oliveras
worked for years to get farm workers' kids out of the fields and
into decent housing or day care.
We take the issue very seriously," Brooks said. "It's not totally new and foreign to us."
Some companies, including Wal-Mart, Cantisano, Sears and Chi-Chi's, said they would never
knowingly buy from anyone employing children illegally.
Any U.S. grower found to be in violation of U.S. labor laws will have its contract terminated,"
Chi-Chi's parent company, Family Restaurants, said in a written statement.
Several companies, including J.C. Penney and H.J. Heinz, said they have begun investigations of
their suppliers.
ConAgra's Hunt-Wesson unit, which makes Rosarita salsa, contacted its chili supplier and was
very comfortable that they were addressing any issue that might be there," said Hunt-Wesson
spokesman Kay Carpenter.
Pillsbury checked with its supplier, said company spokesman Rob Longendyke, and was told
children had been in the New Mexico chili fields with their families but were not working.
If you have evidence otherwise," he said, we will take action."
Home I US News I World News I Business I Sports 1 Index I Weather I Help
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Page 1 of 4
HOME
12/09/1997 22:24 EST
From Fields and Factories, Children's Voices Emerge
By VERENA DOBNIK
They are children, yes. But is this childhood?
She sweats into the soil of a vast Ohio field. A baseball cap
keeps the sun and her unruly dark hair from her almond eyes.
Adult rubber gloves engulf the small hands that snap cucumbers
from their vines. Her name is Alejandra Renteria. She is 6.
Six hundred miles away, a girl who dreams of being a fashion
designer fingers a cheap jacket in a Manhattan sweatshop where
rats scurry across dirty floors. Amid noisy machines and the
hubbub of women stitching, Li-qing Ni laments: "I like New
Quitting Time
York, but not this place. It smells." She is 15.
(AP/Eric Draper) [23K]
Ervin Smith once had free time to play baseball, but no more. ``I know there is another world out
there," the Amish boy says, `but I have to work." He has been a construction worker in Ohio since
eighth grade. He is 14.
Some are very young Others are approaching adulthood. From America's
fields they harvest onions, peppers, mushrooms, beans, berries, pecans. In
garment factories, they iron pants, hang shirts, trim clothing. In
meat-packing and egg-producing plants, in sawmills and furniture factories
they toil.
Among them are an estimated 61,000 child field workers, ages 14 to 17,
who live apart from their parents, according to an unreleased U.S. Labor
Department survey. In thousands of cases, their parents aren't even in the
country In all, about 123,000 children in that age group work in America's
fields, the survey said. Younger children in the fields are an all-but hidden,
untracked work force.
At government hearing
At least 13,100 more children worked illegally last year in garment industry
(AP/Bebeto Matthews)
sweatshops -- factories that repeatedly violate federal wages and hours laws
[20K]
- a study commissioned by The Associated Press found.
Many of America's working children are not the ones you see.
They are not the teen-agers who flame-broil Double Whoppers at
"I know there is
Burger King or bag groceries at Food Lion, though they are
another world out
governed by the same laws.
there, but I have
Federal law bars children under 16 from working while school is
to work."
in session. Outside school hours, anyone 14 or 15 may work in
farm jobs that the U.S. Labor Department deems safe. Younger
children, those 12 or 13, can work only on farms and at a few
- Ervin Smith, 14
other specific jobs.
Many of the children working in America are frequently underpaid, often unaccompanied and
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largely unprotected a shadow generation made prematurely adult, moving from coast to coast,
border to border.
Listen to Mercy Gandarilla, 10, kneeling in a cold New Mexico field since 6 a.m. Dew has soaked
her shirt and a deep cough has taken her voice. Cutting the chili," she rasps. ``I like it in the
sun."
Listen to Omar Cruz Gonzales, 15, who rises at 2:30 a.m. to pick
mushrooms for 12 hours in a windowless Pennsylvania shed. He
sees no sun until midafternoon. "I have to work," says Omar.
"The dollars are here."
Listen to Jaime Guerrero Jr., who loads crates of cabbage six
days a week in Delaware. Three years ago, when he was 12, he
heard his arm break as a conveyor caught his sleeve. ``T'll do
Picking chilies at sunrise
something else someday," he says.
(AP/Eric Draper) [22K]
These children are sometimes punished financially for small
mistakes: Omar's employers, for example, occasionally withhold
his pay if he drops or dirties mushrooms.
"Farmers used to own slaves. Now they rent them," says Diane Mull, executive director of the
nonprofit Association of Farm Worker Opportunity Programs in Arlington, Va. The agrarian myth
is dead."
Few myths ever surrounded sweatshops. In New York City, the
hub of the American garment trade, a group of reformers known
as Progressives led the anti-child labor movement of the early
1900s, leading to a 1938 law to protect children.
In 1997, that progress has not reached the Chinatown factory
where Li-qing, the girl who dreams of being a designer, prepares
clothing for her mother to stitch. They immigrated from China's
poor Fujian province months ago, and this third-floor assembly
line of women and sewing machines is now their America.
Li-qing doesn't know where her father is, and one day recently a
State investigator at garment factory
state labor investigator who visited the factory told her she
(AP/Kathy Willens) [24K]
couldn't help her mother earn a living. "Don't come back again,"
he said. '`It's illegal."
"Farmers used to
Why do they live these lives?
own slaves. Now
Some kids want spending money to buy into the consumer culture
they rent them."
they see as necessary to being American. But many, especially
migrant children, work because their parents don't earn enough.
- Diane Mull, executive
``If adults were paid a living wage, we wouldn't have child labor,"
director of the Association
says Ann Millard, a Michigan State University anthropologist who
of Farm Worker Opportunity
studies migrant labor. Three out of four migrant families say they
Programs
earn $5,000 or less yearly according to a national database of
54,000 families compiled by Mull's group.
Near Homestead, Fla, sisters LaKesha Brooks, 11, and Marie, 10, are already training the family's
next breadwinner -- their sister, Angelica, just 20 months old. She can pick the beans one by one,"
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LaKesha says.
Eluding rarely enforced laws, these workers bypass the modern
Western concept of children as virtually a separate society - one
to be protected, educated and prepped for adulthood rather than
forced into it.
When Jose Madrid picks chilies in New Mexico's blistering heat,
he dreams of Colorado mountains covered with vanilla ice
cream.
But he is pragmatic beyond his 11 years. ``I'm not good at math,"
he says, but I'm good at money."
Playtime after a full day's work
(AP/Erio Draper) [29K]
Jose finishes the day exhausted and falls into a bottom bunk, his feet caked with mud. He hopes the
rickety top bunk won't collapse on him. His mother can't afford a new bed; together they make
about $30 daily.
Jose's cousin, Victor Perez, 10, trembles as he lugs 25-pound
buckets of peppers. "I'll pick chilies when I grow up, because
what else do I do?" he says. His mother, working nearby, wipes
away a tear.
Many working children endure such lives. In some Manhattan
garment shops, children eat lunch in dank, urine-soaked
stairwells. Others sleep in overcrowded apartments or houses.
Pennsylvania mushroom picker Rigoberto Rosales, 17, shares a
house with more than 25 other Mexicans and carves a certain
privacy for himself by erecting a cardboard box around his bare
Roof over his head
(AP/Amy Sancetta) [23K]
mattress. ``I look around and say to myself, `Is all this worth it?"
he says.
And near Ohio cucumber fields, the five members of the Mares family live in a one-room shack
with no running water. The children fantasize about what many American kids take for granted, -
our own house, with my own room," says Fabiola Mares, 12.
For them, even normal childhood friendships aren't easy. When Laura Mares, 10, received a rare
invitation to a classmate's birthday party, she couldn't go," says her mother, Elvira. "We just
didn't have the money to buy a gift."
"I want the kids to
In Bowling Green, Ohio, American flags grace nearly every block
of Main Street. Those who work the surrounding farmland rarely
study, so they
venture into this college town. They are moving specks in the lush
don't end up like
landscape, forgotten among red barns, white steeples and stretches
me."
of corn, tomatoes and wheat.
This is where Alejandra, the 6-year-old with the oversized rubber
- Marcelo Renteria, 30
gloves, spent the most recent summer of her childhood. She and
her family rode 1,000 miles from Florida in a faded green Oldsmobile to pick cucumbers.
Alejandra's toenails are painted green. "I like green because grass is that color. And I want to be a
grass, 'cause it gets watered every day, and it's cool."
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Her father, Marcelo Renteria, a 30-year-old with a third-grade education,
voices a hope that has driven immigrant America for generations. "I want
the kids to study," he says, so they don't end up like me."
Alejandra wants to work with computers, and her 9-year-old sister wants to
be a teacher. But for now they must help the family survive.
When I grow up and have kids, my kids will not work in the fields," says
Jose Madrid, the boy who dreams of ice cream-covered mountains. ``It's not
a good place for children."
Picking cucumbers
(AP/Amy Sancetta) [21K]
Some, like Yvonne Li, do get out.
When she was 6, she went from school to a New York City garment factory to help her
grandmother button, sew and trim clothing with scissors. It was hot and humid," she remembers.
The bathroom was always yucky."
That stopped when her mother found out. Now a happy 9-year-old, Yvonne can no longer
remember the name of the factory. She's far more concerned with professional basketball standings
and her favorite subject in school -- math. Asked what she wants to be, she raises both fists and
shouts, The best at whatever I dol"
The working kids she leaves behind have their hopes, too, reaching beyond produce fields and
garment shops for education, careers, success -- and a need to just be kids.
``I won't be doing this forever," says Jackie Villegas, a 17-year-old girl from Florida who has been
picking produce for six years. ``I have plans."
Alex Ledezma, 11, harvests sorghum, cotton and onions near Lubbock, Texas. Though he misses
weeks of school each year to follow the crops, he has reached sixth grade. He makes $2.25 an hour
hoeing. He wants to become a policeman.
Beside the sorghum plants that tower above his head sits a van that carries his family and the hoes
to the field. On its rear window is a sticker.
It says, ``I believe in America."
