It seems likely that garment companies which are based overseas would have working conditions that seem appalling to us in the United States. We call them "sweatshops", and picture them to be located in China, Burma, Veitnam and other non-democratic countries... and this is certainly an accurate picture. But what's going on under our own noses? Sweatshops located in New York and Los Angeles are still producing designer clothing with vigor, as an article from the AFL-CIO newsletter states:

"Student groups around the country are among the community and national organizations supporting the campaign of UNITE, the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees, against the use of sweatshop labor by U.S. garment manufacturer Guess Inc.

UNITE is urging the buying public to "look behind" the Guess? label-- something the manufacturer is betting won't happen--to learn about the inhumane conditions the company imposes on its workers. Right here in the U.S., UNITE says, workers often sew clothes all day in sweatshops and then continue sewing into the night in their homes. This "homework" practice was outlawed decades ago because of the high probability that child labor would occur behing closed doors, but it still occurs today as low-wage workers struggle to make a living.

According to UNITE, approximately 4,000 Guess workers toil in a network of about 40 contracting factories in Los Angeles. Some are paid less than the minimum wage or are forced to pay kickbacks. Many do not get paid overtime, nor do they receive health insurance, sick days, paid vacations, or holidays.

When workers filed a class action lawsuit against the company and 16 of its contracting shops for systematic violation of basic labor laws and of the company's Compliance Agreement with the U.S. Departmant of Labor (DOL), Guess retaliated by removing work from their factories, throwing hundreds out of work.

Guess? has also been cited for inhumane acts through contracting practices such as cash payments or falsifacation of time cards to make workers appear to have worked fewer hours to avoid taxation. Upon accusation for these and other violations, Guess pulled much of its labor from the shops in question, thus throwing hundreds of workers from their jobs. Had Guess been a responsible company, they simply would have cleaned up the existing shops. But Guess has shown that they will simply allow their contractors to return to previous conditions as soon as the spotlight fades.

Tell Guess? that you will not stand for such conditions. Boycott the clothing, and write letters demanding change. Tell the Marciano brothers, who make hundreds of millions of dollars a year, that they must assume reponsibility for their actions rather than abandon their workers. Email Guess at feedback@guess.com or call 1-800-38-GUESS to demand fair wages and humane working conditions for their workers!

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