48 HOURS ALERT

Sweatshops affect women and children in massive numbers around the world. Eighty percent of the workers in garment and shoe factories are women and young girls making below-poverty-level wages. Factory owners apparently justify paying women low wages because in most of the countries where production occurs women are still seen as second class citizens. Many of these women are trying to support a family on their wages, and the factories are not paying enough for one woman to subsist on her own. The problem is worsened by the fact that unions are not allowed in the countries where these factories are located, so women are unable to stand up for their rights. For these reasons and many more, NOW passed a resolution at its 1996 conference to "expose the companies that practice or allow discriminatory labor practices against women workers and demand a change in policy."

On Thursday, October 17, at 10 pm on CBS, 48 Hours will do an expose on Nike plants in Vietnam. Nike started out in Korea, moved to Indonesia when Korean women workers started "acting up," and now have moved into Vietnam, where wages are even lower. An enlightened consumer is an effective consumer, so please be sure to tune in to this program before you buy your next pair of running shoes. You can make a difference.

• Apply pressure to retailers and make manufacturers, such as Nike and Reebok, accountable for the conditions in the factories where their goods are produced.
• Ask retailers whether workers are allowed to organize in the factories that make their merchandise.
• Find out if there is independent monitoring of their factories by non governmental human rights groups.

Let's bring some attention to this problem. The "empowerment marketing" to women noted in the 48 Hours special is especially offensive in light of the allegations against these companies. Let's not allow these companies to make enormous profits while giving women sub-standard wages and working conditions.

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