Sweatshop Labor clothes the military.
American Power Source/American PlayersQueen Phinizee, a 39 year old woman, has worked as a sewing machine operator for 21 years and had made a good living, until she started working at American Power Source a year and a half ago. Now Queen struggles just to make ends meet. She has lost her home she bought five years ago. She has had to rely on a charitable organization to buy her medicine and pay her medical bills. Despite her hard work and long hours, Queen is losing everything.
A report [ A Disgrace to the Uniform: Sweatshop Conditions at American Power Source] recently published by UNITE HERE, the labor union of apparel, textile, and hospitality workers, details the abuses suffered by workers like Queen at American Power Source, including wage cuts and increased production, shorted paychecks, excessive overtime, unsafe working conditions with accidents being ignored, and workers reporting a regular pattern of harassment and general disrespect by management.
This isn't a report about a sweatshop in Mexico, Bangladesh, or China; this is happening in Columbus, Mississippi. And this isn't a story about workers making clothes for Wal-Mart or Nike; these workers are working for American Power Source, an apparel manufacturer that receives millions of dollars in contracts to make military uniforms for the U.S. government and its armed forces.
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...workers at the company barely make enough to support their families. "I worked 63 hours last week," said Lois McMillan, a sewing operator at American Power Source, "and made only $397. I am a single mother of four children and their sole provider. Luckily, I have someone helping me out right now, without his help I wouldn't be able to get by."
From the report, "A Disgrace to the Uniform:"“For 45 hours of work one week they gave me a check for $53. I went to the office immediately and made them give me what they owed me. They asked me ‘are you sure your check isn’t only supposed to be for $53’ -not for no 45 hours it isn’t. They had to write me a check out right there. Every week someone’s check is short.Now when they short you or mess up your check they say they will put it in your next check instead of correcting it right away. It is so confusing how they pay us. If you think you will make $60 they will find a way to have you down to $50. They are always manipulating how they pay us.”
- TAN HARRIS
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[Lois McMillan]
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When her son is hospitalized, Lois often has to fight with the company to leave work so she can go to the hospital to attend her son. She has been refused FMLA documents and has been threatened with termination for having to take her son to the doctor or having to go to the hospital.
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Workers report a regular pattern of harassment and a general environment of disrespect by management. Employees are often threatened with the loss of their jobs as a method of intimidation and fear. The treatment of workers at American Power Source lacks dignity and respect for basic rights.Workers are denied water on the floor, reprimanded for going to the bathroom,told not to laugh, and denied access to the office because management doesn’t want to catch their germs. One worker has been harassed and threatened with termination for trying to take care of her sick child and denied paperwork for Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The company’s actions have caused her to
be investigated by the Department of Human Services (DHS).
I don't think I can add anything to that.
A report [ A Disgrace to the Uniform: Sweatshop Conditions at American Power Source] recently published by UNITE HERE, the labor union of apparel, textile, and hospitality workers, details the abuses suffered by workers like Queen at American Power Source, including wage cuts and increased production, shorted paychecks, excessive overtime, unsafe working conditions with accidents being ignored, and workers reporting a regular pattern of harassment and general disrespect by management.
This isn't a report about a sweatshop in Mexico, Bangladesh, or China; this is happening in Columbus, Mississippi. And this isn't a story about workers making clothes for Wal-Mart or Nike; these workers are working for American Power Source, an apparel manufacturer that receives millions of dollars in contracts to make military uniforms for the U.S. government and its armed forces.
...
...workers at the company barely make enough to support their families. "I worked 63 hours last week," said Lois McMillan, a sewing operator at American Power Source, "and made only $397. I am a single mother of four children and their sole provider. Luckily, I have someone helping me out right now, without his help I wouldn't be able to get by."
From the report, "A Disgrace to the Uniform:"“For 45 hours of work one week they gave me a check for $53. I went to the office immediately and made them give me what they owed me. They asked me ‘are you sure your check isn’t only supposed to be for $53’ -not for no 45 hours it isn’t. They had to write me a check out right there. Every week someone’s check is short.Now when they short you or mess up your check they say they will put it in your next check instead of correcting it right away. It is so confusing how they pay us. If you think you will make $60 they will find a way to have you down to $50. They are always manipulating how they pay us.”
- TAN HARRIS
...
[Lois McMillan]
...
When her son is hospitalized, Lois often has to fight with the company to leave work so she can go to the hospital to attend her son. She has been refused FMLA documents and has been threatened with termination for having to take her son to the doctor or having to go to the hospital.
...
Workers report a regular pattern of harassment and a general environment of disrespect by management. Employees are often threatened with the loss of their jobs as a method of intimidation and fear. The treatment of workers at American Power Source lacks dignity and respect for basic rights.Workers are denied water on the floor, reprimanded for going to the bathroom,told not to laugh, and denied access to the office because management doesn’t want to catch their germs. One worker has been harassed and threatened with termination for trying to take care of her sick child and denied paperwork for Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The company’s actions have caused her to
be investigated by the Department of Human Services (DHS).
I don't think I can add anything to that.