Companies respond to sweatshop allegations
July 3, 2008 The Capital Times (Wisconsin)
By Steven Elbow
Companies that contract with the state government cited by a watchdog group for using sweatshop suppliers say they have regulations in place to prevent employee abuses.
SweatFree Communities' "Subsidizing Sweatshops" report, released Tuesday, said Bob Barker Co., Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co., Blauer Manufacturing Co. and Fechheimer Brothers Co., which contract with Wisconsin to provide clothing, uniforms and other goods to the State Patrol and the Department of Corrections, employ overseas manufacturers that exploit and abuse their workers.
None of those four companies is based in Wisconsin. Four other companies that contract with other state governments were also cited in the report.
The report alleged that one of Barker's suppliers, Arena Group, ran sweatshops in Bangladesh and that workers at Williamson-Dickie's factories in Pakistan are employed by an employment contractor that forces long hours for poverty wages.
"We do not condone, and have never been involved with, any violation of labor laws, directly or indirectly, to our knowledge," Bob Barker president Robert Barker Jr. said in a media release.
Williamson-Dickie said it likewise performs a vetting process before hiring suppliers, then conducts audits to ensure that producers continue to meet the standards of a certificate of compliance with labor and safety standards.
"The company adheres to all applicable country labor laws and requires that all manufacturing facilities, including subcontractors, comply with country labor laws and Williamson-Dickie's policies and guidelines for the fair and safe treatment of employees," said a statement from the company.
Those comments arrived after The Capital Times published a story in print Wednesday on the "Subsidizing Sweatshops" report.
Blauer responded to the allegations prior to publication. The report said Blauer supplier Charming Enterprises Ltd., based in Hong Kong, employed child labor and forced employees to work long hours of overtime in abysmal conditions at its plant in Guangdong, China. Blauer issued a statement saying the company discontinued its relationship with the manufacturer cited in the report 15 months ago after Blauer inspectors were denied access to the facility.
Fechheimer Brothers, which the report alleges used a Korean-owned factory in Honduras that used police to beat down attempts to organize after workers became fed up with unsafe working conditions, forced overtime and low wages, did not respond to a request for comment.
The report, which documented alleged abuses at 12 factories in nine countries, prompted Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle's administration to issue a letter to all four companies doing business with the state to review conditions in the factories that produce their goods.
The report included interviews with workers in plants in Asia and South and Central America who said they were subjected to verbal and physical abuse, forced to work long hours for pay as low as $6 per month, were disciplined or threatened for attempts to organize, were forced to undergo pregnancy testing and forced to resign before giving birth, and were forced to lie to auditors investigating working conditions and pay. Some of the factories, the report alleges, employed child labor.
Williamson-Dickie said it has three full-time quality assurance auditors who monitor production facilities.
Barker said his company, which is one of the nation's top suppliers of detention supplies, maintains U.S. Customs Department standards for local and international labor laws, uses suppliers that are Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production certified, requires manufacturers to confirm compliance with all labor laws before they contract with them, and conducts on-site inspections and audits of manufacturers.
