Slaves to Fashion

Slaves to Fashion PDF Author: Robert Ross
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 047202566X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
"A brilliant and beautiful book, the mature work of a lifetime, must reading for students of the globalization debate." ---Tom Hayden "Slaves to Fashion is a remarkable achievement, several books in one: a gripping history of sweatshops, explaining their decline, fall, and return; a study of how the media portray them; an analysis of the fortunes of the current anti-sweatshop movement; an anatomy of the global traffic in apparel, in particular the South-South competition that sends wages and working conditions plummeting toward the bottom; and not least, a passionate declaration of faith that humanity can find a way to get its work done without sweatshops. This is engaged sociology at its most stimulating." ---Todd Gitlin ". . . unflinchingly portrays the reemergence of the sweatshop in our dog-eat-dog economy." ---Los Angeles Times Just as Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed uncovered the plight of the working poor in America, Robert J. S. Ross's Slaves to Fashion exposes the dark side of the apparel industry and its exploited workers at home and abroad. It's both a lesson in American business history and a warning about one of the most important issues facing the global capital economy-the reappearance of the sweatshop. Vividly detailing the decline and tragic rebirth of sweatshop conditions in the American apparel industry of the twentieth century, Ross explains the new sweatshops as a product of unregulated global capitalism and associated deregulation, union erosion, and exploitation of undocumented workers. Using historical material and economic and social data, the author shows that after a brief thirty-five years of fair practices, the U.S. apparel business has once again sunk to shameful abuse and exploitation. Refreshingly jargon-free but documented in depth, Slaves to Fashion is the only work to estimate the size of the sweatshop problem and to systematically show its impact on apparel workers' wages. It is also unique in its analysis of the budgets and personnel used in enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act. Anyone who is concerned about this urgent social and economic topic and wants to go beyond the headlines should read this important and timely contribution to the rising debate on low-wage factory labor. Robert J.S. Ross is Professor of Sociology, Clark University. He is an expert in the area of sweatshops and globalization. He is an activist academic who travels and lectures extensively and has published numerous related articles.

Slaves to Fashion

Slaves to Fashion PDF Author: Robert Ross
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 047202566X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 481

Get Book Here

Book Description
"A brilliant and beautiful book, the mature work of a lifetime, must reading for students of the globalization debate." ---Tom Hayden "Slaves to Fashion is a remarkable achievement, several books in one: a gripping history of sweatshops, explaining their decline, fall, and return; a study of how the media portray them; an analysis of the fortunes of the current anti-sweatshop movement; an anatomy of the global traffic in apparel, in particular the South-South competition that sends wages and working conditions plummeting toward the bottom; and not least, a passionate declaration of faith that humanity can find a way to get its work done without sweatshops. This is engaged sociology at its most stimulating." ---Todd Gitlin ". . . unflinchingly portrays the reemergence of the sweatshop in our dog-eat-dog economy." ---Los Angeles Times Just as Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed uncovered the plight of the working poor in America, Robert J. S. Ross's Slaves to Fashion exposes the dark side of the apparel industry and its exploited workers at home and abroad. It's both a lesson in American business history and a warning about one of the most important issues facing the global capital economy-the reappearance of the sweatshop. Vividly detailing the decline and tragic rebirth of sweatshop conditions in the American apparel industry of the twentieth century, Ross explains the new sweatshops as a product of unregulated global capitalism and associated deregulation, union erosion, and exploitation of undocumented workers. Using historical material and economic and social data, the author shows that after a brief thirty-five years of fair practices, the U.S. apparel business has once again sunk to shameful abuse and exploitation. Refreshingly jargon-free but documented in depth, Slaves to Fashion is the only work to estimate the size of the sweatshop problem and to systematically show its impact on apparel workers' wages. It is also unique in its analysis of the budgets and personnel used in enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act. Anyone who is concerned about this urgent social and economic topic and wants to go beyond the headlines should read this important and timely contribution to the rising debate on low-wage factory labor. Robert J.S. Ross is Professor of Sociology, Clark University. He is an expert in the area of sweatshops and globalization. He is an activist academic who travels and lectures extensively and has published numerous related articles.

Sweatshops in Paradise

Sweatshops in Paradise PDF Author: Virginia Lynn Sudbury
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 147595378X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
When nine Vietnamese women arrived at Virginia Lynn Sudburys small law office in Pago Pago, on the island of Tutuila in the territory of American Samoa, she wasnt certain she would take the case. The women, workers at the Daewoosa garment factory, were trying to get the company to pay them their promised wages. She decided to take the case, howevernot knowing that it would take years to resolve. Sweatshops in Paradise tells the first-person account of the notorious garment factory/sweatshop class-action lawsuit Nga v. Daewoosa, which took place in the territory of American Samoa from 1999 until 2001. This precedent-setting case drew international attention to the issues surrounding involuntary servitude and trafficking in human beings in far-flung US territories. Written by Sudbury, who acted as the lead plaintiff attorney, Sweatshops in Paradise narrates the story of some three hundred Vietnamese and Chinese workers who were brought to American Samoa to work in the Daewoosa garment factory. There, they encountered civil injustices, rampant abuse, and imprisonment at the hands of the Korean factory owner and the local government. Chronicled in a frank, disarming, and at times humorous manner, Sweatshops in Paradise draws upon hearing transcripts, newspaper articles, and narratives from the largest lawsuit of American Samoas history. It provides a poignant accounting of the fears of the workers and the abuses they endured, the impunity of the factory owner, and the incomprehensible neglect of the evolving and tragic situation by the American Samoa government.

