Three Bangladeshi women shared their stories working at sweatshops as part of the National Labor Committee's Bangladeshi Workers' Tour last Tuesday.
Sponsored by the Social Justice Committee of the Student Union, the Dean of Arts and Sciences and the Brandeis Labor Coalition, about 30 people attended to learn more about sweatshop labor, low international labor standards and outsourcing.
Robina Akther, an 18-year-old sewing operator, spoke first about her experiences working in the garment factories, earning just 14 cents an hour for the past two years sewing clothing for Wal-Mart and other U.S. companies.
"I never dreamed of coming to the United States...and I found the clothing I made in Bangladesh. It's now clear to me that you buy the clothing I make in Bangladesh," Akther said.
Akther also described her room where she sleeps on the floor with eight other people. With her wages from her 12 to 14 hour shifts at the factory every day, she still cannot afford a toothbrush and toothpaste, so she cleans her teeth with her finger, using ashes from the fire.
"I have never had any fun," Akther said. "I've never been to a cinema. My life is just to work."
Maksuda, a 19-year-old who has worked in the garment factories since she was 11, spoke next about her experiences earning 17 cents an hour for 12 hours each day, while raising a two-year-old daughter on her own.
Maksuda described how, when she was seven months pregnant working at the factory she felt weak, so she asked her supervisor for a break.
"I did not get a break," Maksuda said. "He kicked my stomach really hard and I felt my baby go hard."
To this day, Maksuda says her baby has a bruise on her forehead because of this act.
Sk Nazma, president of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, spoke last mainly about her experiences organizing one of the first unions in the garment sector in Bangladesh.
When she and her fellow sweatshop workers tried to protest for an eight-hour work day as opposed to their current twelve-hour, seven-day work week, workers were killed, clubbed and shot .
"We want the workers to be treated as human beings," Nazma said. "We want the workers to have their basic rights, but it's very difficult to have the workers get their basic rights...the workers are struggling and fighting for their rights. The workers need your solidarity and support."
Charles Kernaghan, Executive Director of the National Labor Committee for Worker and Human Rights, concluded by urging Americans to take action against labor abuses and sweatshop labor.
"I think the main reason [the Bangladeshi women] made this tour is to put pressure on the marketplace," Kernaghan said. "If we don't know about it, it doesn't exist. They cannot win their rights unless we put pressure on the U.S."
Kernaghan attributed the shift of power to large corporations as one of the reasons why sweatshop workers are cheated out of fair wages.
"Of course there's money to pay these workers more," Kernaghan said. "[CEO] Lee Scott of Wal-Mart pays himself $240,000 a week. For 25 cents more for this shirt, these women could afford to have a life with a little bit of dignity."
Elyse Seener '06, the co-chair of the Social Justice Committee of the Student Union and member of the Brandeis Labor Coalition, wrapped up the event by urging students to get involved in this cause.
"I think that the sweatshops are a problem that is largely overlooked and I thought it was important to put a human face on the sweatshops for the Brandeis community," Seener said. "It's important to be aware of this overwhelming problem overseas, and hopefully this event will help catalyze action.