Sweatshops

Current Involvements - Sweatshops

Sweatshops (Human Rights/Dignity Global Economy/Trade Issues)
(Pass your mouse marker over the purple text for additional information)

School Sisters of Notre Dame view global economic justice issues through the lens of Catholic Social Teac hing.

Economic Justice for All
Employers are obligated to treat their employees as persons, paying them fair wages in exchange for the work done and establishing conditions and patterns of work that are truly human. (Section 69)

But justice, not charity, demands certain minimum guarantees. The provision of wages and other benefits sufficient to support a family in dignity is a basic necessity to prevent this exploitation of workers. (Section 103)

…Foreign investors, attracted by low wage rates in less developed countries, should consider both potential loss of jobs in the home country and the potential exploitation of workers in the host country. (Section 279)

The economy exists for the person, not the person for the economy.
All people have the right to economic initiative, productive work, just wages and benefits, decent working conditions, as well as the right to organize or join a union or other associations.
A fundamental moral measure of any economy is how the poor and vulnerable are faring.

Sweatshops are one of the many global economic justice issues that concern the School Sisters of Notre Dame. A sweatshop is a workplace where workers are subject to extreme exploitation, including the absence of a living wage and benefits, poor working conditions, denial of worker rights, and arbitrary discipline. Workers typically work long hours for sub-poverty paychecks. Worker abuses can include unsafe or life-threatening working conditions, physical punishment, emotional humiliation, and the use of child labor.

Examples of Sweatshop Wages

US Sweatshops – Between $3-4/hour
Dominican Republic - $.73/hour
El Salvador - $.60/hour
Mexico - $.50/hour
Haiti - $.30/hour
China - $.28/hour
Bangladesh - $.20/hour
Burma - $.04/hour

(Source - National Labor Committee)

"SweatFree” or “Clean Clothes”
Purchasing Policies

Require suppliers ensure that the products they provide are made by manufactures who abide by international labor rights and human rights standards and site-of-production laws and regulations
Manufactured under safe, just and healthy working conditions, including no child labor, no forced labor, wages that, at a minimum, meet workers’ basic needs, and respect the right to organize and bargain collectively.
Many also require disclosure of the names and addresses of the factories and/or confirmation of independent monitoring of factories

The School Sisters of Notre Dame Respond
The School Sisters of Notre Dame pursue issues of economic justice in a variety of ways. One strategy has focused on engaging major corporations in dialogue about the treatment of workers who produce goods for their company – particularly those in developing countries. In some cases this dialogue has led to the revision or better implementation of corporate policies designed to prevent worker abuse and exploitation. Our dialogue with the GAP Corporation even included accompanying corporate officials on an inspection and compliance tour of factories in the Dominican Republic – the first time they ever allowed someone outside the corporation to participate in their inspection process!

In addition to communicating with corporate officials concerning the treatment of workers, many sisters and associates have written letters to their elected officials and supported efforts which promote farm and migrant workers rights, address concerns regarding the impact of major trade agreements like NAFTA and FTAA, and take issue with the structure and function of the WTO.

Through the Office of Global Justice & Peace, the School Sisters of Notre Dame also participate in the Milwaukee Clean Clothes Initiative, which seeks to address the exploitation of workers through education and research on the issue and the promotion of sweatfree purchasing policies and practices.

Take a look at the article on the Milwaukee Clean Clothes (anti-sweatshop) Campaign in the December 16, 2004 edition of the Milwaukee Catholic Herald where S. Betty Uchytil and St. Roman's School are prominently mentioned. You can find the article on-line at ....http://www.chnonline.org/2004-12-16/newsstory3.html The "Dear Store Manager" cards referenced in the article are available by clicking HERE.

SSND's were instrumental in helping get this campaign started...Although not mentioned in the article, S. Rose Feess has also been involved in the effort. SSNDs helped with putting together the campaign materials...including a sweatshop PowerPoint presentation which is now available on the Milwaukee Archdioceses website at http://www.archmil.org

NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement – A comprehensive regional trade agreement between the governments of the US, Canada and Mexico.

FTAA
Free Trade Area of the Americas Agreement - In the FTAA negotiations, 34 nations of North, South and Central America are negotiating a comprehensive regional trade agreement for the Americas similar to NAFTA.

WTO
World Trade Organization - The World Trade Organization (WTO) administers the rules governing trade between its 144 Members)

What You Can Do
Co-op America’s Guide to Ending Sweatshops and Promoting Fair Trade is a great place to start to learn more about sweatshops, fair trade and what you can do to support businesses and products which support just wages and working conditions. www.sweatshops.org.

Pray
Please pray for the end of sweatshops in your daily or weekly prayers.

The Shalom Global Peace and Justice director for the SSND Milwaukee Province is Tim Dewane. He can be contacted via the information given below.

Tim Dewane
School Sisters of Notre Dame
13105 Watertown Plank Road
Elm Grove, WI, 53122-2291
(262) 787-1023
tdewane@ssnd-milw.org