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This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
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HOME
12/09/1997 17:18 EST
Pesticides May Jeopardize Child Farmworkers' Health
By MATT CRENSON
AP Science Editor
From California's Central Valley to Florida's strawberry fields, tens of
thousands of children work in a sea of toxic chemicals whose long-term
health effects are almost completely unknown.
In California's onion fields, farm workers, including children, are exposed to
methyl parathion, a potent nerve toxin. Among Florida's strawberry fields
they encounter captan, a probable human carcinogen. In Midwestern
cucumber patches they face endosulfan, a chemical that may cause a host of
health problems because of its similarity to human hormones.
Government standards for pesticide residues in the nation's food supply are
set with special attention to the children who eat that food. Yet those
Lunch from the field
standards intentionally ignore a more vulnerable class of children -- working
(AP/Amy Sancetta) [24K]
kids who help harvest America's food.
Those who work in the fields receive pesticide doses many times higher than the law allows in
American diets. It's difficult to say exactly how much higher, because the research needed to find
out simply hasn't been done.
"The doctors
Everybody stands there with a straight face and talks about
protecting children, and they don't do anything to protect child
always say it's a
workers," said Marion Moses, a pediatrician with the Pesticide
Education Center in San Francisco. ``I don't think that we should
flu. But it's very
be dosing children very early in life with toxic chemicals."
curious to me.
Yet we do.
Why, every single
An unreleased U.S. Department of Labor survey shows that
year in June and
123,000 children between the ages of 14 and 17 work in America's
fields. Uncounted thousands more are under 14.
July, do we get
the flu?"
Associated Press reporters who visited farms over the last five
months found working children as young as 4. Mothers who can't
afford day care carry infants into the fields. Two years ago, a
- Jesus Lopez,
14-year-old girl gave birth in a New Jersey berry patch.
community worker
In Ohio this summer,
6-year-old Ramiro Silva and
his sister picked
pesticide-dusted cucumbers and
ate them unwashed for lunch.
Alejandra Renteria, also 6,
sometimes refused to wear
rubber gloves because they
were too big and clumsy for
Migrant camp outhouse
her.
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(AP/Amy Sancetta) [20K]
My arms get itchy sometimes,
but I like to work," Ramiro said. Itchy irritations are common in pesticide exposure.
Think of yourself in your own teen-age and pre-teen-age years, and think of the kamikaze-pilot
things that you did. These children are no different," said Vincent Garry, director of environmental
medicine and pathology at the University of Minnesota.
Protecting the health of our children is one of our highest priorities," Environmental Protection
Agency administrator Carol Browner told a conference of doctors and scientists in September.
But until this year, the federal government spent next to nothing for occupational health and safety
research on child farm workers. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health did hand
out $2.5 million for research on injuries to child farm workers, but the effort pales next to the $700
million the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service spends each year on
crop and livestock studies.
Many farm workers believe pesticides make them and their children sick. In Salinas, Calif., Jesus
Lopez wonders why so many farm workers in the area get sick every summer. Just about the time
the fields are plowed for the year's second crop, people develop nausea, coughing and muscle aches.
The doctors always say it's a flu," said Lopez, a community worker for California Rural Legal
Assistance. "But it's very curious to me. Why, every single year in June and July, do we get the
flu?"
Flulike symptoms are a classic sign of pesticide poisoning.
Children on farms occasionally suffer severe pesticide poisoning, sometimes fatally.
Late in the afternoon of April 1, 1990, a 3-year-old girl playing in front of her trailer home in
California's San Joaquin Valley suddenly lost control of her body and began foaming at the mouth.
By the time the girl arrived at the local emergency room, she was near death. She recovered
eventually.
A report filed with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation concluded the child had been
poisoned by aldicarb, a highly toxic insecticide that works the same way on people as it does on
bugs - like nerve gas.
Somebody had parked a tractor with pesticide material on it right in front of the play area," said
Michael O'Malley, the author of the report and a physician at the University of California, Davis.
Such confirmed incidents of acute pesticide poisoning are rare --
or at least rarely reported Of greater concern to experts is
long-term, low-level damage that can show up decades after a
child has picked his or her last berry.
Compared to late-in-life exposures, exposures to pesticides
early in life can lead to a greater risk of chronic effects that are
expressed only after long latency periods have elapsed," a
National Academy of Sciences committee said in a 1993 report.
The report focused on pesticides in children's diets. It cited a
Feeding time
number of reasons to believe that youngsters are especially
(AP/Amy Sancetta) [37K]
sensitive to toxic chemicals. A child's rapid growth can be
disrupted or interrupted by chemicals. They suffer the ill effects of some pesticides at lower doses
than adults do, and because their metabolisms are faster they tend to process toxins faster than
adults. They also have a lot more years left to develop cancer and other long-term health problems.
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It's just not a good idea to be exposing rapidly growing cells or organs to compounds that we
know produce a carcinogenic effect in mammals," said John Wargo, a professor of environmental
studies at Yale University.
A few dozen studies have looked at the rates of cancer and birth defects among children whose
parents work with pesticides or use them at home. The results are worrisome.
In Denver homes where pesticides were used, children were more likely to develop leukemia, brain
tumors, lymphoma and soft-tissue sarcomas, a study of nearly 500 kids found. Another study of 178
children in the United States and Canada found that leukemia was 11 times more common in
children under five if their parents worked with pesticides.
The implication is that children must be a particularly susceptible group," said Shelia Hoar Zahm
of the National Cancer Institute.
That's why the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 requires the Environmental Protection Agency
to consider children, who are most vulnerable to such health effects, when it sets limits for
pesticides in food.
The law is so strict that even the environmentalists who lobbied for it can
hardly believe it passed the 104th Congress unanimously. But the Food
Quality Protection Act specifically forbids the EPA from considering
occupational exposures, which are known to be much higher than those
generally found in food and water. The act goes out of its way to exclude the
children and adults who pick America's produce.
It's an explicit, purposeful exception," said Ralph Lightstone of California
Rural Legal Assistance. They carved farm workers out."
House Commerce Committee staffer Kay Holkgum, who helped write the
food quality law, argues that farm workers are protected under other laws
A boy and his hoe
(AP/LM Otero) [21K]
geared toward occupational health. For example, there are laws that require
posting of notices about pesticide spraying, and that specify how soon after
spraying workers can return to the fields.
But nobody denies that farm workers, both adults and children, are exposed to much higher
pesticide levels than the general public.
In Washington state's apple orchards, for example, workers have 16 times the pesticide-breakdown
products in their urine than their neighbors who don't work in agriculture.
The food quality law will give farm workers an indirect measure of protection, however, and that's
the silver lining in this cloud, said Richard Wiles of the Environmental Working Group, a
Washington, D.C. environmental advocacy group. Farms will be forced to reduce pesticide use
somewhat in order to meet the stricter EPA tolerances for pesticides in food.
But it would have been better for the children in the fields, said San Francisco pediatrician Moses, if
farm-worker rather than consumer safety were the focus of America's strongest pesticide law.
You protect the worker in the workplace, I guarantee you protect the consumer in the
marketplace," Moses said. `The other way around doesn't work."
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Copyright 1997 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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12/09/1997 17:28 EST
Toughest Child Labor Laws are Not Enforced
By MARTHA MENDOZA
AP National Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Farmers and factory owners who
illegally hire underage children generally get away with it.
The U.S. Department of Labor, charged with enforcing the
nation's child labor laws:
Fails to find the most vulnerable victims of child labor.
Maintains a secret fine schedule that undercuts the
$10,000-per-violation child-labor penalty imposed by Congress.
Fails to bring criminal cases against repeat
Alone in the field
offenders.
(AP/Amy Sancetta) [22K]
Fines
Does not seize goods that are the product of illegal child labor, as provided by
GRAPHIC: Child
law.
labor penalties
(56k)
These are among the findings of a five-month Associated Press investigation of
child labor in America.
U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman did not dispute them. "It's not acceptable for employers to
think they can skirt the law, that the Department of Labor is not serious about enforcing the law,"
she said. And I am on a path of making sure that we are more aggressive on that front."
Last year, at least 290,200 minors worked illegally in the United
States, according to an AP analysis that used the government's
own statistics. Labor Department investigators found 6,735 child
labor violations at 1,546 establishments.
One-fourth of those establishments were fast-food restaurants,
department records show. The typical violation the department
Harvesting raisin grapes
uncovers is a high school student working later than the law
(AP/Susan Sterner) [14K]
allows on school nights.
The children the department does not find are the most vulnerable ones the very young, the illegal
immigrants, the impoverished children who work not just to get extra spending money but to help
feed their families.
The AP found many such children working illegally in dozens of fields and factories from coast to
coast. Yet Labor Department officials around the country say those children are nearly impossible
to find.
``I don't believe we have ever found it," said Jorge Rivero, Labor Department district director in
Miami. If it exists, we don't know about it."
Less than an hour away, however, near Homestead, Fla., the AP found eight underage children
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harvesting beans on several farms on a single day in November.
The Labor Department can overlook children working illegally even when someone else has found
them and put it in writing.
In Brewster, Wash., more than 100 workers at a cherry- and apple-packing plant suffered carbon
monoxide poisoning in July. Hospital records, which appear in the state's investigative files on the
incident, show that seven of the victims were under 16.
The plant's president, in an interview, freely acknowledged these
children had worked illegally at the plant and that he had fired
them after the incident.
Yet federal investigators in Seattle said they knew nothing about
the matter.
Maria Echaveste, an assistant to President Clinton, said it's easy
-- and unfair -- to say the government doesn't care about children
who work.
Ms. Echaveste, who picked strawberries as a child in California
Labor raid at garment factory
and who, until February, headed the Labor Department division
(Ap/Kathy Willens) [27K]
responsible for enforcing child labor laws, said enforcement has
historically been a low priority. She said tight budgets and bureaucratic inertia make reversing
priorities difficult
Former Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich agreed. "Remember there are only
800 federal inspectors" for millions of workplaces, he said in an interview.
`If we had more resources, they could do far more."
This year, the number of inspectors was increased to 942.
The last major federal campaign against child labor came in 1990, when
Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole led Operation Child Watch. It found 28,000
minors working in violation of federal labor laws and assessed more than $6
million in fines. Only about one-fourth of that was ever collected.
