Harvest Rich Factory Research Paper

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Subsequently, the children report being routinely slapped and beaten, sometimes falling down from exhaustion, forced to work 12 to 14 hours a day, even some all night, 19 to 20 hour shifts, often seven days a week, for wages as low as 6 ½ cents an hour. The National Labor Committee declares that these children wake up at 5:00am and brush their teeth using just their finger and ashes from the fire due to them not being able to afford a toothbrush or toothpaste. The child workers state, “if they could earn just 36 cents an hour, they could climb out of misery and into poverty, where they could live with a modicum of decency.” Moreover, in the month of September, the children had just one day off and before clothing shipments had to leave …show more content…

The Harvest Rich Factory is open 7 days a week. The standard shift is 11 to 14 hours a day starting at 8:00am to 7:00pm, but usually goes on until about 10:00pm. When it’s busy, the children workers are at the factory from 80 to 110 hours a week. Before clothing shipment deadlines there is mandatory overtime consisting of 19 to 20 hour all-night shifts from 8:00am to 4:00am the next day. Whether they are working until 10:00pm or doing an all-night shift until 4:00am their timecards are always marked out at 7:00pm. If a worker is late they can be punished with loss of their attendance bonus for the full month. All workers are required to work 7 days, but only get paid for 6 of them as their timecards are marked “Off” for Fridays that they work. Production goals are excessive and are given daily by management. In some cases the child workers only have 24 seconds to clean/cut off any loose threads for each pair of Hanes underwear in order to meet their daily goal. Wages for children workers are 6 ½ cents an hour and 53 cents a day. Sewing operators earn 17 cents an hour and $1.35 a day. There is not a single worker at the Harvest Rich factory that is being paid their proper, legal overtime pay. Some workers are being shortchanged of up to half the wages due to them and …show more content…

According to Kernaghan, “the workers must receive permission to use the restroom and are limited to two or at most three visits per day. The restrooms are filthy, lacking toilet paper, soap, towels and sometimes lack running water on average about two days a week. Anyone spending too much time in the restroom will be slapped.” When there is running water the workers say that sometimes it makes them sick because it is not purified. Talking during working hours is prohibited and any worker who gets caught talking gets punished. The workers either stand or sit on hard stools without cushions or backs and if they bring a cushion of their own management takes it away. As if all these things weren’t hard enough to deal with, the workers also have to work through very hot conditions constantly sweating while they

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