Labor Force or Forced Labor?

Posted on Sep 23, 2011 | 15 Comments

You’ve arrived from India to take a factory job in Kuwait, but your boss has taken your passport, you’re not allowed to leave the factory grounds, and your wages are being held back in order to pay for your plane ticket and your recruiter. Are you a slave?

Whatever label you want to give it, forced labor is a widespread problem around the globe. Now, a non-profit group with State Department funding is unveiling a website, www.slaveryfootprint.org, that will allow consumers to track what sort of things in their possession are likely to have been tied to slave labor.

Creators of the site, the New York Times reported this week, “hope to get consumers engaged enough in the issue to do something about it, primarily hoping people demand that companies carefully audit supply chains to ensure, as best as they can determine, that no ‘slave labor’ was used to manufacture its products.”

Peter Drucker wrote about slavery in a variety of contexts, and he pointed out that it isn’t just a concern for the enslaved. In every society that allowed slavery, all parties were debased. “Slavery affected the master just as much as it did the slave,” Drucker wrote in People and Performance. “It is the nature of a human relationship that it changes both parties—whether they are man and wife, father and child, or manager and people managed.”

Indeed, there is little doubt that Drucker would have compared what’s happening in at least some of today’s most oppressive factories with labor conditions of the 19^thcentury. “In its eastward march through Europe, industrialization broke not only the bodies but the spirits of entire generations,” Drucker wrote in The New Society.

And yet Drucker also noted that, for the poor, especially for the peasant, a factory job can be an improvement, however slight. This was also the case for many workers during the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. “They were badly off, no doubt, and harshly treated,” Drucker asserted. “But they flocked to the factory precisely because they were still better off there than they were at the bottom of a static, tyrannical, and starving rural society. They still experienced a much better ‘quality of life.’”

When does work become slavery—and what’s a plausible way to combat it today?

15 Comments

Maverick18
September 24, 2011
When it comes to slavery:

– There is no minimum wage. There may be no wage at all, only a subsistence allowance.
– The only workday and workweek limitations are 24 and 7.
– There are no civil rights.
– There are no workplace rights.
– There are no health and safety regulations.
– There is no right to seek a redress of wrongs or compensation therefor from the employer.
– A slave cannot be too young, old, sick, tired or stupid to be put to work.

The only problem with slaves is that I don’t own one. Aside from that, perhaps we should stop importing supplies and services from countries that allow any aspect of slavery. Paying a little premium for real American goods supplied by workers who earn a living wage and don’t pollute the environment is an old idea that is timely once again.
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- Karen Linkletter
  September 25, 2011
  So well said. Indentured servitude was the original labor force for much of colonial America, which involved 4-7 years of forced labor with the promise of some land and escape from poverty in England. Now that land is worth much less, thanks to the real estate crash, maybe we’ll revisit this concept, since the Tea Party has us on such a twisted revisionist tour of American history.
  Reply
  - Maceo
    September 26, 2011
    Essentially, I agree with both assessments. I am thinking that Maverick is being glib on expressing the need for one… Slavery reflects capitalism in its basic stages.
    
    Indentured servitude may cause some unforeseen problems now with a real estate crisis, but may also reduce many of our immigration issues. Would all immigrants/countries be treated equally?
    
    I would love to see an ‘embargo’ on foreign slave labor products but that would perhaps bankrupt American stalwarts like WalMart, Nike, etc… less than likely.
    Reply
  - Mike Grayson
    September 27, 2011
    Those who became indentured did so freely and according to their own free will. This is not the case for the African-American slave and the two can hardly be placed in the same category.
    
    I’m surprised by your comment about the goal of the TEA Party being “a twisted revisionist tour of American history”. The TEA means “Taxed Enough Already” and is not that far removed from the sentiments during the Boston Tea Party. I am not a member of the TEA Party, but I know it and some of their leaders and it is a myth that they want to revise American history. The root of their issue is: How much taxation is enough? 10%, 20%, 40%, 80%?
    
    There is no easier way to enslave a people than through taxation.
    Reply
George L. Williams
September 24, 2011
Work becomes slavery when choice is absent, limited, or in crucial ways denied. Work becomes slavery when the slave is deemed to be a slave while in the womb. Slavery is the foundation of Western culture and society. Since the forced end of chattel slavery it has re-surfaced as tenant farming, sharecropping and other ways of binding the worker to the soil. Work becomes slavery when workers are segregated into “excess labor pools” for purposes of limiting work rights and wages.

Today when corporations have found ways to grow top lines and bottom lines without creating jobs, we once again see “excess labor” pools growing for purposes of limiting or denying workers rights.
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Daniel Pacheco
September 25, 2011
Even for a rich man work becomes slavery when it becomes his obsession.
He works and works and works and ruins his health and family life due to his obsession with work.
It is not just the poor who are slaves to work because they need the money even rich men who do not need any money are slaves to work.
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- Maceo
  September 26, 2011
  The obsessed rich man, while perhaps deserving of some compassion, has the choice NOT to be driven by greed, become a work-a-holic, etc. Slavery is forced and denies human rights and/or safety. You are distorting the definition.
  Reply
Mike Grayson
September 25, 2011
Slavery can exist in many forms and is not limited to the plantation or the factory. Entire societies can be enslaved. Slavery is an absence of freedom.

A free society values and protects the rights of the individual. The strength of America for over 100 years was not in its economic or military power. The strength of America was and is in its embracing the values of individual freedom and ultimately led to the abolishment of the institution of slavery. We have sacrificed the blood of our loved ones to protect the values of freedom. Liberty and freedom are an American way of life.

