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Ex-sweatshop worker speaks out about labor abuses

Former sweatshop worker Camencita "Chie" Abad speaks to SFHS students at lunchtime presentation

On April 25, Stand Up, Speak Up!, a club dedicated to speaking out about human rights violations, hosted a lunchtime presentation on sweatshop labor. Carmencita “Chie” Abad, a former sweatshop worker of six years, spoke to a crowd of over 50 Saint Francis Students about the inhumane labor abuses she endured and witnessed while working for the Sako Corporation which makes clothes for the Gap and other retailers.

Chie encouraged students to become aware of their political power as consumers and urged them to join and promote Global Exchange’s national ‘Sweatfree’ campaign. The campaign is an effort to ensure that the clothes, uniforms and other products bought by our cities and states are not made in sweatshops. The goal of the campaign is to guarantee that taxpayers are not complicit in factory abuses by allowing tax dollars to underwrite worker exploitation.

About Chie Abad:
Carmencita "Chie" Abad speaks from personal experience about the hardships endured by millions of workers in sweatshops around the world. Chie spent six years as a garment worker on the Pacific island of Saipan, a U.S. territory. She endured wretched conditions, frequently working 14-hour shifts in order to meet arbitrary production quotas for her employer, the Sako Corporation, which made clothes for the Gap and other retailers. When she tried to organize a union, Chie was met by fierce resistance from management and eventually lost her job. She now lives in the U.S., where she educates Americans about the inhumane factory conditions occurring worldwide, including on U.S. soil. Chie was instrumental in forcing 26 major retailers to settle a lawsuit in September 2002 to improve conditions in Saipan. Her story is an inspiring example of how people can win if they stand up for their rights.

About Global Exchange:
Global Exchange is a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world. Since its founding in 1988, Global Exchange has successfully increased public awareness of root causes of injustice while building international partnerships and mobilizing for change. www.globalexchange.org