However, there is no evidence the campaign changed anything in the long
Back-breaking work
run. And no administration, including Clinton's, has done anything like it
(AP/LM Otero) [40K]
since.
Soon, Ms. Herman said, the government will try again. Operation Salad Bowl, she announced, will
be launched next spring in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture. The initiative, she said,
will involve 50 farm inspections, concentrating on lettuce, tomato, garlic, onion and cucumber
fields around the country.
Ms. Herman said she and Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman have now made a commitment
to go out into the fields in the first quarter of 1998 to engage this issue head on and hopefully try to
deal firsthand with some of the things you have uncovered here."
If Ms. Echaveste's experience is a guide, Ms. Herman will have some obstacles to overcome. Ms.
Echaveste said she met with resistance when she tried to get investigators into the fields to look for
kids.
"Where would you rather be?" she asked a reporter. ``In a nice air-conditioned office and interview
some accountant and look at their records, or would you rather go out in a field at five in the
morning to see who's working?"
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She said she also had to contend with inspectors who simply
took the word of farmers who claimed they didn't employ
children.
"I've never seen anyone working on any farm anywhere who is
under the age of 18," said Brian Little, director of governmental
relations at the American Farm Bureau Federation, a large
lobbying group.
``See?" Ms. Echaveste said when told of the remark. ``They
actually say that!"
At home after work
Even when the Labor Department does find violations, it usually
(AP/Susan Sterner) [21K]
doesn't do much about it.
According to the law, employers who hire children illegally are at the very least supposed to be
fined. In 1990, Congress decided the fines weren't high enough and raised the maximum penalty
from $1,000 per violation to $10,000.
Congress directed the department to use discretion in setting fines -- to consider the size of the
business and the employer's familiarity with the law.
The practical result: The average fine assessed by the department increased from $212 in 1990 to
$887 last year nowhere near the maximum set by law.
A Child Labor Civil Money Penalty Report," which the department tried to withhold but the AP
obtained, may explain why.
The secret report is used by compliance officers to set fines fines almost always discounted
significantly from the recommended maximum set by Congress.
Among the reduced fines:
$275 for poor record-keeping
$400 for a farmer who employs a 14- or 15-year-old during school hours.
$500 for the same violation at other businesses.
Fines are reduced 30 percent for businesses with 20 or fewer employees.
The maximum fine, $10,000, is used only when a child working illegally is seriously injured or
killed. Other fines are far lower, despite directions from Congress to use the maximum fine as a
deterrent.
The schedule is the work of mid-level Labor Department administrators. Top administrators
professed to know little about what it said.
That couldn't be right," Corlis Sellers, a program administrator, said when told the sheet gives
farmers a $100 break over other employers.
Then she took a closer look.
There's a $100 difference," she said quietly. Asked why, she seemed puzzled. "I don't know, off
the top of my head."
Ms. Herman said she was unaware of the fine schedule until the AP inquired about it. She said she
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was concerned both by the difference between industry and agriculture and by the low amounts of
the fines it recommends
``Just on the face of it, after consultation with our legal team, it looked inappropriate and it was not
clear to me there was justification," she said. ``I intend to act on it."
In addition to civil fines, the law allows repeat offenders of child labor laws to be charged with
criminal misdemeanors. Penalties include up to six months' imprisonment for a second conviction
But no one has gone to jail for federal child labor violations in seven years. Generally, it happens
about once a decade.
One reason: The Labor Department doesn't seem to know which law breakers are repeat offenders.
Labor Department spokeswoman Rae Glass said investigators are supposed to check department
computer files to see if an employer has been in trouble before.
However, many district offices don't have access to the computer files. And even if they did, the
files often wouldn't tell them much.
Names of violators are often misspelled or entered in slightly different ways. For example,
McDonald's shows up as McDonald's, McDonalds, Mc Donalds, MacDonald's, McDonald's
Restaurant and more. As a result, a multiple violator can appear to be a string of single violators. A
McDonald's spokeswoman said the corporation abides by federal and state child labor laws and
requires franchisees to do the same.
When the AP searched the database using variations in spacing, punctuation and spelling, it found
129 different recurring violators for last year alone.
Not one was prosecuted as such.
Perhaps the toughest enforcement tool available to the Labor Department is the ``hot goods"
provision. This 60-year-old clause allows authorities to seize products that are made with illegal
child labor.
Under this law, the taint of such labor stays with a dress from the moment a child trims its threads
in a New York City sweatshop until it enters a department store. The taint stays on a cucumber from
the moment a child picks it in Ohio to the day it sits in a jar of pickles inside a supermarket
warehouse.
Furthermore, if that cucumber is tossed in with a large batch of other cucumbers picked by adults,
the entire batch is subject to seizure as hot goods.
In Dallas, the Labor Department's regional administrator, M. J. Villarreal, said seizing goods to
discourage illegal child labor is a goal of ours."
But the department rarely gets around to seizing anything; some department officials seem unaware
that they can. Ms. Herman said she has asked department lawyers to look into using the hot goods
law.
Ms. Echaveste recalled arguing the point with Labor Department lawyers, who would tell her:
"You can't use hot goods on manufacturers, or even retailers."
``I literally took the law and read it to them," she said.
She is ``still waiting" for someone to use it.
12/16/97
8:36:10 AM
014 P01
NOV 19 '97 10:34
apperel
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
Wage and Hour Division
UNIVERSITY OF LABOR
Washington, D.C. 20210
UNITED STATES OF
FAX COVER SHEET
OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR
WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION
FAX NUMBER (202) 219-4753
COMMERCIAL (202) 219-8305
TO: Maria Echaveste
DATE: 11/19/97
FAX NUMBER: 456 - 2983
PAGES: 2
(include cover sheet)
LOCATION:
FROM Suzanne Seiden
If you do not receive all of the pages please call:
NAME:
NUMBER:
COMMENTS/INSTRUCTIONS:
Re: NYT article on Duke
ensuring uniforms are made in
compliance!
Go Duke, Syame
014 P02
NOV 19 '97 10:34
AS6 NYT
Duke Demands Anti-Sweatshop Labor Vow
DURHAM, N.C., Nov. 18 (AP) -
The code of conduct being worked
The makers of items that carry Duke
on by Duke and the Collegiate Li-
University logos will soon be re-
censing Company, which negotiates
quired to sign a piedge that they do
trademark deals for 160 universities.
not use sweatshop labor.
will require companies to disclose
"It's important for us, as an insti-
working conditions in their factories.
tution, to insure that people who are
At the urging of student leaders,
manufacturing products bearing our
Duke is one of a handful of colleges
marks are conducting themselves in
and universities revising their con-
an ethical manner," said Jim Wilker-
tracts to include a code of conduct
son, director of Duke Stores opera-
for manufacturers, said Bruce Siegal
tions and trademark licensing.
of Collegiate Licensing.
5
03/11/97 TUE 19:08 FAX 202 544 6453
NIKE INC.
002
New
REPORT OF APPAREL INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP
The members of the Apparel Industry Partnership will report to the President and the
public on:
The adoption of the attached "Workplace Code of Conduct";
The agreement of each company participating in the Partnership to pledge to adhere to
the Code and to implement as soon as reasonably practicable a monitoring program
consistent with the attached "Principles of Monitoring," by adopting an internal
monitoring program generally consistent with such Principles and utilizing an
external monitor that agrees to conduct its monitoring consistent with such Principles;
and
The intention of each participant in the Partnership to work together during a nine-
month transition period to reach agreement on the formation of an association
representing a diversity of interests including, business, consumers, workers and
human rights organizations. The association would serve as a source of information
to consumers, provide information to signatory companies and assist them in the
implementation of the Code and monitoring, and seek to develop and improve the
monitoring practices of external monitors in a manner which would provide the
public with confidence about compliance with the Code of Conduct.
003
03/11/97 TUE 19:08 FAX 202 544 6453
NIKE INC.
WORKPLACE CODE OF CONDUCT
While recognizing that cultures, economies and standards of living differ
significantly throughout the world, all companies which sign the Workplace Code
of Conduct and Principles of Monitoring are committed toward the development
of safe and healthy manufacturing facilities world-wide, where workers are treated
with respect and dignity.
To help advance these goals, companies signing the Workplace Code of Conduct
agree that, in addition to complying with all applicable laws of the country of
manufacturing, they will comply with and support the following code of conduct
in accordance with a monitoring program consistent with the following Principles
of Monitoring. A signatory company will apply the higher standard in cases of
differences between the code and the applicable laws of the country of
manufacturing, where doing so is not in violation of local law A signatory
supplins
company likewise agrees to require the contractors which make the products a
signatory company sells to comply with applicable local law. and to support the
Code of Conduct in accordance with a monitoring program consistent with the
following Principles of Monitoring.
Forced Labor There shall not be any use of forced labor, whether in the form of
prison labor, indentured labor, bonded labor or otherwise.
Child Labor No person shall be employed at an age younger than 15 (or 14 where
the law of the country of manufacture allows) or younger than the age of
completing compulsory education in the country of manufacture where such age is
higher than 15.
Harassment and Abuse Every employee shall be treated with respect and dignity.
No employee shall be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological or verbal
harassment or abuse.
Nondiscrimination No person shall be subject to any discrimination in
employment, including hiring, salary, benefits, advancement, discipline,
termination or retirement, on the basis of gender, race, religion, age, disability,
sexual orientation, nationality, political opinion, or social or ethnic origin.
Health and Safety Employers shall provide a safe and healthy working
environment to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with,
or occurring in the course of work or as a result of the operation of employer
facilities.
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Employers shall recognize
and respect the right of employees to freedom of association and collective
bargaining.
03/11/97 TUE 19:09 FAX 202 544 6453
NIKE INC.
004
Wages and Benefits Employers recognize that wages are essential to meeting
employees' basic needs. Employers shall pay employees, as a floor, at least the
minimum wage required by local law or the prevailing industry wage, whichever
is higher, and shall provide legally mandated benefits.
