The Exploitation Of The Workforce

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.

Many businesses in United States manufacture their product overseas. This involves manufacturing products outside United States where the labor cost is cheaper. Because of cheap labor, it is often more economical for a U.S. company to manufacture overseas and pay the shipping costs than to manufacture in the United States. For a company, the savings may be substantial. However, there are negative impacts on U.S. employment, as many jobs in the United States are being outsourced and replaced by overseas positions. The manufacturers outsource production projects to save time, money or resources. The manufacturing is outsourced so as to remain competitive and maintain a steady work flow. Without outsourcing, manufacturing costs could escalate to the point at which no product would sell and all employees would have no work. Outsourcing comes

In trying to strictly buy just American made products there are going to be pros and cons but no matter what you do there are always pros and cons. The pros to doing this would be better quality as the American made products are normally much nicer and more reliable, just think if you buy from American companies it will probably be so much easier to contact the company you are trying to buy goods from because there was always that trouble trying to get ahold of a supplier say if he was based out of china and maybe he didn’t speak English maybe he did but then you would have to work out a time to call as the time would be completely different it may be 2 p.m. here and it might be 4 a.m. there it was always just a hassle. Another Pro would be with all the new companies that would start business in America because everyone wants to buy products strictly from America that could have huge benefit on the unemployed that would give more people jobs and it would have a chance to lower the unemployment rate. But if the American based companies want to stand a chance they would need to sell goods to where the people have to pay for them they can’t be public goods. If they are public goods everyone would take advantage of the company because the company can’t exclude them now they have a free rider problem. So the only way to make a profit is through selling these products.

The U.S. government encourages the U.S. companies to sell their products in other countries because other countries may offer better opportunities for growth.

It’s hard to say the products may be cheaper but the quality of the products may also suffer when production is moved overseas. The really isn’t any appliances that are made in the United States any more it’s common for companies to move their factories overseas in order to cut cost. I I were to stop buying the appliances I used to using and changed over to another brand chances are that brands products are made overseas as well so either way I am purchasing a produced that is manufactured overseas whether I say with the first company or move on to another.

Mexico is a Tier 2 source, transit, and destination country. It’s primary forms of trafficking are sexual exploitation and forced labor. Men, women, and children are trafficked, but the most vulnerable populations are indigenous peoples, migrants, mentally and physically disables, and LGBT individuals. Victims are forced into labor in the agriculture, domestic, manufacturing, food processing, construction, begging, and street vending services. Many victims are lured by fraudulent recruiters, possibility of romantic relationships, extortion, debt bondage, and the possibility of harm to family members. Women’s shelters and rehabilitation facilities become agencies for traffickers into forced labor and sexual exploitation. Child sex tourism flourishes and tourists come from the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. Many Mexican citizens and families exploit children into the commercial sex trade. Organized crime is actively involved and make men, women, and children engage in illicit activities, become assassins, aid as lookouts, and help in the production, transport, and sale of drugs. Government officials at every level either actively participate of are complicit in human trafficking. Many law enforcement, judges, immigration officials extort bribes, partake in sexual services from women and children, falsify documents, facilitate movement across borders, threaten victims if they choose to file a formal complaint, operate and patronize brothels, and refuse to respond

Most specifically is China. In fact, “If it were a nation, in and of itself, Wal-Mart would be China’s eighth trading partner” (Matusitz and Leanza 192). This is because wages in China are far less than the typical wages in America, resulting in much cheaper product costs. Smith says, “suppliers have told us that they have felt real strong, particularly opening price point, pressure from Wal-Mart that has effectively forced them to make decisions to move overseas” (26:37). Wal-Mart’s suppliers are forced to manufacture products so as to make a profit. This has consequently resulted in the loss of American manufacturing jobs. Not only have American jobs been affected but jobs overseas have been affected as well; “even bringing about the apparently stunning spectacle of Wal-Mart caving in to unionization in China, globalization has only weakened the chinese working class” (Blecher 275). Workers in China now have a union but are still paid very little. Although they are paid very little, they have come to rely on whatever small amount it is that they make. In an interview with Frontline, Donald Hay, owner of Hay’s factory in China, says, “They[Chinese factory workers] want to work. They want to earn the money. They want to get forward. And they will do anything to move forward” (Smith and Young 30:49). Earning much less than a dollar per hour, the workers are motivated to work harder so they might be able to move

With bringing your factories to foreign countries you get cheaper labor land and can avoid many taxes.

- Equipment and labor are cheaper elsewhere. It is cheaper to produce drugs and have them shipped to the U.S.;

If you live in the United States, you may be aware that there are far fewer products made in America than there were several decades ago. You may also have wondered, at some point, whether this even matters anymore. In short: Yes, it certainly does. The following is a brief overview on why American made really does matter.

Again China cheap labors not only they are stealing American workers jobs, but they're also exporting their product to Americans on a daily basis.

One of the main reasons to buy American made is jobs. Jobs drive our economy. Financial analysts pay close attention to the monthly jobs report. The monthly jobs report is a direct indicator of how healthy our economy is and a forecast for the future. It’s like the doctor taking a persons pulse. A good strong pulse indicates you appear to be healthy, but a weak pulse indicates you may have problems. It would be hard to pay for even the basic necessities without a job. When you buy American made products you are supporting your friends, family and neighbors. Those folks are the ones getting paid to manufacture products that you find on the shelf at your local stores. If they don’t sell those products then there is no need to manufacture them. We can no survive with just a service economy. Meaning someone to fix your furnace or change the oil in your car. We need manufacturing jobs to have a healthy economy.

Because corporations are so utterly focused on attaining high profits, they often lie or mislead in order to get consumers to buy their products. There are many examples of this, one of these involving Wal-Mart. “A Brief History of Wal-Mart.” is an article written by T.A. Frank for the Washington Monthly, about Wal-Mart’s beginnings and it’s long history of deceit and abuse. Frank explains that in 1985, the “Made in America” campaign was introduced the corporation. This policy stated that the Wal-Mart would buy American-made products if the price was within 5 percent of a foreign factory’s. In 1992, while this campaign was still technically in effect, Dateline NBC revealed that Wal-Mart employees were putting “Made In America” signs next to products made in other countries. (Frank) In this case, Wal-Mart advertised these products as American made, misleading customers into buying items that they might not have otherwise bought. Even when it comes to things as individually as insignificant as false information on a sign at Wal-Mart, corporations have become pathological liars. It is a bad idea to have dishonest corporations affecting so

It is a good practice to buy American made goods if possible. Because the American public no longer thinks before they buy an item, we are losing out manufacturing base every day that passes on the calendar. Every day you watch the news there are stories about how bad the economy is and getting worse with each tick of the clock. In the recent history, United States of America was the leading exporter of goods but now we run a trade deficit each year. John Carpenter in the article “Why You Should Buy American Made Products,” at the website http://ezinearticles.com has made the point that the American public has to take a share of the blame because they have lost their patriotism and pride.

Although the Chinese apparel manufacturers would lose profitability due to rising cotton prices and competition from emerging countries, they stand to gain the most from the removal of U.S. quotas and tariffs. According to the author, in 2007, 95% of the 20 billion garments Americans made were purchased overseas. Due to U.S. trade barriers, China’s share of the U.S. apparel import was only 30%. Once these barriers were removed, Chinese apparel would flood the American market due to their low cost and dominance in garment manufacturing. Experts predict that China could eventually supply 85% of U.S. apparel. As they increase their market share in the