Villanova Student Shares Factory Experience
By Guest Blogger Melissa Madden
Since 2006 CRS Fair Trade has been involved in efforts to identify how best, if at all, to use a certification process in the apparel industry. We know our supporters often ask “Where can I find Fair Trade clothing?” Most days pointing them in the direction of the “right” cup of coffee to sip is pretty straight forward. But defining exactly what “Fair Trade” is when it comes to the clothes we put on our backs has been a struggle.
As part of our effort to explore many models of economic justice for factory workers and artisans, the CRS Fair Trade Fund gave a scholarship to Melissa Madden of Villanova University. She used it to participate in a delegation to the Alta Gracia factory in the Dominican Republic, which was organized by United Students for Fair Trade with support from the Fair World Project and Workers Rights Consortium (WRC). Here is some of what Melissa learned and shared with CRS:
The majority of our week was spent with workers from the Alta Gracia factory. Alta Gracia is the only living wage and union-made college apparel brand in the world. To understand the significance of this non-sweatshop factory, it is important to first understand its history. In the same building that now holds Alta Gracia, there was previously a factory called BJ&B which produced hats. Conditions in BJ&B were verbally and physically abusive. The woman I lived with, Maritza Vargas, is one of the leaders in the union at Alta Gracia. When she shared her story with us, Maritza explained, “We were not treated like human beings there [at BJ&B], we were treated as slaves.” Management at BJ&B forced workers to put in overtime hours without additional pay, did not allow breaks, and did not respect the rights of its workers to collectively bargain with the management. Despite many courageous efforts by members of a union at BJ&B, most of the unionists were fired and those that were later reinstated were humiliated with work picking up trash outside in the hot sun.
When the factory finally tired of the workers organizing, it shut down and moved its business overseas. Over a thousand people were out of work and when many people had no choice but to split up their families and move to the capital to find other jobs, Villa Altagracia turned into a ghost town. Through the combined efforts of United Students Against Sweatshops, former garment workers in Villa Altagracia, and other international solidarity support, Knights Apparel opened the Alta Gracia factory in February of 2010.
Workers at Alta Gracia are paid over three times the minimum wage of most other garment workers in the Dominican Republic and their management respects the right of workers to organize in a union to bargain collectively for their rights and working conditions. Alta Gracia is also unique because it is monitored by the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), an independent watchdog organization that acts as an alarm sounding mechanism for conditions in factories throughout the world. Alta Gracia is the only factory that meets the standards set by the WRC. It is important to note that the WRC is one of the only monitoring organizations that does not receive any kind of money from the corporations that it monitors.
While in the Dominican Republic, our group met many Alta Gracia workers and their families who shared their stories with us. What all of them shared in common is the improved resources they have been able to provide for their families. Many workers have moved or improved their homes since working at Alta Gracia. Those with children can now afford to send them to better schools and provide sufficient school supplies; furthermore, the increased household income ensures that fewer families need to split up and move away in search of other work. Workers have access to better healthcare and more nutritious food with their increased salaries as well.