Hours of Work Employees shall not be required to work more than the maximum
weekly work hours, including overtime, allowed by the law of the country of
manufacture. Except in extraordinary business circumstances, employees shall:
1. not be required to work more than 48 hours per week and more than 12 hours
now
additional overtime per week in those countries where the maximum weekly
work hours, including overtime, are not defined or in those countries where
the maximum weekly work week, including overtime, cumulatively exceed
the hour caps above; and
2. be entitled to at least one day off in every 7 day period.
Overtime Compensation Employees shall be compensated for overtime hours at
such premium rate as is legally applicable in the country of manufacture or, in
those countries where such laws do not exist, at a rate at least equal to their
regular compensation rate.
005
03/11/97 TUE 19:09 FAX 202 544 6453
NIKE INC.
Principler
ELEMENTS OF MONITORING
1.
OBLIGATIONS OF COMPANIES¹
A.
Establish Clear Standards
Establish and articulate clear, written workplace standards
Formally convey those standards to company factories as well as to
contractors and suppliers³.
Receive written certifications, on a regular basis, from company
factories as well as contractors and suppliers that standards are being met,
and that employees have been informed about the standards.
Obtain written agreement of company factories and contractors and
suppliers to submit to periodic inspections and audits, including by
external monitors, for compliance with the workplace standards.
B.
Create An Informed Workplace
Ensure that all company factories as well as contractors and suppliers inform their
employees about the workplace standards orally and through the posting of
standards in a prominent place (in the local languages spoken by employees and
managers) and undertake other efforts to educate employees about the standards
on a regular basis
C.
Develop An Information Database
Develop a questionnaire to verify and quantify compliance with the
workplace standards
Require company factories and contractors and suppliers to complete and
submit the questionnaire to the company on a regular basis
D.
Establish Program to Train Company Monitors
Provide training on a regular basis to company monitors about the workplace
I
It is recognized that implementation by companies of internal monitoring programs might vary
depending upon the extent of their resources but that any internal monitoring program adopted by a
company would be consistent with these Principles of Monitoring.
2
Adoption of the Workplace Code of Conduct would satisfy the requirement to establish and
articulate clear written standards. Accordingly, all references to the "workplace standards" and the
"standards" throughout this document could be replaced with a reference to the Workplace Code of
Conduct.
J
These Principles of Monitoring should apply to contractors where the company adopting the
workplace standards is a manufacturer (including a retailer acting as a manufacturer) and to suppliers where
the company adopting the standards is a retailer (including a manufacturer acting as a retailer). A
"contractor" shall mean any contractor engaged in a manufacturing process, including cutting, sewing,
assembling, and packaging, which results in a finished product for the consumer.
006
03/11/97 TUE 19:09 FAX 202 544 6453
NIKE INC.
standards and applicable local and international law, as well as about effective
monitoring practices, so as to enable company monitors to assess compliance with
the standards.
E.
Conduct Periodic Visits and Audits
Have trained company monitors conduct periodic announced and
unannounced visits to an appropriate sampling of company factories and
facilities of contractors and suppliers to assess compliance with workplace
standards.
Have company monitors conduct periodic audits of production records
and practices, and of wage, hour and other employee records and practices
of company factories and contractors and suppliers.
F.
Provide Employees With Opportunity to Report Non-Compliance
New
Develop a secure communications channel, in a manner appropriate to the culture
and situation, to enable company employees and employees of contractors and
suppliers to report to the company and to external monitors, on non-compliance
with workplace standards when they occur, with security that they will not be
punished or prejudiced for doing so.
G.
Conduct Confidential Employee Interviews
Conduct periodic confidential interviews, in a manner appropriate to the culture
and situation, with a random sampling of company employees and employees of
contractors and suppliers (in their local languages) to determine employee
perspective on compliance with workplace standards
H.
Establish Relationships with Labor, Human Rights. Religious or Other Local
Leaders
In assessing compliance with workplace standards, consult periodically with local
human rights, labor unions, religious or other local leaders who are likely to have
the trust of workers and knowledge of local conditions.
I.
Establish Means of Remediation
Work with company factories and contractors and suppliers to correct
an
instances of non-compliance with the workplace standards promptly as
they are discovered and to take steps to ensure that instances do not recur.
Condition future business with contractors and suppliers upon compliance
with the standards.
03/11/97 TUE 19:10 FAX 202 544 6453
NIKE INC.
007
III. OBLIGATIONS OF EXTERNAL MONITORS
Establish clear, written criteria and guidelines for evaluation of
company compliance with workplace standards.
Conduct independent review of written data obtained by company to
verify and quantify compliance with workplace standards.
Verify that company employees and employees of contractors and
suppliers have been informed about the workplace standards orally, through the
posting of standards in a prominent place (in the local languages spoken by
employees and managers) and through other educational efforts.
Conduct independent audits, on a confidential basis of production
with compliance of
records and practices and of wage, hour and other employee records and
practices of an appropriate sampling of company factories and contractors and
suppliers.
Conduct periodic unannounced visits, on a confidential basis, of an
appropriate sampling of company factories and facilities of
contractors and suppliers to survey compliance with workplace standards.
Conduct periodic confidential interviews in a manner appropriate to the
culture and situation, with an appropriate sampling of company employees and
employees of contractors and suppliers (in their local languages) to determine
employee perspective on compliance with workplace standards.
Consult periodically with local human rights, labor union, religious or other
local leaders who are likely to have the trust of workers and knowledge of local
conditions.
Work, where appropriate, with company factories and contractors and
suppliers to correct instances on non-compliance with workplace standards.
Complete a report evaluating company compliance with
workplace standards
New
008
03/11/97 TUE 19:10 FAX 202 544 6453
NIKE INC.
IV.
OBLIGATIONS OF ALL MEMBERS OF APPAREL INDUSTRY
PARTNERSHIP
During the nine month transition period, all members of the Partnership agree to
abide by the following:
It is important to recognize that, while the main purpose of the Apparel
Industry Partnership is to eradicate sweatshops worldwide, it is also a
Partnership. Its members include a wide variety of companies, organizations
and associations representing diverse interests. This trust can be built upon
seensw
the mutual obligations undertaken by all Partnership members.
The company members of the Partnership have agreed to establish and
implement the Workplace Code of Conduct agreed by the entire Partnership,
and to enforce the Code of Conduct consistent with the Principles of
Monitoring outlined above. Each member of the Partnership agrees that,
before commenting publicly on another members alleged instances of non-
compliance with the Workplace Code of Conduct and Principles of
Monitoring, it will first provide that member notice and sufficient details of
the alleged compliance issue, and provide the member adequate opportunity to
investigate and respond to the alleged compliance issue.
Each company participating in the Partnership agrees to investigate, in a
manner consistent with the monitoring principles outlined above, instances of
alleged non-compliance brought to the attention of another member of the
Partnership. If there has been an instance of noncompliance, the member will
have adequate time to address and remedy the problem before the issue is
raised publicly.
7,
7-New
PAGE
2/6
ID:
FEB-25-97 11:27 FROM:ARNOLD & PORTER 11FLR
REPORT OF APPAREL INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP
The members of the Apparel Industry Partnership will report to the President and
to the public on:
The adoption of the attached "Workplace Code of Conduct";
The agreement of each company participating in the Partnership to pledge to
adhere to the Workplace Code of Conduct and to implement as soon as
reasonably practicable a monitoring program consistent with the attached
"Elements of Monitoring" utilizing an external monitor that agrees to conduct
its monitoring consistent with such Elements (and, if the company chooses to
adopt an internal monitoring program as well, an internal monitoring
program consistent with such Elements); and
The intention of each participant in the Partnership to work together during
a nine-month transition period to reach agreement on the formation of an
association representing a diversity of interests. The association would serve
as a source of information to consumers, provide information to signatory
companies assisting them in the implementation of monitoring, and seek to
develop and improve the monitoring practices of external monitors in a
manner that would provide the public with confidence about compliance
with the Workplace Code of Conduct.
POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE:
The intention of each participant in the Partnership to work together during
a nine-month transition period to reach agreement on the formation of an
association representing the interests of workers, consumers and industry.
The association would serve as a source of information to consumers,
provide information to signatory companies assisting them in the
implementation of monitoring, and seek to develop and improve the
monitoring practices of external monitors in a manner that would provide
the public with confidence about compliance with the Workplace Code of
Conduct.
pe
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PAGE
3/6
ID:
FEB-25-97 11:28 FROM:ARNOLD & PORTER 11FLR
WORKPLACE CODE OF CONDUCT
Forced Labor. There shall not be any use of forced labor, whether in the form of
prison labor, indentured labor, bonded labor or otherwise.
Child Labor. No person shall be employed at an age younger than 15 (or 14 where
the law of the country of manufacture allows) or younger than the age for completing
compulsory education in the country of manufacture where such age is higher than
15.
Harassment or Abuse. Every employee shall be treated with respect and dignity. No
employee shall be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment
or abuse.
Nondiscrimination. No person shall be subject to any discrimination in employment,
including hiring, salary, benefits, advancement, discipline, termination or retirement,
on the basis of gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, nationality,
political opinion, or social or ethnic origin.
Health and Safety. Employers shall provide a safe and healthy working environment
to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with, or occurring in
the course of work or as a result of the operation of employer facilities.
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining. Employers shall recognize and
respect the right of employees to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Wages and Benefits. Employers recognize that wages are essential to meeting
employees' basic needs. Employers shall pay employees, as a floor, at least the
minimum wage required by local law or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is
higher, and shall provide legally mandated benefits.
Hours of Work. [Employees shall not be required to work more than the maximum
weekly work hours allowed by the law of the country of manufacture.]
[REMAINING LANGUAGE SUBJECT TO FURTHER DISCUSSION.]
Overtime Compensation. Employees shall be compensated for overtime hours in
addition to their regular compensation for such hours and at such premium rate as is
legally applicable in the country of manufacture or, in those countries where such
laws do not exist, at a rate at least equal to their regular compensation rate.
*
*
*
A signatory company agrees, in addition to complying with all applicable laws of the
country of manufacture, to comply with and support the foregoing Workplace Code
of Conduct. A signatory company likewise agrees to require its subcontractors, in
addition to complying with applicable local law, to comply with and support the
foregoing Workplace Code of Conduct.
PAGE
4/6
ID:
FEB-25-97 11:29 FROM:ARNOLD & PORTER 11FLR
ELEMENTS OF MONITORING
I.
