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Title: Crucifixes Made Under Horrific Conditions in China
Source:
The National Labor Committee
URL Source: http://www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=479
Published: May 15, 2009
Author: The National Labor Committee
Post Date: 2009-05-15 12:33:02 by Elliott Jackalope
Keywords: China, Sweatshop, Religion, Crucifix
Views: 310
Comments: 17
“Jesus, take pity on me! I’m going to die of exhaustion.” Crucifixes Made Under Horrific Sweatshop Conditions in China * At the Junxingye factory in China, the mostly-young women—including several 15 and 16-year- olds—making crucifixes are forced to work 14 to 15 ½ hours a day, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 or 11:30 p.m., seven days a week. There are also frequent 18 and 19-hour shifts ending at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. Before shipments of crucifixes must leave for the U.S., there are even mandatory, all-night 22 ½ to 25- hour shifts from 8:00 a.m. straight through to 6:30 or 9:00 a.m. the following morning. Workers are routinely at the factory over 100 hours a week, including being forced to work 51 hours of overtime, which exceeds China’s legal limit by 514 percent. Young women go for months on end without a single day off. * After being forced to work a 19-hour shift, one worker cried out, “Jesus, take pity on me! I’m going to die of exhaustion.” * Workers paid just 26 ½ cents an hour, less than half China’s legal minimum wage of 55 cents, which is itself set at below subsistence levels. Workers earning just $2.12 a day and $10.61 a week. After mandatory deductions for primitive company dorms and food, the workers’ take-home wage drops to a shocking nine cents an hour, 74 cents a day and $3.70 a week. Workers toiling 91 hours a week are paid just $30.61, which is only 43 percent of the $70.71 they are legally owed. * Workers housed in primitive and filthy company dorms, sleeping on narrow, double-level bunk beds. Workers drape old sheets or plastic over their cubicles for privacy. There is no other furniture, not a table, chair or bureau. The walls are smudged black, spider webs cling to the ceiling and moss is growing on the bathroom floor. * Workers describe the company food as “awful.” The soup is a large pot of water with a few vegetable leaves and drops of oil floating on top. In the so-called “meat dish,” the bits of meat are so small that the workers cannot lift them with their chopsticks. * Workers fear they may be handling toxic chemicals, paints and solvents—whose fumes sting their eyes and skin contact causes rashes—but management refuses to provide even the names of the chemicals, let alone their potential health hazards. * Illegally, workers are not provided an employment contract, which strips them of the legal rights afforded full time workers under China’s laws. The crucifix workers have no paid sick days, no paid maternity leave, no paid holidays and no health insurance—all of which are mandated under China’s laws. Anyone missing a day will, as punishment, be docked 2 ½ days’ wages. Every single labor law in China is being grossly violated at the Junxingye factory along with the United Nations/International Labor Organization’s worker rights standards. * It appears that the $4.63 billion Association for Christian Retail has decided, en masse, to follow Wal-Mart to China, where they can exploit defenseless workers and pay them pennies an hour to produce their religious goods. The workers in China have no freedom of religion. * Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity Church and the Association for Christian Retail—with their 2,055 member stores and suppliers—are ten years behind Kathie Lee Gifford, lacking even rudimentary corporate codes of conduct pledging to the American people that their religious products will be made only under humane conditions by workers whose legal rights are protected and who are fairly paid. Nor do these religious organizations have any factory monitoring program. * The National Labor Committee is eager to work with Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity Church and the Association for Christian Retail to guarantee that the human rights of young workers across the world producing religious goods are finally protected. * As things stand now in the global economy, corporate trademarks and products are protected by enforceable laws backed up by stiff sanctions. But there are no similar laws to protect the rights of the human being who made the product. This is immoral, and it must change! Link to the rest of the article HERE
--Chinese worker after 19-hour shift
Linked to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity Church and
The $4.63 billion Association for Christian Retail
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#1. To: All (#0)
St. Patrick's Cathedral and Trinity Church did, to their credit, pull these items from their shelves once they were confronted with this story. However, it's quite certain that the abuses cited here have not in any way diminished. Trade with China is basically endorsing slavery, and it's long past time when the nations of the world that care about human rights cut off all trade with China until that vile nation enacts and enforces adequate labor laws. We can either choose to care about the workers in China, who are human beings like anyone else, or we can choose to look the other way and continue to purchase goods made by slave labor. But rest assured, if we don't do something about this now, sooner or later we all will end up becoming slaves. It's the inevitable result of the global "race to the bottom", propelled by the infinite greed of the corporate overlords.
 | Gold and silver are REAL money, paper is but a promise. |
#2. To: Elliott Jackalope (#0)
The young ones that die of exhaustion will just have their organs harvested, then sold on the black market. The Yuan will overtake the Dollar.
#3. To: Elliott Jackalope (#1)
I've always been baffled by the anarcho-caps that defend Walmart and poo-poo the slavery angle. They must own stock in the multinats.
