ESPND: OTL: Dallas Cowboys using sweatshop labor in Cambodia

[TheFinisher]

http://espn.go.com/dallas/story/_/id...weatshop-labor

[rbr651]

Little bity fingers have an easier time sewing the letters on

[Heisenberg]

Well, that's unfortunate.

[dadymat]

Romos fault

[Randy White]

very embarrassing..

[Hoofbite]

$0.29 / hr.

$100 / month.

Maybe if they save for a decade they can afford a trip to Jerry's palace.

[CCBoy]

I wonder what the Viet Nam, Bangladash, and Tai Won sew shops would reveal?

[Joe Realist]

Disgusting and embarrasing

[JoeCorrado]

What happens in Cambodia, also happens every day all across America. For example, Illinois has a "one day rest in seven" law that says a worker cannot be "forced" to work the seventh day of the work week- that law is routinely violated. Workers are never forced... instead they are told, "we need you here..." If a worker decides that they will "force the issue" and take the day off, that is fine... then they too will feel pressure, and the fear of reprisal. And having the target on your back, in today's economy- is not a good thing. No matter the country, the wage, or the law.

The hourly wage, is irrelevant and is controlled by the local economy. I note that several workers smoke cigarettes in this piece- could you afford cigarettes on 29 cents an hour in this country? A cell phone? Clothing? Food? Not likely.

The fact is that the Cowboys contract out the manufacture of apparels, they rely on those businesses to follow the laws for their own country. Those countries must police their own as well. The Cowboys, being a small customer, cannot change the way a business conducts itself. While these workers may be asked top work more overtime, I doubt that the Cowboys are the reason why.

For the record, an audit is different from an investigation; one typically reviews the records kept for recorded violations and addresses those- the other actually investigates to determine individually the facts independent of what the records may indicate, and "assumes" violations have occurred..

The Cowboys must simply verify that a contract violation between themselves and the manufacturer has occurred, use that to void the contract, and find another supplier. And then, the jobs lost at this factory, may be recreated elsewhere.

Does that solve the problem? For the Cowboys it does- for the workers there- it does nothing. Except perhaps place a few more workers on the street and add more competition for jobs on those still working.

These issues are far more complicated than this piece insinuates. Shame on ESPN for taking the easy and more sensational road. They sure won't help the workers... if that was their goal. More likely their goal was to get the headline the used.

Cowboys apparel, as far as I am concerned- should always be "made in America" - problem solved, right? Because labor law is never violated in the United States. Right?

[DallasDW00ds0n]

rich get richer, while the middle class workers and the poor keep helping them

[Sam I Am]

It seems they've been doing this for a while too and are well aware of what is happening. When Nike does a better job of preventing this stuff than you are? You aren't doing **** to stop it.

I won't be purchasing any more Cowboys gear until this is corrected.

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by JoeCorrado

The fact is that the Cowboys contract out the manufacture of apparels, they rely on those businesses to follow the laws for their own country. Those countries must police their own as well. The Cowboys, being a small customer, cannot change the way a business conducts itself. While these workers may be asked top work more overtime, I doubt that the Cowboys are the reason why.

This is flat out ignorant. The Cowboys damn sure have a HUGE share of the blame here. If they are paying their employees .29 cents an hour, that means the Cowboys pay less for the product. The Cowboys are having their products manufactured there for that reason alone. It's cheap labor. Cheap labor means higher margins on their products which are already way way way overpriced.

They could easily have them manufactured in the US, though they would be paying the workers probably closer to $10-$14 an hour. At $14, that is 48x the wage the Cambodians are being paid.

Even if the Cowboys can't change that manufacturer, they could have their products made elsewhere rather than supporting such activities.

[Rynie]

Originally Posted by rbr651

Little bity fingers have an easier time sewing the letters on

[JoeCorrado]

Originally Posted by Sam I Am

This is flat out ignorant. The Cowboys damn sure have a HUGE share of the blame here. If they are paying their employees .29 cents an hour, that means the Cowboys pay less for the product. The Cowboys are having their products manufactured there for that reason alone. It's cheap labor. Cheap labor means higher margins on their products which are already way way way overpriced.

They could easily have them manufactured in the US, though they would be paying the workers probably closer to $10-$14 an hour. At $14, that is 48x the wage the Cambodians are being paid.

Even if the Cowboys can't change that manufacturer, they could have their products made elsewhere rather than supporting such activities.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Go back and re-read the post, slower if you need to. Sound out the words, get a dictionary, or ask an adult to explain the big words for you. If the content, of my post remains just too much for you to wrap your little mind around, come back here and ask politely, I might be willing to enlighten you.

[RS12]

Nike and and many others have been doing this for years, where is the outrage about that?