ELEMENTS OF INTERNAL MONITORING
A.
Establish Clear Standards
Establish and articulate clear, written workplace standards
Formally convey those standards to company factories as well as to
contractors/suppliers2
Receive written certifications, on a regular basis, from company
factories as well as contractors/suppliers that standards are being met,
and that employees have been informed about the standards
Obtain written agreement of company factories and contractors/suppliers
to submit to periodic inspections and audits for compliance with
workplace standards
B.
Create An Informed Workplace
Ensure that company factories as well as contractors/suppliers inform their
employees about the workplace standards verbally and through the posting of
standards in a prominent place (translated into a local language) and undertake
other efforts to educate employees about the standards on a regular basis
C.
Develop An Information Database
Develop a questionnaire to verify and quantify compliance with the
workplace standards
Require company factories and contractors/suppliers to complete and
submit the questionnaire to the company on a regular basis
D. Establish Program to Train Company Monitors
Provide training on a regular basis to company monitors about the workplace
standards as well as their relation to applicable local and international law so
as to enable company monitors to be able to assess compliance with the
standards
- 1 Adoption of the Workplace Code of Conduct would satisfy the requirement to
establish and articulate clear written standards. Accordingly. all references to the
"workplace standards" and the "standards" throughout this document could be
replaced with a reference to the Workplace Code of Conduct.
2
- These Elements of Monitoring should apply to contractors where the company
adopting the workplace standards is a manufacturer and to suppliers where the
company adopting the standards is a retailer. A "contractor" shall mean any
contractor engaged in a manufacturing process. including cutting. sewing,
assembling and packaging. which results in a finished product for the consumer.
ID:
FEB-25-97 11:29 FROM:ARNOLD & PORTER 11FLR
E.
Conduct Periodic Unannounced Visits and Audits
Have trained company monitors conduct periodic announced and
unannounced visits to, and surveillance of an appropriate sampling of
company factories and facilities of contractors/suppliers to assess
compliance with workplace standards
Have company monitors conduct periodic audits of production records
and practices and wage, hour and other employee records and practices
of company factories and contractors/suppliers
F. Provide Employees With Opportunity to Report Violations
Develop a secure communications channel to enable company employees and
employees of contractors/suppliers to report to the company (and to external
monitors) on violations of workplace standards when they occur, with security
that they will not be punished or prejudiced for doing so
G. Conduct Confidential Employee Interviews
Conduct periodic off site, off hours confidential interviews, in a manner
appropriate to the culture and situation, with a random sampling of company
employees and employees of contractors/suppliers (in their local language) to
determine employee perspective on compliance with workplace standards
H. Establish Relationship with Labor. Human Rights. Religious andor Other
Local Leaders
Where appropriate and either as part of internal or external monitoring:
In assessing compliance with workplace standards, consult, as a matter
of course, with local human rightserganizations labor unions union,
religious or other local leaders-and otherswho are likely to have the
trust of workers and knowledge of local conditions
Seek to utilize such local leaders to facilitate communication with
company employees and employees of contractors/suppliers, both in the
conduct of employee interviews and in the reporting of violations
Make relationship with local leaders known to company factories and
contractors/suppliers as well as to company employees and employees of
contractors/suppliers
I.
Establish Means of Remediation
Work with company factories and contractors/suppliers to correct
violations of workplace standards promptly as they are discovered and to
take steps to ensure that violations do not recur
Condition future business with contractors/suppliers upon compliance
with the standards
[J. Open to Further Discussion: Consultation with Unions]
-2-
PAGE
6/6
ID:
FEB-25-97 11:30 FROM:ARNOLD & PORTER 11FLR
II.
ELEMENTS OF EXTERNAL MONITORING
Establishment of clear, written criteria and guidelines for evaluation of
company compliance with workplace standards
Conduct of independent review of written data obtained by company to
verify and quantify compliance with workplace standards
Verification that company employees and employees of
contractors/suppliers have been informed about the workplace standards
verbally. through the posting of standards in a prominent place (in their
local language) and through other educational efforts
Conduct of independent audit, on a confidential basis, of production
records and practices and wage, hour and other employee records and
practices of company factories and contractors/suppliers
Conduct of periodic unannounced visits, on a confidential basis, of an
appropriate sampling of company factories and facilities of
contractors/suppliers to survey compliance with workplace standards
Conduct of periodic off site, off hours confidential interviews, in a
manner appropriate to the culture and situation, with a random sampling
of company employees and employees of contractors/suppliers (in their
local language) to determine employee perspective on compliance with
workplace standards
o
Conduct of sessions to educate company employees and employees of
contractors/suppliers about the workplace standards
Consultation, as a matter of course, with local human
rightsorganizations labor unions union, religious or other local leaders
and others who are likely to have the trust of workers and knowledge of
local conditions
o
Utilization of such local leaders to facilitate communication with
company employees and employees of contractors/suppliers
Commitment. where appropriate, to work with company factories and
contractors/suppliers to correct violations of workplace standards
Completion and issuanceof publicly available audit report evaluating
company compliance with workplace standards
- 3
NO
SWEAT
SM
Garment Enforcement
Report
October 1996 - December 1996
Wage & Hour Division
U.S. Department of Labor
Cynthia A. Metzler, Acting Secretary
NO
Garment Enforcement Report
October 1996 - December 1996
SWEAT.
SM
FY1997 First Quarter Garment Enforcement Report
The Department of Labor is committed to eradicating garment sweatshops and bringing the garment industry into compliance with U.S. labor laws. Encour-
aging manufacturers to be aware of which contractors consistently violate the law, and to monitor formally their contractors for compliance with minimum
wage and overtime laws, is an important step toward the goal of bringing long lasting positive changes for workers in the industry.
To that end, the Department of Labor has developed a multi-pronged strategy of enforcement, recognition, and education to eradicate worker abuse in
the U.S. garment industry.
Enforcement
The Wage and Hour Division conducts targeted enforcement sweeps in major garment centers and notifies manufacturers of the "hot goods"
provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act which prevents the shipment of goods made in violation by contractors.
Recognition
In December 1995, the Department issued its first Trendsetter List, highlighting retailers and manufacturers which have assumed responsibility for
monitoring practices of contractors which make their garments.
Education
The Department's garment public service announcement initiative utilizes print and radio public service announcements and a new Internet World
Wide Web site to provide information to consumers interested in helping to combat worker abuse.
This report consists of a contractors and manufacturers list and enforcement statistics for the first quarter of the this fiscal year, October 1, 1996 through
December 31, 1996. The manufacturers list contains the names of firms Wage and Hour has contacted to notify them that contractors with whom they do
business have been investigated and found to violate the FLSA. The report also contains enforcement results in the industry from the first quarter.
We have designated by bold face type firms that appeared on prior reports.
Page 1
NO
Enforcement In 4 Major Garment Centers
October 1996 - December 1996
SWEAT.
SM
NEW YORK
Investigations
80
DALLAS
Investigations
23
w/Violations
30
w/Violations
7
Back Wages
$171,160
Collected
Back Wages
$17,635
CALIFORNIA
Collected
Employees
657
Investigations
119
Employees
66
Civil Fines
$102,802
Imposed
w/Violations
65
Civil Fines
$0
BackWages $479,247
Imposed
Collected
ATLANTA/MIAMI
Employees
1,245
Investigations
26
Civil Fines
$62,617
Imposed
w/Violations
8
Back Wages
$13,347
Collected
Employees
24
Civil Fines
$0
Imposed
Page 2
NO
Garment Enforcement Summary
October 1996 - December 1996
SWEAT.
SM
TOTAL
BOSTON
PHILA-
NEW
AT-
DALLAS
CALI-
DELPHIA
YORK
LANTA
FORNIA
Number of
293
30
15
80
26
23
119
Investigations
Conducted
Number of
123
6
7
30
8
7
65
Investigations
with Violations
Amount of
Back Wages
$827,466
$123,669
$22,408
$171,160
$13,347
$17,635
Recovered
$479,247
Number of
Employees
2,200
115
93
657
24
66
1,245
Receiving
2
Back Wages
Civil Fines
$196,419
$25,000
$6,000
$102,802
$0
$0
$62,617
Imposed
Page 3
NO
Apparel Manufacturers Contacted
October 1996 - December 1996
SWEAT.
How the list was compiled:
As part of its enforcement process, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division contacts a garment manufacturer when an investigation
reveals that a sewing contractor with whom the manufacturer does business has violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Listed below are the
names of manufacturers contacted between October 1, 1996 and December 31, 1996 and informed of contractor violations. The contractors and
manufacturers are included on this list based on investigative findings of violations, not a judicial determination that any firm has violated the law.
Except where noted, the violations have been resolved and back wages paid by either the contractor or the manufacturer. If all or part of the back
wages found by Wage and Hour to be owed to the contractor's employees have not been paid, this is noted by the designation "unpaid" in the Back
Wages column. Payment of back wages does not constitute an admission of liability of any firm.
Only cases in which Wage and Hour found back wages due in excess of $1,000, whether for employees of a contractor or manufacturer, are in-
cluded on the list. Manufacturers on the list did not necessarily receive goods produced in violation of the FLSA for which back wages were owed, or
pay all or part of the back wages: Wage and Hour notifies manufacturers of violations by contractors with whom they did business during the rel-
evant time frame regardless of whether the goods involved were produced for that manufacturer. The manufacturer may or may not still be doing
business with the contractor.
The contractors are listed in descending order by the amount of back wages found due. The severity of contractors' violations, however, cannot be
compared on the basis of the dollar amounts on this list. Back wage amounts paid to contractor employees vary based upon the facts, circum-
stances and time periods involved. When there has been no final determination of whether there were any FLSA violations, or, where there were
violations, of the amount of back wages owed, the case is listed at the end of the Report with the notation "In Dispute" in the back wage column.
Footnotes designate manufacturers that were contacted because of their own violations; manufacturers that have agreed to monitor or are monitoring
their contractors for future compliance; and manufacturers that appear for the first time on a Garment Enforcement Report. Firms that have been
included on prior Reports are in boldface type.