Sweatshop Slaves

Sweatshop Slaves PDF Author: Kent Wong
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Asian Americans
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Book Description
Publication by students of the UCLA course "Work, labor, and social justice". Presents an account of the structure and organization of garment industry, the arduous working conditions encountered by Asian immigrants, and interviews of leaders of campaigns against sweatshops.

Out of Poverty

Out of Poverty PDF Author: Benjamin Powell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107029902
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
This book explores how sweatshops provide the best opportunity to workers and the role they play in the process of development.

Sweatshop Slaves

Sweatshop Slaves PDF Author: Kent Wong
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Asian Americans
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description
Publication by students of the UCLA course "Work, labor, and social justice". Presents an account of the structure and organization of garment industry, the arduous working conditions encountered by Asian immigrants, and interviews of leaders of campaigns against sweatshops.

Organizing on Separate Shores

Organizing on Separate Shores PDF Author: Kent Wong
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780983628927
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 121

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Book Description


Nobodies

Nobodies PDF Author: John Bowe
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812971841
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
Most Americans are shocked to discover that slavery still exists in the United States. Yet 145 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the CIA estimates that 14,500 to17,000 foreigners are “trafficked” annually into the United States, threatened with violence, and forced to work against their will. Modern people unanimously agree that slavery is abhorrent. How, then, can it be making a reappearance on American soil? Award-winning journalist John Bowe examines how outsourcing, subcontracting, immigration fraud, and the relentless pursuit of “everyday low prices” have created an opportunity for modern slavery to regain a toehold in the American economy. Bowe uses thorough and often dangerous research, exclusive interviews, eyewitness accounts, and rigorous economic analysis to examine three illegal workplaces where employees are literally or virtually enslaved. From rural Florida to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to the U.S. commonwealth of Saipan in the Western Pacific, he documents coercive and forced labor situations that benefit us all, as consumers and stockholders, fattening the profits of dozens of American food and clothing chains, including Wal-Mart, Kroger, McDonald’s, Burger King, PepsiCo, Del Monte, Gap, Target, JCPenney, J. Crew, Polo Ralph Lauren, and others. In this eye-opening book, set against the everyday American landscape of shopping malls, outlet stores, and Happy Meals, Bowe reveals how humankind’s darker urges remain alive and well, lingering in the background of every transaction–and what we can do to overcome them. Praise for Nobodies: “Investigative, immersion reporting at its best . . . Bowe is a master storyteller whose work is finely tuned and fearless.” –USA Today “A brilliant and readable tour of the modern heart of darkness, Nobodies takes a long, hard look at what our democracy is becoming.” –Thomas Frank, author of What’s the Matter with Kansas? “Bowe dramatizes in gripping detail these stolen lives.” –O: The Oprah Magazine “The vividness of Bowe’s local stories might make you think twice before reaching for that cheap fruit or pair of discount socks.” –Condé Nast Portfolio NAMED ONE OF THE TWENTY BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE VILLAGE VOICE

White Slaves

White Slaves PDF Author: Louis Albert Banks
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Boston (Mass.)
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description


Hidden Slaves

Hidden Slaves PDF Author: Barry Leonard
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780756745165
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 67

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Book Description
Forced labor is a serious & pervasive problem in the U.S. At any given time 10,000 or more people work as forced laborers in cities & towns across the country, & it is likely that the actual number is much higher, possibly tens of thousands. Because forced labor is hidden, inhumane, widespread, & criminal, sustained & coordinated efforts by U.S. law enforce., social service providers, & the general public are needed to expose & eradicate this illicit trade. This report documents the nature & scope of forced labor in the U.S. from Jan. 1998 to Dec. 2003. It is the first study to examine the numbers, demographic characteristics, & origins of victims & perpetrators of forced labor in the U.S. & the adequacy of the U.S. response to this growing problem. Illus.

Ending Slavery

Ending Slavery PDF Author: Kevin Bales
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520254708
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
"None of us is truly free while others remain enslaved. The continuing existence of slavery is one of the greatest tragedies facing our global humanity. Today we finally have the means and increasingly the conviction to end this scourge and to bring millions of slaves to freedom. Read Kevin Bales's practical and inspiring book, and you will discover how our world can be free at last."—Desmond Tutu "Ever since the Emancipation Proclamation, Americans have congratulated themselves on ending slavery once and for all. But did we? Kevin Bales is a powerful and effective voice in pointing out the appalling degree to which servitude, forced labor and outright slavery still exist in today's world, even here. This book is a valuable primer on the persistence of these evils, their intricate links to poverty, corruption and globalization—and what we can do to combat them. He's a modern-day William Lloyd Garrison."—Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves "I know modern slavery from the inside, and since coming to freedom I am committed to end it forever. This book shows us how to make a world where no more childhoods will be stolen and sold as mine was."—Given Kachepa, former U.S. slave, recipient of the Yoshiyama Award "Kevin Bales does not just pontificate from behind a desk. From the charcoal pits of Brazil to the brothels of Thailand, he has seen the victims of modern day slavery. In Ending Slavery, Bales gives us an update on what's happening (and not happening), and a controversial plan to abolish slavery in the 21st century. This is a must read for anyone who wants to learn about the great human rights issue of our times."—Ambassador John Miller, former director of the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons