Beyond Sweatshops

Images of sweatshop labor in developing countries have rallied opponents of globalization against foreign direct investment (FDI). The controversy is most acute over the treatment of low-skilled workers producing garments, footwear, toys, and sports equipment in foreign-owned plants or the plants of subcontractors. Activists cite low wages, poor working conditions, and a variety of economic, physical, and sexual abuses among the negative consequences of the globalization of industry. In Beyond Sweatshops, Theodore Moran examines the impact of FDI in manufacturing on growth and welfare in developing countries, and explores how host governments can take advantage of the contributions of foreign investment while avoiding the hazards to lower-skilled workers. He traces case studies of countries that have managed to produce steady improvement in worker treatment at plants exporting garments, footwear, and other labor-intensive products. The first part of the book examines multilateral proposals designed to place a floor under the treatment of workers around the world, contrasting a WTO-based system to enforce labor standards with "voluntary" arrangements, including corporate codes of conduct, certification organizations, and "sweatshop free" labeling. It explores the pros and cons of adding a "living wage" requirement to the ILO's core labor standards. The second part of the book presents data that significantly broadens our understanding of FDI. By analyzing the evidence from a variety of developing countries—in Asia, Latin America, and Africa—Moran demonstrates that most FDI goes to industrial sectors that employ trained workers who are not easily exploited. The flow of FDI to plants that produce electronics, auto parts, industrial equipment, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment, paying production workers two to five times more than what is found in lower-skilled operations, is twenty-five times the flow to garment, textile, and footwea

Images of sweatshop labor in developing countries have rallied opponents of globalization against foreign direct investment (FDI). The controversy is most acute over the treatment of low-skilled workers producing garments, footwear, toys, and sports equipment in foreign-owned plants or the plants of subcontractors. Activists cite low wages, poor working conditions, and a variety of economic, physical, and sexual abuses among the negative consequences of the globalization of industry. In Beyond Sweatshops, Theodore Moran examines the impact of FDI in manufacturing on growth and welfare in developing countries, and explores how host governments can take advantage of the contributions of foreign investment while avoiding the hazards to lower-skilled workers. He traces case studies of countries that have managed to produce steady improvement in worker treatment at plants exporting garments, footwear, and other labor-intensive products. The first part of the book examines multilateral proposals designed to place a floor under the treatment of workers around the world, contrasting a WTO-based system to enforce labor standards with "voluntary" arrangements, including corporate codes of conduct, certification organizations, and "sweatshop free" labeling. It explores the pros and cons of adding a "living wage" requirement to the ILO's core labor standards. The second part of the book presents data that significantly broadens our understanding of FDI. By analyzing the evidence from a variety of developing countries—in Asia, Latin America, and Africa—Moran demonstrates that most FDI goes to industrial sectors that employ trained workers who are not easily exploited. The flow of FDI to plants that produce electronics, auto parts, industrial equipment, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment, paying production workers two to five times more than what is found in lower-skilled operations, is twenty-five times the flow to garment, textile, and footwea

Integrity is essential to Judeo-Christian business ethics. But today’s business environment is complex. Those in business, and those preparing to enter the business world, need to grapple with the question of how integrity and biblical ethics can be applied in the workplace. They need to go “beyond integrity” in their thinking. Beyond Integrity is neither excessively theoretical nor simplistic and dogmatic. Rather, it offers a balanced and pragmatic approach to a number of concrete ethical issues. Readings from a wide range of sources present competing perspectives on each issue, and real-life case studies further help the reader grapple with ethical dilemmas. The authors conclude each chapter with their own distinctly Christian commentary on the topic covered. This Zondervan ebook of the third edition has been revised to provide the most up-to-date introduction to the issues Christians face in today’s constantly changing business culture. Revisions include: • 30 new case studies • 1/3 new readings • 50% substantially revised • sidebars that reflect the issues in the news and business press • summaries and material for discussion

A historical analysis of the globalization of the U.S. apparel industry investigates the problems of domestic apparel workers, noting the influence of trade policy and global economics to reveal how current processes are creating extreme levels of poverty. Simultaneous. (Social Science)

DIVA provocative and accessible history and study of the sweatshop and a major contribution to the debate over its rebirth /div

This short, punchy book is both a record of a new mass campaign and a tool for the realization of its goals. The students demand one thing: that clothing bearing university logos must be produced under healthy, safe, and fair working conditions.

"Analyses the politics of production and labour control characterizing the Indian readymade garment industry since its entry into the global arena"--

In the early 1900s, thousands of immigrants labored in New Yorks Lower East Side sweatshops, enduring work environments that came to be seen as among the worst examples of Progressive-Era American industrialization. Although reformers agreed that these unsafe workplaces must be abolished, their reasons have seldom been fully examined. Sweated Work, Weak Bodies is the first book on the origins of sweatshops, exploring how they came to represent the dangers of industrialization and the perils of immigration. It is an innovative study of the language used to define the sweatshop, how these definitions shaped the first anti-sweatshop campaign, and how they continue to influence our current understanding of the sweatshop.