A firsthand look at garment workers in Asia
Focus on workers’ rights
Focus on workers’ rights
by Dawn Crim
I currently serve as the acting special assistant to the Chancellor for community relations at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. In my role, I am largely responsible for local government and
community relations, alcohol issues and labor licensing.
In April, I had an opportunity to visit Thailand and Cambodia with representatives from six other
universities and three staff members of a Washington, D.C.- based organization, The Workers Rights
Consortium (WRC). The purpose of our travel was to learn firsthand about the garment industry in
Southeast Asia and use that information in relation with our labor policy at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison campus. The WRC is an independent labor-rights monitoring organization that conducts
investigations of working conditions in factories around the globe, with field staff based in Southeast
Asia. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a member of the Workers Rights Consortium, because of
UW’s commitment to help improve labor rights around the world. The UW believes in WRC’s purpose to
combat sweatshops and protect the rights of workers who sew apparel and other products sold in the
United States.
Over our seven-day trip, we met with many factory owners, garment workers (both unionized and
non-unionized) and their families at restaurants, dormitories and in their homes — always away from
the workplace for confidentiality reasons. We also met with non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
with human rights missions, and we toured many factories. The days were filled with meetings from 8 a.
m. to 10 p.m., but there is one particular meeting and organization that has stayed in my mind. This
meeting took place at a drop-in center for the Womyn’s Agenda for Change (WAC), an NGO that
provides leadership training to women workers in Cambodia. Its goal is to address the gender
imbalance in union leadership in the country. The WAC runs seven drop-in centers in total, located in
neighborhoods within walking distance of large garment factories, where women workers can meet and
participate in activities such as receiving information on making the transition from working in a rural
community to working in the city; basic country laws; and receiving education on workers’ rights in the
factory where they work.
It was 7:30 p.m., nearing dusk as our van winded down narrow neighborhood streets. We were let off
in an alley across from a makeshift store that someone set up on the front porch of their home. People
were peering out of their windows at us — nine Americans visiting their neighborhood. We took a short
walk past four houses into a yard lead by two WAC workers, Chrek Sophea and Ly Phearak, both junior
program officers, who had spent the afternoon with us, giving us a tour of the market place where
garment workers shopped. They knocked on a door of a house to get the key to the drop-in center
located on the second floor of the house. The organization rented the second floor of the house. We
took our shoes off and climbed the stairs into a large room, resembling the size of a rustic family cabin,
with a lighted ceiling fan overhead and eight grass mats on the floor stitched together to make a rug.
There was a bookshelf with materials and human-rights posters on the walls. From the windows, we
could see into the neighboring dirt yards where kids played and parents sat trying to cool off from the
95-degree day.
About 15 minutes after we arrived, eight garment workers from four different nearby factories made
their way to the drop-in center. For about an hour, they shared their individual stories of how they
became factory workers and what their working conditions were. Six had made the trek from nearby
villages in need of work to help feed their families and to help send younger brothers or sisters to
school. The other two lived in the city. They shared that even though the monthly minimum wage in
Cambodia is $50, they make about $80 a month because they work fast enough to exceed the sewing
quotas of 400-500 pieces per hour and a good work month can yield $110 with overtime. At the
factories where they work, overtime isn’t forced but exceeding quotas is what provides for the
opportunity to get overtime. If sewing quotas aren’t reached, workers usually get a warning from
supervisors. The average work day with overtime was 12 hours which, for most of the workers, was the
norm. Those who had children rarely got to see them; sometimes they only saw them two or three times
a year because they were always working and had no money to travel back home. Their parents or
grandparents cared for the children.
I currently serve as the acting special assistant to the Chancellor for community relations at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. In my role, I am largely responsible for local government and
community relations, alcohol issues and labor licensing.
In April, I had an opportunity to visit Thailand and Cambodia with representatives from six other
universities and three staff members of a Washington, D.C.- based organization, The Workers Rights
Consortium (WRC). The purpose of our travel was to learn firsthand about the garment industry in
Southeast Asia and use that information in relation with our labor policy at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison campus. The WRC is an independent labor-rights monitoring organization that conducts
investigations of working conditions in factories around the globe, with field staff based in Southeast
Asia. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a member of the Workers Rights Consortium, because of
UW’s commitment to help improve labor rights around the world. The UW believes in WRC’s purpose to
combat sweatshops and protect the rights of workers who sew apparel and other products sold in the
United States.
