Exploitation

Germany’s 28-Hour Workweek

March 28, 2018 Loren Balhorn, Jacobinmag.com Create! Exploitation, Germany, Labor, New Economy, Workers Rights and Jobs

German metalworkers’ union IG Metall made international headlines last month after a twenty-four-hour “warning strike” compelled employers to sign a deal with the union giving its members the right to a twenty-eight-hour workweek. The deal — which covers 900,000 workers in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg — is seen as a landmark in European labor relations, granting workers who want to reduce their working hours the right to do so for a two-year period. It came after 15,000 workers in eighty companies downed tools as part of a campaign for a better work-life balance and also included a substantial pay raise. But is it too good be true? Jacobin’s Loren Balhorn sat down with German labor sociologist Klaus Dörre to find out more about the strike, what the workers really gained, and what it might say about the German labor movement’s future.

Del Monte’s Pay Ratio Is Largest To Date At 1,465:1

March 13, 2018 By Brian Wakamo, Inequality.org Educate! Class Struggle, Exploitation, New Economy, Workers Rights and Jobs

Del Monte Produce, makers of the beloved fruit cups present in every elementary school, paid their CEO 1,465 times more than their typical employee last year. CEO Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh made $8.5 million, while their median employee, located in Costa Rica, made $5,833. Del Monte had to reveal this astounding information as the result of a new regulation requiring publicly held firms to report their CEO-worker pay gaps. Corporations fought tooth and nail for nearly eight years to squelch this regulation — to no avail. Now, the American public will finally know more about the companies that dominate their lives. We’ll now be able to know the gap between what top executives make, what their typical employees make, and, in some cases, more information on the location of their employees.

Florida Farmworkers Push For Fairness In The Fields

March 7, 2018 By Negin Owliaei, Inequality.org Organize! Class Struggle, Exploitation, Farm Workers, Florida, Labor

South Florida was known as a hotbed for modern-day slavery. Now, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers are using their innovative model to bring dignity to the tomato fields. Immokalee, Florida, is known for producing nearly all of the winter tomatoes in the United States. Up until recently, the town also had a reputation for being home to some of the worst labor exploitation in the country, with sexual violence, wage theft, and assault occurring regularly in the tomato fields. The working conditions were so bad that the town was considered “ground zero for modern slavery” in the United States. But one group has spent the last two decades transforming the conditions for Florida farmworkers. Through the use of boycotts, supply chain agreements, and an innovative monitoring program, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has made massive inroads in creating a safe workplace for one of labor’s most exploited communities.

Legalizing Tyranny

March 6, 2018 By Chris Hedges, Truthdig.com Educate! Exploitation, judicial system, Legal System, Prisons

The students I teach in prison who have the longest sentences are, almost without exception, the ones who demanded a jury trial. If everyone charged with a crime had a jury trial, the court system would implode. Prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges use those who insist on a jury trial—often people who did not commit the crime with which they were charged—as examples. Their sentences, frequently life sentences, are grim reminders as to why it is in the best interests of a defendant, even if he or she did not commit the crime, to take a plea agreement. Ninety-four percent of state-level felony convictions and 97 percent of federal felony convictions are the result of guilty pleas. And studies by groups such as Human Rights Watch confirm the punitive nature of jury trials: Those who go to jury trials get an addition 11 years, on average, tacked on to their sentences. The rich get high-priced lawyers and lengthy jury trials.

Tips Should Go To Workers, Not Their Bosses

December 21, 2017 By Negin Owliaei, otherwords.org Educate! Exploitation, Labor, New Economy, Workers Rights and Jobs

Thea Bryan is a single mother putting herself through graduate school. She spends her days at an unpaid internship for her social work program. At nights, she bartends for tips. Sometimes, the pay is lucrative. But around October, her work — and money — started to lag. “When business is slow, as it has been for me lately, I don’t get paid. The managers get paid, the kitchen staff gets paid, the dishwasher gets paid. I don’t,” Bryan said. The Department of Labor could make things much worse for Bryan. Under a proposed new rule, she might have to hand her tips over to her bosses. The new rule would let minimum wage employers take over the tips that customers leave for their servers. That’s right: If you serve, your boss would get your tips. Bryan shared her story at a press briefing put on by Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United on December 12.