The Report presents all information available to the Department of Labor as of the date of publication with respect to the reported investigations. If
the Department obtains new information pertinent to an investigation on the Report after that date, it will update the Report, both the Internet and hard
copy versions, to reflect that new information.
This list does not constitute an endorsement by the federal government of any company, nor does it constitute disapproval of any company.
Page 4
NO
Apparel Manufacturers Contacted
October 1996 - December 1996
SWEAT.su
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Pride Jeans, Inc.
Guess ?, Inc.
2,3
$101,300
2878 E. 54th
1444 S. Alameda
Vernon, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Revatex 2,3
1013 S. LA St.
Los Angeles, CA
Kneeland Sportswear
$73,000
David Brooks/Robert Scott 2
119 Braintree St.
122 Allied Drive
Allston, MA
Dedham, MA
Jessica Michelle
3
R & J Trading
$55,084
3030 Northern Blvd.
525 7th Ave.
Long Island City, NY
New York, NY
3
Rhoda Lee, Inc.
525 7th Ave.
New York, NY
3
Elberton Mfg. Co.
P.O. Box 878
Elberton, GA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report
Page 5
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Line 8, Inc.
$45,000
Azteca Production
2
2438 E. 11th
5804 E. Slauson
Los Angeles, CA
Commerce, CA
JNCO 3
3780 Union Pacific
Los Angeles, CA
Mepotex 3
19550 Dominguez Hill Rd.
Rancho Dominguez, CA
Guess ?, Inc.
2,3
1444 S. Alameda
Los Angeles, CA
Jeans Compstela Magnit
$44,009
2
RSV Sport (Lei)
5050 Everett Ct.
6565 E. Washington
Vernon, CA
Commerce, CA
Le's Fashion Stitching
$43,500
David Smith
3
60 Clayton St.
48 Main St.
Dorchester, MA
N. Reading, MA
Foxcroft 2
1 Ace St.
Fall River, MA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 6
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
KE Factory
$32,776
3
Protex Apparel
1452 Valencia
10920 Thienes
Los Angeles, CA
S. El Monte, CA
PCT 3
2060 Via Arado
Rancho Dominguez, CA
Vogue Int'l Collection
3
910 E. Pico
Los Angeles, CA
Dabo, Inc. d/b/a
$25,000
Rainbow
3
Minny Fashion
1219 S. Wall
1212 Stanford
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
VIA 3
1100 S. San Pedro
Los Angeles, CA
Vogue Int'l Collection
3
910 E. Pico
Los Angeles, CA
Maria Bonita
3
1136 S. Santee
Los Angeles, CA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been Included on Enforcement Report.
Page 7
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Dabo, Inc. d/b/a (cont.)
Everyday 3
5211 E. 11th
Los Angeles, CA
Claudia Fashion 3
1107 S. Santee
Los Angeles, CA
$19,914
2
Advance Sewing
David Wayne d/b/a
2236 E. 14th St.
Shane Hunter
Oakland, CA
1400 6th St.
San Francisco, CA
VIG Production, Inc,
$17,082
Plymouth Mills
2,3
88 35th St.
330 Tompkins Ave.
New York, NY
Staten Island, NY
Y & D Fashions
$16,500
NCC Sportswear
43-27 Queens St.
800 Cooper Ave.
Long Island City, NY
Glendale, NY
The Urban Apparel
3
Group, Ltd.
45 7th Ave.
New York, NY
Damas Atlantic
3
5900 Decatur St.
Glendale, NY
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 8
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Y & D Fashions (cont.)
SLM Fashion Group
3
525 7th Ave.
New York, NY
Indigo
$16,121
Guess ?, Inc.
2,3
2716 E. Medford
1444 S. Alameda
Vernon, CA
Los Angeles, CA
J&E Fashion
$13,990
Dakota 2
9808 Glen Oaks
15809 S. Strathem
Sun Valley, CA
Los Angeles, CA
OKCA, Inc.
$13,338
Michel
110 W. 11th
209 E 11th
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Carol Anderson
18915 Laurel Pk. Rd.
Rancho Dominguez, CA
306 JC Fashion
$12,973
NU Venture 2,3
255 W. 36th St.
463 7th Ave.
New York, NY
New York, NY
Santa Barbara 3
213 W. 35th St.
New York, NY
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 9
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Total Denim
$12,480
Guess ?, Inc.
2,3
1800 Hooper
1444 S. Alameda
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Kik Wear
741 W. 10th PI.
Los Angeles, CA
3
Baby Guess
1401 S. Griffith
Los Angeles, CA
Revatex (JNCO) 2,3
1013 S. LA St.
Los Angeles, CA
Tribe 3
1662 Gothard
Huntington Beach, CA
Roam Jeans 3
17855 Fitch
Irvine, CA
Uranus Fashions
$12,000
Turn On Products 2
307 W. 38th St.
225 W. 37th St.
New York, NY
New York, NY
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 10
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Uranus Fashions (cont.)
Bino Enterprises 3
d/b/a Younique Knits
225 W 37th St.
New York, NY
ANH Sewing
$10,471
Byer of California 2
1242 12th Ave.
66 Potrero
Oakland, CA
San Francisco, CA
Leo Design, Inc.
$10,283
B. Boston & Associates
3
3840 ½ Broadway
715 E. 8th St.
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
AA Fashion
$9,901
Tapestry, Inc. 2
1721 N. Spring
375 W. Victoria St.
Los Angeles, CA
Compton, CA
Ecco Staffing
$9,243
The Lilli Group, Inc.
26 Journal Square
34 Wesley St.
Jersey City, NJ
S. Hackensack, NJ
Yoo Jin
$9,097
Jessica Ash 3
327 W. 36th St.
70 W. 36th St.
New York, NY
New York, NY
Star Avenue
$8,805
Francine Browner 2
514 E. 8th
5500 E. Olympic
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 11
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Star Avenue (cont.)
Guess ?, Inc.
2,3
1444 S. Alameda
Los Angeles, CA
Entre Deux Modes
3
1983 Locust
Pasadena, CA
Revelee 3
1206 S. Maple
Los Angeles, CA
ABS
105 Stanford
Los Angeles, CA
L & H Sewing
$8,286
Central Falls
2627 S. Cooper
3525 W. Miller Rd.
Arlington, TX
Dallas, TX
Howard Wolf
3
3809 Parry
Dallas, TX
Crane Fashion
$8,283
Amiga Fashion
746 S. LA St
1119 S. LA St.
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 12
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Crane Fashion (cont.)
Maxbima 3
113 E. 11th
Los Angeles,
CASara Fashion
$8,222
Toby Kids 3
407 E. Pico
:
525 E. 12th
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Well Fashion
$8,005
Vision Apparel USA
2
257 W. 38th St.
498 7th Ave.
New York, NY
New York, NY
Cynthia Rowley
2,3
550 7th Ave.
New York, NY
Printmakers Int'l Ltd.
2,3
469 7th Ave.
New York, NY
1
$7,971
Binna Fashion 3
1242 S. Santee
Los Angeles, CA
PNJ, Inc.
$7,300
Rodin (Blue Whale, Inc.)
3
961 E. Slauson
1231 S. San Pedro
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 13
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
PNJ, Inc. (cont.)
2
R.S.V. Sport (Lei)
6565 E. Washington
Commerce, CA
Wave
1114 S. Maple
Los Angeles, CA
D & B Fashions
$6,972
2
Mother's Work, Inc.
910 Cherry St.
456 N. 5th St.
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, PA
1
$6,887
Litho Childrens Fashion
3
1523 Grande Vista
Los Angeles, CA
Lim & Kim, Inc.
$6,831
Jaclyn 3
6200 Hudson Ave.
5801 Jefferson St.
West New York, NJ
West New York, NJ
Ardsmore Blouse, Inc.
3
1359 Broadway
New York, NY
ESS Fashion
$6,616
Dude, USA
3
756 Broadway
1100 S. San Pedro
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 14
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
ESS Fashion (cont.)
Clarin 3
1118 S. Santee
Los Angeles, CA
DSA Fashion
$6,350
Monterey Canyon, Inc.
12030 Western Ave.
1530 Church Road
Garden Grove, CA
Montebello, CA
Sharon & J. Fashion
$6,241
Cheree Amie 3
3730 S. Main
1439 S. Herbert
Los Angeles, CA
Commerce, CA
C.Y. Inc.
3
2701 S. Main
Los Angeles, CA
Divine 3
1109 S. San Julian
Los Angeles, CA
Twin Fashion
$6,078
3
Sekwang Co.
120 E. 8th
6394 E. Washington
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
3
Fashion Village
939 E. 31st
Los Angeles, CA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 15
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
S.K. Fashion, Inc.
$5,953
Azteca Production 2
3775 S. Main
5804 E. Slauson
Los Angeles, CA
Commerce, CA
Bay Street Clothing, Inc.
1502 Washington
Los Angeles, CA
3
Ruff Wentworth Corp.
756 S. Spring
Los Angeles, CA
Rampage 2
2825 Sante Fe
Los Angeles, CA
Fashion Resource
2,3
3151 E. Washington
Los Angeles, CA
3
Boy London (PSF)
940 W. Washington
Los Angeles, CA
Hi Q Personnel
$5,858
Good Lad
2,3
5424 N. 5th St.
431 E. Tioga St.
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, PA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 16
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Joy Fashion
$5,852
3
One's Again
1807 E. Olympic
Unpaid
-can't be located—
Los Angeles, CA
$5,419
3
Bada Fashion:
Clover Mfg. & Wholesale
1400 E. Adams
1119 S. Wall
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Toby Kids 3
525 E. 12th St.
Los Angeles, CA
Baram Fashion 3
805 S. Wall
Los Angeles, CA
Sabina USA 3
530 E. 8th
Los Angeles, CA
Cloud Nine
3
1401 Adams
Los Angeles, CA
Kasual 3
360 E. Jefferson
Los Angeles, CA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
2
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 17
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
T & L Sportswear
$5,244
Skip's Cutting 3
714 4th St.