Your question asks, “what is a plausible way to combat it today?” History tells us that the only way to protect freedom is to fight for it. It is doubtful that the action of State Department will do much good since the countries in which these factories are located allow the practice. The society in which it exists must reject it. In our own Civil War, those in the South who benefited from it were not going to willingly make the change. History shows us that people must be delivered from slavery – and that may involve people willing to risk their lives to do so.
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Jason Stoecker
September 25, 2011
Slavery of all forms is wrong. Historically slavery was rooted in indebtedness. However, until 2 years ago slavery of indebtedness was made fashionable. We need to wake up to this monster and educate people on how the master indebtedness debases us as a nation. We went thru a period in history when the consumer was disconnected from the producer. The power of multi-media, computing, and travel has created an opportunity to close that gap. This can be a great advocate for producer accountability around the world if used right. If we have the information we can chose the products with the right behavior even if higher cost, only if we oursleves do not serve the master indebtedness.
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Jim DellaNeve
September 26, 2011
This is a tough issue. Firms like Nike try to ensure that the workers are treated fairly, but they are an exception. The values in these countries are the core of this problem. Government policy usually reflects societal values. In many of these countries, children are employed in these sweatshop factories, but the alternative is often being sold into the sex slavery trade. Whatever the solution, it’s likely to be combination of solution alternatives.
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- floundericious
  September 26, 2011
  @6
  
  Whether or not firms like Nike “try to ensure” workplace protection and fair wages is immaterial…the REASON they locate work in those facilities is because of overall lower costs of production. Those lower costs are structural, so it comes from everything… less regulation, lower wages, less safety staff, fewer interruptions for inspections, etc.
  
  The REASON they can do that and get that advantage at the expense of U.S. workers and at the exploitation of the foreign laborers is that “Free Trade” laws allow U.S. companies to locate work in places that don’t require ANY of the protections offered to labor in the developed world. They contain clear out-clauses for wage and safety protections and effectively turn the U.S. consumer economy into a cash pump…we pump cash out of the working and middle classes…that cash goes into the wealthy elite who run the companies, the import/export conglomerates who move the inventory, and the financial classes who handle the cash.
  Reply
Alba Patricia Valencia
September 26, 2011
The human species is faced with two problems: survival and subsistence, only through hard work. Unfortunately, power and strength of the domain have made have caused destruction in relations between most humans on this planet.

Likewise, slavery is not only present in India, Kuwait, China, Latin America; it is also a signature of developed countries. For example the United States is known around the globe as United Slaves.

The way to combat slavery has several paths. First, change the economic and political model and second, we must adapt and couple to new ideas and concepts.

Perhaps when we understand how beautiful and brief life is, we would always work.

LOVE ME ALWAYS

You say you love me, but sometimes
you do not show it. In the beginning
everything was different, you made everything for me.
Now it seems that you do not take into account …
Some days I think that do not mean anything to you.

Maybe when you no longer have me, you will appreciate me
for all these things I did for you.

I am responsible for having food on your table
your clothes clean and well being of your children …
And of all the things you want and need.
Well! If not for me you would not even
have the means to travel. I have kept quiet
and waiting to see when you would realize
how much you need me.
Appreciate me! Care well for me and I also
I will continue loving you. Remember, I did not look for you,
you looked for me.

I do work

La especie humana se enfrenta a dos problemas: supervivencia y subsistencia. A través del trabajo se ejecutan ambas. Pero el poder y la fuerza del dominio han hecho estragos en las relaciones entre los humanos en este planeta.

Así mismo, no solo la esclavitud está presente en la India, Kuwait, China, América Latina, también es un rasgo característico de los países desarrollados. Por ejemplo Estados Unidos es conocido en el globo como Esclavos Unidos.

El camino para combatir la esclavitud tiene varias sendas. El primero, cambiar el modelo económico y político y segundo, adaptación y acoplamiento a los nuevos modelos.

Quizás cuando todos comprendamos lo hermosa y lo breve que es la vida, quisiéramos siempre el trabajo.

QUIEREME SIEMPRE

Dices que me quieres, pero hay veces
que no lo demuestras. En el principio
todo era distinto, lo hacías todo por mí.
Ahora parece que ya no me tomas en cuenta…
Hay días que pienso que no significo nada para ti.

Tal vez cuando ya no me tengas, me apreciarás
Por todas esas cosas que hice por ti.

Soy responsable de tener la comida en tu mesa,
Tu ropa limpia y el bienestar de tus hijos…
Y de todas las cosas que quieres y necesitas.
¡Bueno! Si no fuera por mí tú ni siquiera
tendrías para el pasaje. Me he quedado callado
y esperando para ver cuándo te darás cuenta
de cuanto me necesitas.
¡Apréciame! Cuídame bien y yo también
seguiré queriéndote. Recuerda: yo no te busqué,
tú me buscaste a mí.

Soy tu trabajo
Reply
- Maceo
  September 26, 2011
  Nice poem– I think the Spanish version is more direct.
  Reply
  - Maceo
    September 26, 2011
    It reminds me of the saying/lyrics (PR): “y tu abuela, ?donde esta?”
    Reply
- Mike Grayson
  September 27, 2011
  The U.S. has the oldest working constitution in the world. Our citizens have shed their blood for the freedom of countries including China, Kuwait, France, Poland, Great Britain and the list goes on. Just read our consitution and what we stand for. The U.S. may not be perfect but the freedoms and rule of law exceed what is normally found anywhere else in the world.
  
  When there is a disaster anywhere in the world, the U.S. is almost always the first to lead the way. We provide most of the money to support the U.N. because we believe in peace.
  
  It is easy to use cheap words to denigrate a people, but actions speak louder than words.
  Reply