Unpaid Labourers Are ‘Slipping Pleas For Help Into Zara Clothes’

November 9, 2017 Staff, independent.co.uk Resist! Clothing, Exploitation, Labor, Workers

By Sarah Young for Independent - Shoppers at fashion retailer Zara have found unusual notes in their clothes from workers claiming they have not been paid for making the merchandise. Worth an estimated £8.6 billion and with more than 2,200 stores worldwide, Zara might be one of the world’s most successful fashion brands, but, once again, the retailer finds itself embroiled in controversy. According to customers in Istanbul, cries for help in the form of handwritten notes from Turkish workers have been found in the pockets of in-store garments asking shoppers to back their campaign for better labour standards and pressure Zara into paying them the wages they say they are owed, the Associated Press reports. The notes state the workers in question were employed by third-party manufacturer Bravo Tekstil, which reportedly closed down overnight, leaving workers owed several months wages. Bravo Tekstil also manufacturers garments for Mango and Next. “I made this item you are going to buy, but I didn’t get paid for it,” the notes reportedly read. But, this isn’t the first time the fast-fashion retailer has come under fire. The Spanish chain has previously been taken to task for causing environmental damage, ripping off young designers, and overlooking poor factory conditions. It was even sued for dismal working conditions and accused of both slave and child labour, as well as exploiting Syrian refugees as young as 15.

Slave Labor Widespread At ICE Detention Centers, Lawyers Say

September 12, 2017 Mia Steinle, www.pogo.org Educate! Detention Centers, Exploitation, Immigration, Labor, Prison Labor, Undocumented

By Mia Steinle for POGO - There are nearly 200 federal detention centers across the country. Here, people suspected of violating U.S. immigration laws wait for court hearings to find out if they’ll stay in the United States or be deported. While they wait, many detainees work as part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “voluntary work program.” They clean, they cook, they do laundry, and they garden—some advocates say they keep the facilities running. For their labor, the detainees are supposed to be paid at least $1 per day, or just under $0.13 per hour for an 8-hour work day. This arrangement has the blessings of both ICE and Congress, the latter of which set the rate over a half a century ago and hasn’t changed it since. However, a growing body of legal experts says paying detainees $1 per day not only violates state minimum wage laws, but also violates the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in all instances except as punishment for people convicted of crimes. Experts argue that, because the majority of detainees have not been convicted of crimes, they should be fairly compensated for their labor. From California to Colorado to Massachusetts, detainees have recently taken legal action against the for-profit companies and local governments that operate the majority of ICE detention centers.

WalMart & Lowes Linked To Slave Labor In The Amazon

March 21, 2017 André Campos, www.news.mongabay.com Educate! Capitalism, Corporations, Exploitation, Slave labor, Walmart

By André Campos for Mongabay - Products derived from timber extracted by workers living in conditions analogous to slave labor in Brazil are connected to a complex business network linked to the U.S. market – possibly reaching the shelves of large retailers and being used in renovation of landmarks – according to a new investigation conducted by Brazilian news outlet Repórter Brasil. After purchasing from suppliers held liable for that crime by the Brazilian government, local traders exported timber to companies like USFloors, which supplies the retail chain Lowe’s, as well as Timber Holdings, which supplied timber for construction projects at Central Park and Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

How Bankers Became Top Exploiters Of Economy

March 21, 2017 Michael Hudson, www.counterpunch.org Educate! Bankers, Exploitation, Finance and the Economy

By Michael Hudson for Counter Punch - The Next System Project’s Adam Simpson sat down with renowned economist and economic historian Michael Hudson to discuss economic deceptions old and new in the interview below. Michael Hudson is Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and a prolific writer about the global economy and predatory financial practices. Among his latest books are Killing the Host: How Financial Parasites and Debt Bondage to Ensure the Global Economy and its follow-up J is for Junk Economics. The transcript below has been edited for clarity.