330 E. Main St.
Allentown, PA
New Holland, PA
Chang Li Fashion
$5,077
BBU, Inc. 3
5436 Monte Vista
758 E. 14th
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
YSH Fashion
$4,981
Express 3
308 E. 9th St.
5811 San Pedro St.
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Choice 3
1417 S. San Pedro
Los Angeles, CA
J & A Sewing Co.
$4,461
Joan Walters 3
259 8th St.
1140 San Mateo Ave.
Oakland, CA
S. San Francisco, CA
Bow Wah Fashion
$4,114
Maxit Designs 3
1867 Mission St.
4044 Wayside Lane
San Francisco, CA
Carmichael, CA
Hwang's Contractor
$4,105
Pandora's Casuals
704 S. Spring
(Onk, Inc.) 3
Los Angeles, CA
809 E. 18th St.
Los Angeles, CA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 18
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Hwang's Contractor (cont.)
The Original, Inc.
1040 1/2 Santee St.
Los Angeles, CA
1
$3,867
Galeria Sportswear, Ltd.
3
840 Summer St.
South Boston, MA
Carlos Mfg.
$3,833
Romance DaJour
3
12121 Barrington
200 W. 140th St.
South El Monte, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Vinh Hung, Inc.
$3,754
Just for Wraps (Wrappers)
2,3
9619 Valley
1900 Sacramento St.
El Monte, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Erste Fashion Corp.
$3,652
Bennini, Inc.
3
10832 Capital
1931 E. Vista Bella Way
Garden Grove, CA
Rancho Dominguez, CA
Star Finishing, Inc.
$3,627
Knits Landing
3
284 Starr St.
8000 Cooper Ave.
Brooklyn, NY
Glendale, NY
T & T Sewing, Inc.
$3,557
House of Bianchi
3
1 Brainard Ave.
1 Brainard Ave.
Medford, MA
Medford, MA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 19
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Lydia Kim Fashion
$3,550
Item Ltd.
261 W. 35th St.
241 W. 37th St.
New York, NY
New York, NY
Visage Royal 3
252 W. 37th St.
New York, NY
S & S Fashion
$3,480
Fetish Group 3
4767 S. Broadway
5050 S. Santa Fe
Los Angeles, CA
Vernon, CA
Jonler of Calif. 3
5810 2nd
Vernon, CA
Cindy Fashions
$3,375
Jerell, Inc. 2,3
210 Field St.
1431 Regal Row
Arlington, TX
Dallas, TX
Howard Wolf 3
3809 Parry
Dallas, TX
Ole Blue, Inc.
$3,006
O.G. Wear 3
170 E. Jefferson
584 Mateo
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 20
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Ole Blue, Inc. (cont.)
Serious 3
760 Gladys
Los Angeles, CA
Just USA
3
1022 S. Wall
Los Angeles, CA
Dana Don
3
112 W. 9th
Los Angeles, CA
Bay Street Clothing, Inc.
1502 W. Washington
Los Angeles, CA
Street Ahead
3
400 W. Roosevelt
Montebello, CA
3
Local Boys
18525 Graham
Huntington Beach, CA
Nixx Jeans
3
5705 W. Howard
Niles, IL
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 21
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Goah Fashion
$2,697
Copy Cats 2
325 W. 37th St.
525 7th Ave.
New York, NY
New York, NY
D & N Sewing. Shop
$2,599
Byer of California 2
545 W. 12th St:
66 Potrero
Oakland, CA
San Francisco, CA
Lisa Lai Garment Fac
$2,500
Knucklehead, Inc. 2,3
160 7th St.
1950 Army St.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco, CA
Fritzi California 2
199 1st St.
San Francisco, CA
Rhees Fashion Co., Inc.
$2,158
Mayvens of Calif. 3
111 W. 7th
531 San Pedro
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
S & S Manufacturing
$1,819
Fourth Edition 3
6102 Narrow Place
5 Lawrence St.
W. New York, NY
Bloomfield, NJ
Sue Sportswear
$1,680
Robyn Meredith, Inc.
3
325 N. 13th St.
450 Veterans Dr.
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, PA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 22
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
L & T
$1,595
Rampage 2
734 S. San Pedro
2825 Santa Fe
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Max Fashion :
$1,575
Moderato 3
724 S. Spring :
755 E. 14th St.
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Seam Quest
$1,556
Kreations, Inc.
2,3
3750 W. 16th Ave.
1075 NW 1 Ct.
Hialeah, FL
Hallendale, FL
National Sewing Co.
$1,500
Fritzi California
2
550 Jessie St., #402
199 1st St.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco, CA
Blanc Norr
3
1261 Anderson Dr.
San Rafael, CA
1
$1,471
The Evergreen Group, Inc.
3
24 Norfolk, Ave.
S. Easton, MA
Jenny Sewing
$1,420
Jerell, Inc.
2,3
1107 California Lane #303
1431 Regal Row
Arlington, TX
Dallas, TX
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 23
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
S & T Sewing Shop
$1,359
J.J. Mae's Inc.
3
832 Mission St.
d/b/a Rainbeau
3ʳᵈ Floor
120 Mississippi
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco, CA
Alexandra's Company
$1,274
M. Shapiro & Company
4747 Brooks St.
10150 National Blvd.
Montclair, CA
Culver City, CA
City Fashion
$1,175
Migreen USA 3
309 E. 8th
532 E. 11th
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
MJ & P, Inc. d/b/a 3
Fashion Dobe
1142 Wall
Los Angeles, CA
United Pro Fashion
$1,150
Joan Walters 3
550 Jessie St., #401
1140 San Mateo Ave.
San Francisco, CA
S. San Francisco, CA
ESS Fashion
In dispute
3
Pretty Good
756 Broadway
1100 S. San Pedro
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Max Fashion
In dispute
Stella Fashion 3
724 S. Spring
1025 S. Maple
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations.
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report
Page 24
Contractor
Back wages found by Wage & Hour
Manufacturers Identified as Doing
to be due contractor employees
Business with Contractor During
Investigation Period
Uranus Fashions
In dispute
Notations Inc
2
307 W. 38th St.
109 Pike Circle
New York, NY
Huntingdon Valley, PA
Manufacturer contacted because of own violations
Manufacturer agreed to begin contractor monitoring program, or has a monitoring program in place.
First time manufacturer has been included on Enforcement Report.
Page 25
June 24, 1997
Ms. Maria Echaveste
Assistant to the President/Director
Public Liaison
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Ms. Echaveste: Mana
Knowing of your continued interest in the promotion of global labor and human rights, I
have attached for your review a copy of Andrew Young's recent report on the implementation of
NIKE's code of conduct. I have also included a copy of NIKE's response to the report.
NIKE believes the Young report is thorough and objective and lays out a variety of
insightful and meaningful recommendations that we intend to fully implement.
After you have had a chance to review the Young report and NIKE's response, I would
be happy to discuss them with you or answer any questions you or your staff may have.
Sincerely,
B.
Brad G. Figel
Director of Governmental Affairs
and International Trade Counsel
NIKE, INC. 507 SECOND STREET, NE. WASHINGTON, DC. 20002 TEL 202.543 6453 FAX 202.544 6453
BRAD G. FIGEL DIRECTOR or GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE COUNSEL
Z
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Vada Manager
Lee Weinstein
NIKE, Inc.
S
(503) 671-3069
NIKE RESPONDS TO AMBASSADOR YOUNG'S REPORT
ON THE NIKE CODE OF CONDUCT
Beaverton, Oregon, June 24, 1997 - NIKE today issued its response to an evaluation by former
U.N. ambassador/Atlanta mayor Andrew Young and his firm GoodWorks International of how
its contractors are abiding to its Code of Conduct, the company's principles for footwear and
apparel manufacturing worldwide.
"We have studied [Ambassador Young's report] and we will take action to improve in areas
where he suggests we need to improve," said NIKE Founder and Chief Executive Office Philip H.
Knight and President and Chief Operating Officer Thomas E. Clarke in a joint letter. "For
although his overall assessment is that we are doing a 'good job,' good is not the standard NIKE
seeks in anything we do."
The Oregon-based sports company responded to Ambassador Young's report by agreeing to fully
implement his recommendations. NIKE then went beyond Young's recommendations, however, and
said it would take further steps. In addition, NIKE said it would:
Implement a monetary penalty system for factories that violate its Code of Conduct.
Take corrective action or terminate contractors who fail to adhere to its Code of Conduct
despite repeated coaching and penalties.
Establish a basic people management skills training program for factory management
including training in culture for expatriate managers and in local language.
Develop an action plan so that contractors hire more indigenous management into factories
at the highest levels.
Test pilot projects to measure the effectiveness of independent monitoring of factory
conditions by third parties.
In its four-page response to Ambassador Young's report, NIKE thanked not only Young but also
those in government, and in the human rights, labor, religious, consumer and business
communities who contributed insight to the report.
"NIKE has always stood for innovation and leadership- and that implies continuous
improvement in everything we do," said Vada Manager, a spokesman for NIKE. "Ambassador
Young has told us what we need to do next, and we're going to do that and then some. NIKE
consumers and employees expect no less," he said.
The complete NIKE response is attached. Ambassador Young's full report is available to the media and the
general public on the Internet at www.digitalrelease.com. Enter keyword: goodworks.
###
NIKE, INC. ONE BOWERMAN DRIVE, BEAVERTON, OR 97005-6453 TEL 503-671 6453 FAX- 503-671 6300
NIKE'S RESPONSE TO AMBASSADOR ANDREW YOUNG'S
REPORT ON THE NIKE CODE OF CONDUCT
Our NIKE Code of Conduct sets out a basic goal - for NIKE, and for all of our
business partners -- always to do what is expected, as well as required, of a leader.
In this spirit, in February, we decided to seek a separate and independent
assessment of the extent to which our contractors are complying with that Code.
We turned to one person we thought had three attributes that would make that
assessment most valuable.
First, a truly independent voice. Second, a person with experience and
understanding of the developing world, where most of the world's apparel and
footwear products are made. And third, someone who was not party to the issue
-who would bring a fresh perspective to bear.
Andrew Young, former United Nations Ambassador, life-long human rights
advocate, with a wealth of experience in labor and factory issues, was an obvious
choice.
Today, after four months of investigation, Ambassador Young delivered his
report.