Trade with China is basically endorsing slavery
#4. To: Elliott Jackalope, all (#1) (Edited)
Bullshit! "credit" my hairy white elbow!!! Dont think for one microsecond they didn't know this was going on! They could have made those crosses here. They chose China for a reason. That reason is PROFIT! My God how these people make me want to vomit! Not to mention that wearing one is as silly as wearing a mini electric chair or noose. IMO. .
St. Patrick's Cathedral and Trinity Church did, to their credit, pull these items from their shelves once they were confronted with this story.
It's a fine line between being too specific and long winded and therefore too irritating to bother to read, and being too cryptic and therefore too irritating to try to interpret.
It's a forum post, not a doctoral thesis.
Click for Privacy and Preparedness files
#5. To: Elliott Jackalope (#0)
Bill/Hitlery Clinton and George Bush urge you to PRAY for the deliverance of those poor, oppressed people from their overlords. But, not too much deliverance, the cargo ships must keep docking in San Diego and Los Angeles.
_________________________________________________________________________
"This man is Jesus,” shouted one man, spilling his Guinness as Barack Obama began his inaugural address. “When will he come to Kenya to save us?”
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#6. To: PSUSA (#4)
Well, suffice it to say that while I do believe in God, I deeply dislike organized religion, and articles like this one help to show some of the reasons why I deeply dislike organized religion. To paraphrase Ricardo Flores Magnon - "Capital, Authority, Clergy: These are the three heads of the hydra that guards the gates of this prison called Earth". Every so often you'll find a story that illustrates the truth of that statement, usually to highlight one, sometimes two of the heads at once. This is one of those rare stories that helps to shine a spotlight on all three of the vile beast's hideous heads.
| Gold and silver are REAL money, paper is but a promise. |
#7. To: Elliott Jackalope (#6)
I agree with everything you said. But IMO it spotlights it only for us. When it comes to the church members reaction, I bet that wont have a reaction except they will just want to buy a cross because they are soooo inexpensive and pretty and they want everyone to know how much they love Jesus. Now excuse me while I go vomit things I ate last month! National Labor Committee looks like a secular .org, not a Christian .org It is a shame that it takes a secular group to expose this. There's nothing more frustrating than to see blatant evil like this, and not be able to do anything about it, because if it wasn't exposed they'd still be doing it. Yeah, they got caught. The damage to those people has already been done. And we cant stop it. They will do it again, IMO. And more people will be hurt in the process. They have the mark of the beast, and nothing gets in their way of buying and selling, least of all human misery. .
It's a fine line between being too specific and long winded and therefore too irritating to bother to read, and being too cryptic and therefore too irritating to try to interpret.
It's a forum post, not a doctoral thesis.
Click for Privacy and Preparedness files
#8. To: Elliott Jackalope (#0)
Wal-Mart Jesus.
$4.63 billion Association for Christian Retail has decided, en masse, to follow Wal-Mart to China
I've already said too much.
#9. To: PSUSA (#7)
That's Charlie Kernighan's organization. He's the one who busted Kathy Lee Gifford a few years back.
National Labor Committee looks like a secular .org, not a Christian .org It is a shame that it takes a secular group to expose this
formerly GJones.
#10. To: InsideJob (#9)
Another "christian". Thanks. I remember that one. .
He's the one who busted Kathy Lee Gifford a few years back.
It's a fine line between being too specific and long winded and therefore too irritating to bother to read, and being too cryptic and therefore too irritating to try to interpret.
It's a forum post, not a doctoral thesis.
Click for Privacy and Preparedness files
#11. To: InsideJob (#9)
hey, IJ. nice to see you again. how're things?
The smooth criminal transition from Bush/Cheney to Obama
#12. To: Elliott Jackalope (#0)
I don't care if it rains for freezes Long as I got my plastic Jesus Sittin' on the dashboard of my car.
Dancing Turtles and Bouncing Boobs
...that's Turtle Island.
#13. To: Turtle (#12)
I don't care if it's made from paste, I don't care if it's made by poor slaves
from recycled toxic waste,
glowing 'cause it's hotter than the bomb.
Working nineteen hour work days
looks good on the dashboard of my car.
| Gold and silver are REAL money, paper is but a promise. |
#14. To: Turtle (#12)
Long as I got my plastic Jesus Sittin' on the dashboard of my car. The cops can't find where I hide by booze Cause He's a flask and his head unscrews Sittin' on the dashboard of my car
I don't care if it rains for freezes
It's the second mouse that gets the cheese
#15. To: christine (#11)
Hi Christine, Things are finally going pretty well. However, I've been busy as hell and I don't have near as much to post or even read as much as I used to. Thanks for asking. :-)
hey, IJ. nice to see you again. how're things?
formerly GJones.
#16. To: Turtle (#12)
Long as I got my plastic Jesus Sittin' on the dashboard of my car. I don't care is it's windy and scary Long as I have my Virgin Mary Hangin' from the mirror of my car....
I don't care if it rains for freezes
formerly GJones.
#17. To: Flintlock (#14)
In the snow, in the rain,
if I'm in the breakdown lane,
He can wear the Texaco star.
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