Pennies Per Hour?

I just have one quick question and then an appeal.

Question: How can we really expect any corporation to make things in America?

Seriously. Even if we worked for $2 per/hr it would still be more profitable for a corporation to outsource and exploit labor abroad.

Now, it is common on the right in America to blame "greedy" unions for outsourcing, but that simply isn't true. Heck, even without unions you can't find Americans that will work for pennies per hour.

The other typical response is to blame the victim; you know, "those people will work for nothing, they're stealing our jobs."

But again, when these same overseas workers reveal that they only work for nothing because they haven't a choice, and then decide to form unions, the story changes to "those greedy workers want too much and now my $8 Walmart shirt costs $10. WTF!?"

The plain and simple problem is that there are little or no labor/environmental protections in "developing countries."

Remember, capitalists don't just decide whether or not they want their brand to be "made in America". They are forced by the laws of competition to seek out the cheapest possible labor sources in order to maximize profits.
If they don't and their competitors do, they won't be capitalist much longer.

So, it would seem that the best solution for workers on both sides of the ocean is to win labor struggles overseas that bring the living standards and labor/environmental practices over there about 125 years into their future (aka our present).

It begins with struggles like the one detailed below.

Remember though, labor struggles are very dangerous in countries that don't have labor laws (just as it was for American workers in the 1880s who fought and died for the 12hr day, then the 10hr day and finally the 8hr day and some kind of minimum wages and safety standards). It's dangerous because there are no existing labor laws, and the capitalist-owned government sends in the troops to gun you down when you start organizing to get your fair share of the product....

That's why our open and visible support for workers abroad is so important. As citizens of "the empire", our support gives them a bit more security than they would otherwise have.

Please consider signing this petition to support one such case in Bangledesh and then pass it on to some friends, maybe even keep an ear to the street for others in the future.

Higher wages and protections abroad makes their lives better as well as pressures corporations to return jobs "home", thus making our lives better too.

The details are below.

Thank You,

Todd

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Subject: Is 35¢ Too Much To Ask From Walmart?

Please join Wake Up Walmart and the National Labor Committee in calling on Walmart to support a 35 cent per hour minimum wage for garment workers in Bangladesh.

Last week we posted on our blog about how Walmart's $8 pairs of jeans were made by Bengali garment workers, mostly young women, who are paid the equivalent of 11.5 cents an hour. This week these workers took to the streets in protest over wages, where at least 25 workers were injured by authorities.

Please join us in calling on Rajan Kamalanathan, Walmart's Vice President of "Ethical" Sourcing, to support protesting workers in Bangladesh in calling for a garment worker minimum wage of 35 cents an hour. Visit: www.wakeupwalmart.com to sign the petition.

Walmart’s claim that it sources its products in an ethical manner is completely undermined when workers are forced to take to the streets in protest over wages so low they have been called “not only insufficient, but also inhumane” by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

Thank you for your support,

Wake Up Walmart


www.wakeupwalmart.com