His overail assessment is that we are doing a "good job." But good is not the
standard NIKE seeks in anything we do.
We are acting now to improve in every area he suggests. His recommendations,
and our response, are:
1.
Recommendation: "NIKE should continue its efforts to support and
implement the provisions of Apparel Industry Partnership."
Action:
NIKE was the first company to join President Clinton's Apparel
Industry Partnership. We will continue to work with our Partnership colleagues
from the apparel industry, and related labor, human rights, religious and
consumer groups. NIKE is represented on all of its various subcommittees,
addressing implementation of the new Code and its monitoring principles. The
most recent meeting was held the very day Ambassador Young presented his
report to us.
We will carry this message of industry, labor and rights groups cooperation to all
of our business partners and others in the industry. We will urge other apparel
and retail companies to sign on. In the past two weeks we have already begun to
do this with other athletic, dress and casual footwear companies.
2.
Recommendation: "NIKE should take more aggressive steps to explain
and enforce the Code of Conduct."
Action:
As a result of comments made during Ambassador Young's factory
inspection tour in March and April, NIKE reinforced implementation of the Code
of Conduct and its monitoring principles by conducting eight weeks of training
for NIKE production people and contract factory management in Asia, in 11
countries and 15 cities. We will follow up by:
a.
Ensuring that contractors provide every employee with renewed
Code of Conduct training and a simplified, written form of that Code.
b.
Redoubling our efforts to ensure that every NIKE contract factory
has the Code posted visibly in every major workspace, in the language of both
the worker and the manager, when those languages are different.
C.
Add to our auditing procedures to assure that the Code of Conduct
is understood, that training, posting and personal copies of the Code have the
desired impact: that workers truly understand their rights, and management its
obligations.
3.
Recommendation: "NIKE should take proactive steps to promote the
development of 'worker representatives' in the factories who can effectively
represent the workers' individual and cumulative interests."
Action:
NIKE contract factory worker representation spans a broad
spectrum around the world, from worker-management committees to full trade
unions. NIKE will survey existing worker representation processes and require
each of our contract factories to redouble its efforts to assure that workers truly
have a voice in workplace issues.
4.
Recommendation: "NIKE should insist that the factories which
manufacture its products create and enforce a better grievance system that
allows a worker to report a complaint without the fear of retribution and
abuse."
Page 2
Action:
NIKE will survey existing grievance procedures in our contract
factories and with other industries and factory groups. We will require each of
our contract factories to adopt and implement one of several model procedures,
as appropriate to its size, current representation system, and the effectiveness of
that current system.
In addition, NIKE will create several pilot ombudsman projects to determine
how well an outside voice can supplement and enhance the grievance procedure.
5.
Recommendation: "NIKE should expand its dialogue and relationship
with the human rights community and the labor groups within the countries
where they produce goods and with their international counterparts."
Action:
NIKE has already begun this process. Starting in major source
countries, we are seeking to establish regular sessions with groups who can
foster productive dialogue on contract labor issues. The Apparel Industry
Partnership and a quarterly conference call with concerned investor groups are
two of several forums in which we will continue to address these issues with
affiliated and interested international parties.
6.
Recommendation: "NIKE should consider some type of 'external
monitoring' on an ongoing basis as a way to demonstrate its commitment to
the Code of Conduct and to insure its effective application."
Action:
Specifically, Ambassador Young recommends two steps: (a)
establish an ombudsman function, and (b) establish a small panel of
distinguished international citizens to provide a continuing oversight role similar
to that undertaken by the Ambassador. We're already doing the first, as noted
above. We're working now to appoint an international oversight panel to fulbll-
the second.
Because NIKE is a leader, we have decided to take further steps beyond
Ambassador Young's recommendations, but speaking to issues he raised:
1.
NIKE will strengthen the penalty system for contract factories found in
violation of the NIKE Code of Conduct. This includes escalating monetary
penalties, whose proceeds will fund: (a) remedial action to correct the violation
or (b) investment in worker education, recreation or habitability enhancement
programs.
2.
We are determined that the 500,000 jobs created by NIKE's contract
relationships around the world continue to be the best jobs in the business. If
any contractor consistently fails to adhere to our Code of Conduct, we will
terminate their relationship with NIKE.
Page 3
3.
With our partner factories, NIKE will establish an ongoing training
system for managers and supervisors that includes (a) basic people
management skills; (b) education in local culture for expatriate managers and
(c) learning the local language.
4.
Ambassador Young has identified the need for a higher level of host
country management in factories owned and operated by foreign investors.
NIKE will assess current levels of indigenous management, and establish
action plans with each contractor to assure that local management is integrated
at the highest levels.
5.
NIKE will continue to test pilot projects to measure the effectiveness of
independent monitoring by third parties. To date two such projects have been
undertaken in two countries. A third is underway.
NIKE will implement each of the actions noted above by January 31, 1998, and
then reassess further steps or the enhancement of those already taken.
In addition, NIKE will continue to implement a comprehensive factory
inspection program, called SHAPE (Safety, Health, Attitude of Management,
People Investment, Environment) in all contract factories worldwide. Our aim is
to ensure that every aspect of the factory work experience meets NIKE
standards, from fire drills and sanitation to worker training and recreation
programs.
Since 1994 NIKE has had independent auditors test factory compliance with our
Code of Conduct. We are encouraged that Ambassador Young has found these
audits to be "professionally done, (and) rigorous," We will redouble our efforts
to assure they are an effective tool. By August 1, 1997 NiKE will have in place a
single, unified set of instructions to make sure that every independent audit,
anywhere in the world, by any auditor, is done to the same standard.
NIKE management appreciates not only the independence and objectivity that
Ambassador Young has brought to these issues, but the many other voices in
government, the human rights, labor, religious, consumer and business
communities, that have also contributed valuable insight.
Ambassador Young has demonstrated -on assignment for NIKE, but also over 40
years of public and private service in human rights arenas - that these issues are
always best served by reasoned, honest and respectful discussion. We are
committed to that course.
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GoodWorks
International, LLC
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
"The NIKE Code of Conduct" by GoodWorks International, LLC.
A Report on Conditions in International Manufacturing Facilities for NIKE, Inc.
Overall Finding. It is my sincere belief that NIKE is doing a good job in the application of its Code of
Conduct. But NIKE can and should do better.
Background. Six months ago, the leadership of NIKE Inc. contacted GoodWorks International, LLC.
NIKE asked GoodWorks to make an independent assessment of NIKE's Code of Conduct and NIKE's
effectiveness in applying the Code to factories where NIKE apparel and footwear products are
manufactured.
GoodWorks insisted that there be no conditions or limits on travel; that it be allowed to visit any factory
and talk with any worker without the presence of management, that it have access to any confidential
audits, and that NIKE would make the report public. GoodWorks visited twelve factories in three
countries, met with NIKE personnel, and met with members of important international and United States
non-governmental organizations.
Wages and Living Standards. NIKE asked GoodWorks to evaluate its Code of Conduct. GoodWorks
never desired nor intended to address the issue of wages and living standards because "such an exercise
was well beyond the technical capacity of our small firm. While it is tempting to criticize a few highly
visible and successful companies for paying 'low wages,' meaningful reform can only be achieved
through national law or international standards that enforce a 'level playing field' for all companies, not
just a few," wrote Young.
What is a "NIKE Factory?" Factories visited by GoodWorks in Vietnam, Indonesia and China are totally
owned and operated by Asian companies who have contracts with NIKE (and others)
While NIKE Hoes not have technical legal ownership of these factories or even direct control of the
management, it has enormous leverage because of the factory's dependence on huge NIKE contracts.
This is one of the great challenges for NIKE and others in the industry who produce in these same
factories but must rely on absentee owners and a large number of expatriate managers to implement and
enforce work standards established by corporate leadership half way around the world.
For instance, one of the factories we visited in Vietnam is owned by a Taiwanese company, the plant
manager is a Taiwanese and most of the line managers are Taiwanese. The lack of indigenous
management in these factories tends to undermine communication between manager and workers.
Findings.
1. Factories we visited that produce NIKE goods were clean, organized, adequately ventilated and well
lit. They certainly did not appear to be what most Americans would call "sweatshops."
2. I found no evidence or pattern of widespread Of systematic abuse or mistreatment of workers in these
twelve factories.
3. Generally speaking, these twelve factories are controlled by absentee owners, managed by expatriates
who, in Vietnam in particular, do not speak the local language fluently and are overseen by a
relatively small number of NIKE technical supervisors focused largely on quality control.
4. The concept of "workers' rights" is not a well-developed or well-understood principle in the three
Asian countries where NIKE and its major competitors produce shoes and apparel.
5. Some system of third-party monitoring is necessary because of the ownership structure of these Asian
factories.
6. In some factories, workers are offered housing as part of their compensation, but it is entirely
voluntary. By Western standards, the rooms are small and the furnishing sparse. The workers I
talked with said that it was "better than their home."
7. There needs to be a better system to enable individual factory workers to file a complaint or grievance
and know that it will be seriously considered and/or investigated without fear of retribution.
8. The NIKE Code of Conduct should be the basis of the relationship between NIKE, the plant
ownership and management and the workers. The Code is not visible on the factory floors and not
well understood by the workers.
Recommendations.
1. NIKE should continue its efforts to support and implement the provisions of the Apparel Industry
Partnership, which resulted in the first major agreement -- across industry lines -- to set voluntary,
global standards and goals for international labor practices.
2. NIKE should take more aggressive steps to explain and enforce the Code of Conduct.
3. NIKE should promote the development of "worker representatives" in the factories to effectively
represent the workers' individual and cumulative interests.
4. NIKE should insist that the factories that manufacture its products create and enforce a better
grievance system within the factory.
5. NIKE should expand its dialogue and relationship with the human rights community and the labor
groups within the countries where they produce goods and with their international counterparts.
6. NIKE should consider some type of "external monitoring" on an ongoing basis to ensure effective
application of the Code of Conduct. It is important that NIKE's professional audits conducted by
Ernst & Young and Price Waterhouse be continued. It should consider establishing an "ombudsman"
in each major country with manufacturing facilities. NIKE also might assemble a small panel of
distinguished international citizens to monitor factories.