Sweat Fire And Ethics Summary

1. A representative of the American clothing industry recently made the following statement: “Workers in Asia often work in sweatshop conditions earning only pennies an hour. American workers are more productive and as a result earn higher wages. In order to preserve the dignity of the American workplace, the government should enact legislation banning imports of low-wage Asian clothing.” Answer the following: (10 points)

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?

1. A representative of the American clothing industry recently made the following statement: “Workers in Asia often work in sweatshop conditions earning only pennies an hour. American workers are more productive and as a result earn higher wages. In order to preserve the dignity of the American workplace, the government should enact legislation banning imports of low-wage Asian clothing.” Answer the following:

In his opinion essay, “Sweatshop Oppression,” published in the student newspaper, The Lantern, at Ohio State University, writer Rajeev Ravisankar uses his article as a platform to raise awareness about the deplorable conditions in sweatshops. Ravisankar awakens his readers from their slumber and brings to light the fact that they are partly responsible for the problem. His first goal in the essay is to designate college students as conscious consumers who look to purchase goods at the lowest prices. Then he makes the connection between this type of low-cost consumerism and the high human cost that workers are forced to pay in sweatshops. His second goal is to place the real burden of responsibility directly with the companies that perpetuate this system of exploitation. Finally, he proposes what can be done about it. By establishing a relationship that includes himself in the audience, working to assign responsibility to the reader, and keeping them emotionally invested, Ravisankar makes a powerful argument that eventually prompts his student reader to take responsibility for their actions and make a change.

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

You will use the critical thinking skills you have been developing to identify violations of the Universal Intellectual Standards and Logical Fallacies in the essay, “Sweatshirts from Sweatshops” on pages 406-408 of your textbook.

1. In the essay “Sweatshirts to Sweatshops,” many of the universal intellectual standards are violated. To begin with, the speaker talks about the “little girl…working hour after hour…trying not to collapse from the heat…” and that violates the fairness of the argument. He is trying to manipulate the audience by appealing to their emotional side. This argument is not based in factual evidence, and therefore, could be dismissed by the audience. There may not be a little girl in this exact situation described, and therefore, this statement is irrelevant. This could be corrected by leaving the entire story of the “little girl” out, or an interview of a child that works in the factory could be conducted giving a first-hand look into the

On June 6, 1851, the Jacklins had their third son William. Meanwhile, Moses and Ann near Ottawa had caught up with Robinson and Christy as they had four children with a fifth on the way. Their family consisted now of William (b 1841), Mary Ann (b 1844), Maria (b 1848), Sarah Jane (b 1849) all born in Nepean. They also had moved in 1850 so Moses could finally get his own plot of land and be a full fledged farmer. His land was just east of Hanover, Bentinck Twp, Grey County (Con. 1, Lots 23-24), which itself is just south of Owen Sound. Moses now had 100 acres of his own and a lot of hard work to clear the land sufficiently to be able to sustain a family.

Sweatshops have been around for centuries, beginning around the late 1880’s. Sweatshops are classified by three main components, long work hours, very low pay and unsafe and unhealthy working environments. Sweatshops are usually found in manufacturing industries and the most highlighted production is clothing corporations, who take full advantage of the low production costs of their products. Many may think sweatshops are a thing of the past but they are still affecting many lives across the nations. There are many ways sweatshops affect lives, but a recent article titled “New study finds ‘more sweatshops than Starbucks’ in Chicago” explains that there are many low wage industry jobs that are violating labor laws in the United States alone. The article also reports how employees who are working in such conditions won’t speak up in fear of the retaliation employers will implement. Analyzing Sweatshops through the lens of the Sociological perspectives will help us better understand the illegal conditions of workplaces that still exist today.

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.

            Between 1880-1940 tenement houses became the ideal place to produce garments. The term “Sweatshop” was beginning to come into existence as the sweating system was commonly used during this time.   In the lower east side of New York, tenement houses reached an outrageous number of 35,000, which resulted in a million and a half people working in these establishments (Hapke, 2001).  The working conditions in these houses were horrendous as they were terribly overcrowded to the point where it was uncomfortable and unhealthy to work in the small, poorly ventilated rooms.  The facilities were also

Modern use of birth control pills has given women a sense of independence, to gain employment and express their sexuality freely, while mid-twentieth usage of birth control came with an increased stigma, less access to the pill, and a positive and negative impact on marriages.

The Sweatshop Watch, established in the year 1995 in Los Angeles, is a syndicate dedicated to advocating for the rights of sweatshop workers. In an article released by the Sweatshop Watch entitled, “Supporting Mexican Garment Workers at the Tarrant Ajalpan Factory,” they delineate the repeatedly ignored endeavors of the sweatshop workers to resist the relentless abuse they endure from the Ajalpan factory in Tarrant, Mexico. The Ajalpan factory, began operation in 1999 and distributes products to numerous brand name clothing companies including Polo Ralph Lauren. On June 10, 2003, as an attempt to ensure that the factory would mitigate the abysmal conditions that they experience everyday, 800 workers stood in protest and refused to work (Sweatshop

Sweatshops have always been a problem in the Unites States, especially during the past century. Unfair working conditions and pay prompted the formation of the Garment Worker

Chinese political transition officially ended March 17, 2013, with the closing of the annual parliamentary session. It helped to endorse the renewal of the management team, the first stage took place at the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which was held in Beijing from 8 to 14 November 2012. XI Jinping appointed Secretary General Party in November, became President of the Republic following HU Jintao and Li Keqiang succeeded as Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. The composition of the new government was announced on 16 March 2013. In addition to the Prime Minister, it has four deputy prime ministers, five state councilors and twenty-five ministers and presidents of state commissions.