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Group chides Ohio for link to sweatshop factories

Group chides Ohio for link to sweatshop factories

By Stephen Majors
Associated Press writer

POSTED: 08:29 a.m. EDT, Jul 02, 2008

COLUMBUS: An anti-sweatshop group wants Ohio to pressure two companies it does business with to improve what it says are abusive working conditions in factories abroad.

SweatFree Communities, an organization founded by anti-sweatshop advocates, released a report Tuesday that alleges abusive working conditions in factories that supply the Bob Barker Co. and Dayton-based Lion Apparel.

The state has paid Bob Barker — not the Barker of ''The Price is Right'' fame — a total of roughly $1.1 million over the past two years through April for undergarments, said Department of Administrative Services spokesman Ron Sylvester. It has paid Lion Apparel about $195,000 over the past two years for uniforms for public employees.

''The governor has directed the department to review current contracts and to communicate directly with companies who are alleged to have engaged with these practices and to outline Ohio's expectations for its vendors,'' said Keith Dailey, spokesman for Gov. Ted Strickland.

Based on one-on-one interviews conducted with 24 workers off company premises, SweatFree Communities said a factory in Bangladesh that supplies Bob Barker pays workers below minimum wage and forces them to work at least three overtime hours per day. The report also alleges that workers get less than the number of paid leave days allotted to them by law, and female workers get no maternity leave and therefore have to quit when they become pregnant.

The report also alleges that female workers are required to submit to pregnancy tests once a year and are fired if the tests are positive.

The state had a phone conversation with the company on the allegations, Sylvester said. The company told the state in a June 6 letter that it complied with all international labor standards and is consistently monitored by representatives of the Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production.

A telephone message left with Bob Barker spokesman Tom Barker was not immediately returned Tuesday.

The report also said a factory in Honduras that supplies Lion Apparel doesn't pay workers adequately for normal working hours and sometimes doesn't pay them for overtime. The findings were based on interviews with two former and 14 current workers.

Lion Apparel said in a statement its employees have visited the factory on a regular basis and have found no violations. The company also said third-party audit reports turned up no evidence of violations.

''If we find any of these alleged violations to be proven, we'll take immediate action with the owner and management of the factory to correct the problems as the report suggests,'' said Hayley Fudge, corporate marketing associate.

 

COLUMBUS: An anti-sweatshop group wants Ohio to pressure two companies it does business with to improve what it says are abusive working conditions in factories abroad.

SweatFree Communities, an organization founded by anti-sweatshop advocates, released a report Tuesday that alleges abusive working conditions in factories that supply the Bob Barker Co. and Dayton-based Lion Apparel.

The state has paid Bob Barker — not the Barker of ''The Price is Right'' fame — a total of roughly $1.1 million over the past two years through April for undergarments, said Department of Administrative Services spokesman Ron Sylvester. It has paid Lion Apparel about $195,000 over the past two years for uniforms for public employees.

''The governor has directed the department to review current contracts and to communicate directly with companies who are alleged to have engaged with these practices and to outline Ohio's expectations for its vendors,'' said Keith Dailey, spokesman for Gov. Ted Strickland.

Based on one-on-one interviews conducted with 24 workers off company premises, SweatFree Communities said a factory in Bangladesh that supplies Bob Barker pays workers below minimum wage and forces them to work at least three overtime hours per day. The report also alleges that workers get less than the number of paid leave days allotted to them by law, and female workers get no maternity leave and therefore have to quit when they become pregnant.

The report also alleges that female workers are required to submit to pregnancy tests once a year and are fired if the tests are positive.

The state had a phone conversation with the company on the allegations, Sylvester said. The company told the state in a June 6 letter that it complied with all international labor standards and is consistently monitored by representatives of the Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production.

A telephone message left with Bob Barker spokesman Tom Barker was not immediately returned Tuesday.

The report also said a factory in Honduras that supplies Lion Apparel doesn't pay workers adequately for normal working hours and sometimes doesn't pay them for overtime. The findings were based on interviews with two former and 14 current workers.

Lion Apparel said in a statement its employees have visited the factory on a regular basis and have found no violations. The company also said third-party audit reports turned up no evidence of violations.

''If we find any of these alleged violations to be proven, we'll take immediate action with the owner and management of the factory to correct the problems as the report suggests,'' said Hayley Fudge, corporate marketing associate.