Gap Exploitation Essay -- essays research papers

      possible action Inc. was founded in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher in San Francisco, California, with a single store and a handful of employees. Today, theyre one of the worlds largest specialty retailers with three of the most recognized and consider brands in the apparel industry - respite, Banana Republic and Old Navy. Gap Inc. has more than 153,000 employees supporting oer 4,200 stores in more than 3,100 locations in the joined States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan and Ger numerous. Their 2004 Sales were well over $15 billion, saving in a net income of $1.03 billion, a 115.7% income growth from previous year.      Gap Inc contracts factories in 64 Countries, allegedly also making clothes at bottom the US . And by Made in the USA, they mean, Made in the autochthonal countries that, out of desperation, joined the United States in hopes of gaining more stable judicature regulations, yet remain excluded from basic employme nt rights and minimum wage laws. The node utilizationers from countries like Saipan, who joined the United States in 1975 to be citizens of the land of the free, level themselves to conditions that are simply shameful to basic human rights. Once committed, workers who crunch for 12 hours daily behind barbed-wire fences, eat infested food, sleep on cots in dormitories that they are forced to pay more "fees" for, and work "off the quantify" hours that they arent paid for, cant escape from the madness, unless they can pay a mandatory $10 thousand dollar fee for this privilege. Despite over 1,000 citations over a mere 5 years in Saipan, meter out remains stern on their refusal to pay a settlement with exploit workers. One worker was quotedBefore 1997, we called for the strike because we were forced to work overtime with no opportunity to take a holiday, we wanted to go station for the holiday. But now we scram so many holidays, and we have no money to go home. There is nothing in balance I have no question why people commit suicide.      Of course, not all of the factories that GAP contracts could possibly conduct themselves like that, right? They have model factories like the Shin Won grind in Guatemala, acclaimed by industry reps and retailers, as well as winning several exportation awards in recent years. From afar, Shin Won is sightly an average factory ... ...other loan for $20 from a loan shark. To think that these are just individual problems or special cases is outright foolish. 24 of 27 factory workers in Lesotho said that they owed money to loan sharks. Even more shocking, many loan sharks are supervisors at the factories in which these people make a living. This means that the supervisors can deduct money from the checks of people who borrowed the money. What does this mean to the workers? Weeks of work without pay, and the need to, you guessed it, borrow more money.     How could so much corruption obey in these factories when the Gaps 90 inspectors are paid to turn back tabs on violations of their Code of Conduct? One Lesotho worker had this to sayIn our factory we have this policy that we have 2 separate time tackings, one for the buyer and for the owner. Whenever the buyer comes, they show that person a sheet which does not have our actual salary. The management does not show the buyer our original time sheet, the one which shows what we are actually paid. We have two time sheets, and we have to sign both sheets. If I dont then I will get fired. I have no other option but to sign both sheets.