Preview of Article:
Global Sweatshop Resources
Mickey Mouse Goes to Haiti, by the National Labor Committee, 275 7th Ave., 15th floor, New York, NY 10001. 212-242-3002. Approximately 20 minutes. Depictions of working and living conditions of Disney workers in Haiti. Responds effectively to the argument that it’s OK to pay workers in poor countries less because it costs less to live. (The National Labor Committee also distributes “Zoned for Slavery,” focusing on conditions for GAP sweatshop workers in Central America, which I have not seen, but which has gotten excellent reviews from other teachers. It includes extensive interviews with young workers and family members who describe the impact sweatshop labor has on their lives.)
Tomorrow We Will Finish, by UNICEF. Distributed by Maryknoll World Productions, 800-227-8523. 26 minutes. More than 150,000 girls between five and sixteen toil in 2,000 carpet factories in Nepal. This is the story of Suri and her friends. My students found it very compelling, in large part because it concentrates on telling just one girl’s story.
CBS “48 Hours” segment, Nike in Vietnam, available from CBS News, $29.95, plus shipping; 800-338-4847. About 20 minutes, first aired October 17, 1996. Focuses on an incident in a Nike factory in Vietnam where a Korean supervisor beat women, who make 20 cents an hour, on the neck and head with a shoe, and Nike’s response. Roberta Baskin talks with Vietnamese women and Nike PR people, and weaves a stark contrast of exploited workers and willfully ignorant company officials.</p