iPhone Or iExploit? Rampant Labor Violations In Apple’s Supply Chain

August 27, 2016 Nicki Lisa Cole, www.truth-out.org Educate! Apple, Exploitation, Labor

By Nicki Lisa Cole for Truthout - Right now hundreds of thousands of young Chinese workers are laboring on iPhone 7 production lines. With these products set to launch in September, the final assembly is happening in a series of Foxconn and Pegatron factories across the country. Foxconn is likely a familiar name to readers, as it became the focal point of international media attention in 2012 after widespread legal and ethical labor violations were revealed by This American Life and The New York Times.

Gulf Coast Activists Tell ‘Big Green’ To Quit Exploiting Their Disasters

July 4, 2016 Yessenia Funes, www.colorlines.com Strategize! Activists, Big Greens, Exploitation

By Yessenia Funes for Colorlines - In a new open letter, a group of 11 Gulf Coast environmental justice activists are demanding "respect and solidarity" from national "Big Green" organizations that they accuse of exploiting their local disasters for financial gain and treating poor people of color as "poster children for environmental injustice." The activists, who hail from EJ groups including 350 Louisiana, Houstonians Against Tar Sands and Radical Arts & Healing Collective, published the letter on a New Orleans website June 27 and sent it to Colorlines yesterday.

Oxfam Report Describes Mistreatment Of Chicken Workers

May 17, 2016 Staff, www.oxfamamerica.org Educate! Exploitation, Workers Rights and Jobs

By Staff of Oxfam - Chicken is the most popular meat in America, and the poultry industry is booming. But workers on the processing line do not share in the bounty. Poultry workers 1) earn low wages of diminishing value, 2) suffer elevated rates of injury and illness, and 3) often experience a climate of fear in the workplace. Despite this, though, workers themselves say that the thing that offends their dignity most is simple: lack of adequate bathroom breaks, and the suffering that entails, especially for women.

Tech Boom Fueled By 40,000 Congolese Child Miners

April 9, 2016 Educate! Children, Congo, Exploitation, Labor, Technology

By Mnar Muhawesh for Mint Press News - MINNEAPOLIS — A recent Amnesty International report sounded the alarm on a “blood mineral” mined by Congolese children as young as seven and used in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries found in laptops, smartphones and even electric cars. The mineral is cobalt, and more than half of the world’s supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, including at least 20 percent which is mined by so-called “artisanal miners” in the southern part of the country. The report, titled “This Is What We Die For,” explains the conditions these miners work in...

The Age Of The Demagogues

December 1, 2015 Chris Hedges, www.truthdig.com Educate! Capitalism, Class war, Exploitation

By Chris Hedges for Truth Dig - The increase in nihilistic violence such as school shootings and Friday’s lethal assault on a Planned Parenthood clinic, the frequent executions of poor people of color by police, and the rise of thuggish demagogues such as Donald Trump are symptoms of the collapse of our political and cultural institutions. These institutions, which once made possible piecemeal and incremental reform, which sought to protect the weak from the tyranny of the majority and give them a voice, acted as a safety valve to ameliorate the excesses of capitalism and address the grievances of the underclass.

U.S. Must End Predatory Payday Loans, Create “Public Option” Banking

June 29, 2015 Ira B Dember, www.occupy.com Create! Banking, Exploitation, Poverty

By Ira B Dember in Occupy - In March, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed rules to crack down on predatory payday lenders. These rules would prevent many payday lending abuses and give consumers a way out of lenders’ debt trap. Under the CFPB’s new rules, borrowers would first have to show they could cover their basic living expenses while repaying loans. Lenders could skip "means testing" and instead limit each person’s total borrowing to $500 – with a single finance charge and no repeated charges. Gone would be auto title loans: if you can’t repay, lenders can't grab your car. (Workers often lose their jobs when they lose their wheels, a "death spiral" that spreads personal and financial chaos.) A couple of months after the CFPB published its proposed rules, TheHill.com reported financial industry blowback.

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