Sweatshop Labor

Thesis Statement

Is sweatshop Labor conflicts with the moral standards still a widely utilized practice among companies?

Introduction

Sweatshops are disreputable for having insecure conditions. Buildings that have been built fast and without complying with building regulations can fall down on workers, machinery can be damaged and other hazards, together with dangerous chemicals or electrical products, can all cause horrible injuries. Excessive overtime is regular in sweatshops. Working Twelve-hour days, 06 days a week is not unusual in Sweatshops. Short-term contracts that support the employer are also a very widespread problem. Often poor people or migrants, desperate to find work, will acknowledge a position on the very loosest of contractual agreements and as a result, when the employer fails to pay people or just fires them without good reason, they have few lawful rights to fall back on to gain compensation. In this paper we analysed three articles “Retail profitability and sweatshops: a global dilemma” written by Ronald J. Adams, Paharia, Neeru and Deshpandé, Rohit “Sweatshop Labor is Wrong Unless the Jeans are Cute: Motivated Moral Disengagement: and “Wrongful Beneficence: Exploitation and Third World Sweatshops” by Chris Meyers.



Argumantative Analysis

It is argued that the Sweatshop labor is a relevant issue in today's society. It conflicts with the moral standards of many, yet it is still a widely utilized practice among American companies. However, the question of whether or not Americans have the right to go into another country and tell its workers how they should be treated is a good defense. In my opinion, I disagree that as long as sweatshops are not forcing employment against their own will, then the workers should be allowed to work there because even though their wages are nominal, they are better than nothing. Also, sweatshops should be held to some regulations in order to uphold human rights and avoid the widespread abuse of sweatshop workers. From the article written by Ronald J. Adams it is analysed that All over the world men, women, and children of all ages are going to work in "sweat shops". The recent interest in this global issue due to various protests by student groups across the United States. The recent attention can also be attributed to several high profile and European firms being linked to global sweatshop practices. (Paharia and Deshpandé, 2009)

However it is observed that rallying against sweatshops can tend to do more harm than the sweat shops themselves (Chris, pp 319-333). If a company is linked to a sweatshop in a certain country, they might pull their manufacturing out of that country, taking the jobs with them, even though they are for a minimal wage. When these jobs are lost in a third world country, the employees are forced to make money using much more dangerous means. For example, they could starve to death, work as prostitutes, or live as beggars. Also, almost every economically stable country today had its beginnings while using cheap labor. Two articles are offered, each referring to sweatshops and poor labor ...