'Labor Standards' By Nicholas Kristof

Introduction Have you ever imagined working in a place where employees are subjected to dangerous working conditions, including unfair salaries and arbitrary punishments, such as physical and mental abuse? Since the hourly rate of sweatshop workers is less than their everyday expenses, these workers never have a chance to improve their quality of life. Ken Silverstein’s 2010 magazine article “Shopping for Sweat: The human cost of a two-dollar T-Shirt” outlines the harsh working conditions for many garment workers living in Cambodia. The topics discussed are slavery, ethical sourcing, public relations, productivity, poverty, and competitiveness.

In the essay “Sweatshop Oppression”, the writer, Rajeev Ravisankar begins his essay by building a connection with the audience by establishing common ground when he states, “being the “poor” college students that we all are” (Ravisankar, 2006). The problem he identifies is the significantly poor working conditions and slave labor wages that are often the price for cheaper goods from large renowned companies. Ravisankar assumes his readers are college students, and unaware of the reality of and often destitute conditions of these sweatshops. His goal is to not only bring awareness to the reality of sweatshop oppression, but how others, such as USAS have stepped up to bring change, and what

Time and time again, there have been opposing views on just about every single possible topic one could fathom. From the most politically controversial topics of gun control and stem cell research to the more mundane transparent ones of brown or white rice and hat or no hat—it continues. Sweatshops and the controversy surrounding them is one that is unable to be put into simplistic terms, for sweatshops themselves are complex. The grand debate of opposing views in regards to sweatshops continues between two writers who both make convincing arguments as to why and how sweatshops should or should not be dealt with. In Sweat, Fire and Ethics, by Bob Jeffcott, he argues that more people ought to worry less about the outer layers of sweatshops and delve deeper into the real reason they exist and the unnecessariness of them. In contrast, Jeffrey D. Sachs writes of the urgent requirement of sweatshops needed during the industrialization time in a developing country, in his article of Bangladesh: On the Ladder of Development. The question is then asked: How do sweatshops positively and negatively affect people here in the United States of America and in other countries around the world?

Granted, while sweatshops by all means are not a luxurious work environments, there are components that the economic and politic data is not able to fully capture. Throughout Rivoli’s book, there is the central theme that poorer countries could be relatively improved by the opportunities that they are provided with the jobs in the process of manufacturing a shirt. Rivoli sections her book off into 5 parts due to chronologically following the process of how or where the

Sweltering heat, long hours, and unfair working conditions are a few descriptive words that Americans use to describe a sweatshop. I believe our judgment is being misguided by the success of our nation, and it is imperative we redefine the word “sweatshop”. Individuals that endure life in third world countries know hardships that Americans could not imagine. If we were to recognize these economical differences it may shine a light on why these workers seek sweatshop jobs. In many of these cases, children must work to aid in the family’s survival. If these jobs are voluntary and both parties agree to work conditions, it results in a mutually beneficial arrangement. One of the worst things we can do as outsiders, to help these impoverished

Around the world are factories that take advantage of the less fortunate and those desperate for a job. These places, called sweatshops, did not come into existence recently, but they had existed in the past as well. A sweatshop is “a work place, often a factory, in which employees work long hours at low wages under poor conditions”. In sweatshops, workers are not given employee benefits or a living wage. However, sweatshops were most common in the United States during the Industrial Revolution, throughout the years 1880 through 1920.

Sweltering heat, long hours, unfair working conditions are a few descriptive words that Americans use to describe a sweatshop. I believe our judgment is being misguided by the success of our nation, and it is imperative we redefine the word “sweatshop”. Individuals that endure life in third world countries know hardships that Americans could not imagine. If we were to recognize these economical differences it may shine a light on why these workers seek sweatshop jobs. In many of these cases, children must work to aid in the family’s survival. If these jobs are voluntary and both parties agree to working conditions, it results in a mutually beneficial arrangement. One of the worst things we can do as outsiders, to help these impoverished

In “Where Sweatshops Are a Dream”, Nicholas Kristof states sweatshops may be too harsh in America’s eyes, but a dream for many families in poverty. Phnom Penh, Cambodia is a city where, in some places, the trash pile high and smoke fills the air. For the people who live there, scavenging through the trash, finding plastic and, selling it is just a way of life. Many Americans believe that labor laws should be improved to try to help them. However, what they do not see is that many want to work in sweat shops. To work in a sweatshop and get out of the trash collecting life is a goal for many people living there. Kristof defends his statement by saying sewing machine jobs would be a more preferable job then what people do in Phnom Penh. On the

A majority of the clothing worn and purchased today in the United States has been manufactured overseas in sweatshops. Since the beginning of factories and businesses, owners have always looked for a way to cut production costs while still managing to produce large quantities of their product. It was found that the best way to cut costs was to utilize cheap labor in factories known as sweatshops. According to the US General Account Office, sweatshops are defined as a “business that regularly violates both wage or child labor and safety or health laws”. These sweatshops exploit their workers in various ways: making them work long hours in dangerous working conditions for little to no pay. Personally, I believe that the come up and employment of these sweatshops is unethical, but through my research I plan to find out if these shops produce more positive than negatives by giving these people in need a job despite the rough conditions.

It is important, however, to take a panoramic view on these factories to avoid bias, just as one would do for any other topic. Author Nicholas Kristof of the op-ed article “Where Sweatshops Are A Dream,” successfully and effectively does this in his article, in which he examines the lives of Asian factory workers and how they are affected by the presence of sweatshops. First off, Kristoff argues that from the perspective of someone living in extreme poverty such as this, any job would drastically improve one’s quality of life. He believes, to some extent, it comes down to the lesser of two evils: a paying job, no

Sweatshops a big issue in today’s society, even though their existence can sometimes stay hidden from the public’s eye. A famous author named Berry states, “ most of us get all the things we need by buying them and most of us know only vaguely, if at all, where those things came from; and most of us know not at all what damage is involved in their production. We are almost entirely dependent on an economy of which we are almost entirely ignorant.” The majority of people in the US have no idea where the clothes they are purchasing are actually coming from. Most people would not support the exploitation of their own race of people. If they were able to see and come to realization about what is actually happening they would have a much different change of heart.

In his New York Times opinion column, “Where Sweatshops Are a Dream”, writer Nicholas D. Kristof uses his experience living in East Asia to argue his positive outlook on sweatshops. Kristof wants to persuade his audience, Obama and his team, along with others who are for “labor standards”, that the best way to help people in poor countries is to promote manufacturing there, not campaign against them. He uses Phnom Penh as an example to show why working in the sweatshops is a dream for the families there. They would rather work at a sweatshop than stay in the dangerous garbage dump, searching for something to recycle for change. The writer establishes credibility through his experience

Sweatshops have always portrayed a negative image due to the mass media of how dangerous the factories are. Yes, sweatshops do not provide favorable work conditions however in relation to the work conditions that exist in alternative jobs, sweatshops are by far the best option available. Columnist Nicholas Kristof, writer of “Where Sweatshops are a Dream,” recognizes this issue and provides reasonable information explaining why the sweatshops conditions are desirable and “worth-it” to those in developing countries. Looking into places where sweatshop proliferate, such as Phnom Penh, Cambodia, one of the most common jobs, aside from sweatshops, is at a mountain of waste described as a “Dante-like vision of hell. It's a mountain of festering

Companies try and pass it down the supply chain to until it reaches those who cannot pass it down any more. The people making these clothes are the most vulnerable, those who have no voice, there are garment factory workers in Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, cotton farmers in India and the child slaves working in cotton farms in Uzbekistan. Some sweatshop workers speak out on their experience. A young woman named Aracerly talks about her experience working in a sweatshop. She works on her feet for more than 12 hours a day getting payed 80 dollars weekly. Her palms are calloused and has burn marks that were not treated properly in the sewing shops. She is exposed to poisonous elements and using unsafe equipment without suitable protection. Most people working in sweat shops are forced to work in the farms and factories that produce the imputes for our clothing in the industry. Their wages are so low that they are unable to lift themselves or their families out of poverty, and the cycle continues.

In our society, almost all of us buy clothes unaware of the labour that actually goes into making them. But what is the true price of even something as simple as a pair of jeans? The unfortunate reality of what life is truly like working in a sweatshop is investigated in Micha Peled’s documentary China Blue. It follows Jasmine Lee, a sixteen-year Chinese girl who leaves her village in hopes of improving her family’s life and her own by finding work in the city. She manages to get a job in the city of Shaxi as a thread cutter at Lifeng factory, which produces jeans, but has to deal with its harsh conditions, long hours and abysmally low wages. The most prevalent theme of this documentary is that developed countries are part of