Sweatshop Free Michigan

July 1, 2008  WLAJ-TV Lansing (Michigan)

Elected officials, religious leaders and human rights groups gathered on the Capitol lawn Tuesday calling on Governor Granholm to end tax dollar support for sweatshops.

ABC 3 was at the rally where members of the Sweat Free Michigan Campaign told us of a new study showing our state is inadvertently using taxpayer money to buy goods from companies who violate labor laws and human rights. 

While the group doesn't fully support those companies, they do understand the need for them.

"We're not looking at cutting and running from these factories, we recognize the importance of these jobs for the workers. We want to make sure these workers have dignity on the job," Victoria Kaplan, of Sweat Free Communities said.

Members of the campaign tell us the study looks at a dozen factories that produce employee uniforms for several major brands who supply our state and disobey general labor laws.