Slave Labor and the U.S.

            It is mesmerizing to think that the United States is prized as one of the greatest nations in the world but I question if we should really have this title.  The past few days have been eye-opening for me as we have learned and discussed about the idea of the “brand” and how America exploits workers to make a profit.  I am not generalizing and stating that ALL of America has succumbed to such treachery rather I would state that a few if not the majority of major corporations have focused on giving jobs to women of other nations.  Oh by the way, jobs in this context is the equivalent of slave labor as these women are subjected to constant harassment, discrimination, poor and unsanitary working conditions, eighty hour work weeks, and they receive dismal wages.  This emphasis on slave labor for these corporations (of course, they would never admit to it) has allowed them to make an astronomical profit but it also takes away the basic human rights that the individual deserves.

            The ideal of the brand is to spread your name out throughout the masses so that you can better make a profit.  Major corporations have found a loophole to the United States’ laws on employment by expediting their work force to other nations.  These nations have certain sectors that target younger women.  Younger women are more susceptible to these terrible conditions that have been previously stated because they do not have a choice in some cases.  Some women are forced into this horrific atmosphere because they need to make money for their family to survive.  The women are restricted and forced to work their fingers to the bone for little to no money.  They do not have adequate time with their families and they suffer to make ends meet.  These major corporations need to have some sort of punishment rained down upon them because of their exploitation.

A Nike "Factory" in China.

            The major corporations are allowed to make a major profit because they barely have to pay their workers.  For example, if a woman in Micronesia works 16 hours a day and only makes $.50 an hour (that is if she is lucky to make that much).  She is only making eight dollars for that day of work.  Now compare that to the price that the corporation is selling the item for in the United States.  The product easily surpasses the amount of labor that the woman earns and it is not justifiable that the company leaves the woman with barely enough money to make ends meet but they have a 500% profit on one t-shirt or whatever the item may be.  This is the harsh reality that we need to face in America.

            America needs to wake up and see the error in her ways.  There needs to be harsher sanctions against the tyrannical exploitation of corporations.  These corporations can no longer go unopposed.  There must be a punishment for these heinous crimes.  Should America truly be considered a great nation because we turn our backs on the rest of the world so that we can make a profit while allowing those in poverty to suffer?  I believe that American needs to have drastic reformation in order to reclaim its own identity of a super power.  The United States is on a slippery slope and will no longer be the home that I want to live in if it does not fight for the justice of the poor and the justice of those in need.