Over our seven-day trip, we met with many factory owners, garment workers (both unionized and
non-unionized) and their families at restaurants, dormitories and in their homes — always away from
the workplace for confidentiality reasons. We also met with non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
with human rights missions, and we toured many factories. The days were filled with meetings from 8 a.
m. to 10 p.m., but there is one particular meeting and organization that has stayed in my mind. This
meeting took place at a drop-in center for the Womyn’s Agenda for Change (WAC), an NGO that
provides leadership training to women workers in Cambodia. Its goal is to address the gender
imbalance in union leadership in the country. The WAC runs seven drop-in centers in total, located in
neighborhoods within walking distance of large garment factories, where women workers can meet and
participate in activities such as receiving information on making the transition from working in a rural
community to working in the city; basic country laws; and receiving education on workers’ rights in the
factory where they work.
It was 7:30 p.m., nearing dusk as our van winded down narrow neighborhood streets. We were let off
in an alley across from a makeshift store that someone set up on the front porch of their home. People
were peering out of their windows at us — nine Americans visiting their neighborhood. We took a short
walk past four houses into a yard lead by two WAC workers, Chrek Sophea and Ly Phearak, both junior
program officers, who had spent the afternoon with us, giving us a tour of the market place where
garment workers shopped. They knocked on a door of a house to get the key to the drop-in center
located on the second floor of the house. The organization rented the second floor of the house. We
took our shoes off and climbed the stairs into a large room, resembling the size of a rustic family cabin,
with a lighted ceiling fan overhead and eight grass mats on the floor stitched together to make a rug.
There was a bookshelf with materials and human-rights posters on the walls. From the windows, we
could see into the neighboring dirt yards where kids played and parents sat trying to cool off from the
95-degree day.
About 15 minutes after we arrived, eight garment workers from four different nearby factories made
their way to the drop-in center. For about an hour, they shared their individual stories of how they
became factory workers and what their working conditions were. Six had made the trek from nearby
villages in need of work to help feed their families and to help send younger brothers or sisters to
school. The other two lived in the city. They shared that even though the monthly minimum wage in
Cambodia is $50, they make about $80 a month because they work fast enough to exceed the sewing
quotas of 400-500 pieces per hour and a good work month can yield $110 with overtime. At the
factories where they work, overtime isn’t forced but exceeding quotas is what provides for the
opportunity to get overtime. If sewing quotas aren’t reached, workers usually get a warning from
supervisors. The average work day with overtime was 12 hours which, for most of the workers, was the
norm. Those who had children rarely got to see them; sometimes they only saw them two or three times
a year because they were always working and had no money to travel back home. Their parents or
grandparents cared for the children.
(From Top) Dawn Crim, Ly Phearak, Chrek Sophea and
LaMArr Billups at the Womyn’s Agenda for Change
office in Cambodia; A working session with members
of Womyn’s Agenda for Change and the Workers
Rights Consortium; WAC's office.
LaMArr Billups at the Womyn’s Agenda for Change
office in Cambodia; A working session with members
of Womyn’s Agenda for Change and the Workers
Rights Consortium; WAC's office.
The garment workers shared that they like to go to the drop-in centers because they learn more about their rights and changes occurring in the industry. They
also get to learn about conditions in other factories and what other workers are doing to improve their situation. And most of all, the two group leaders, Chrek and
Ly, represent to the workers what is possible. Both Chrek and Ly were former factory workers who found a way to get better jobs out of the industry. The garment
workers see them as role models. At the end of the meeting, we thanked the workers for meeting with us and sharing their stories. As a token of our appreciation,
we presented each worker with a bag of fruits and vegetables which cost two dollars — equivalent to one day’s wage.
The next morning, we met both Chrek and Ly, and other Womyn’s Agenda for Change staff members at their office. The WAC started in 1998 and became a
locally run independent NGO in 2004. WAC is currently focused on three primary projects: the Garment Empowerment Project described here; the Sex Worker
Empowerment Project and the Globalization and Development Project. Both Chrek and Ly are leaders in the Garment Empowerment Project. In addition to the
primary projects, the organization has a six-member messenger band whose singers create songs advocating for better living, social and working conditions.
Through song, they spread their message of change through the city and into rural communities. We had the pleasure and good fortune to hear one of the songs
at the meeting. As I listened, Sweet Honey and the Rock, Bob Marley, and Joan Baez immediately came to mind as I thought about how they too, sang songs of
change and social justice. I hope this country too can begin to experience change much like we have.
As I reflect on the trip, I am more determined than ever to use the firsthand knowledge I have gained to inform UW-Madison campus about realities in the
field and look at our policies closely to help garment workers abroad. I will also look more closely at things in my personal life to help improve labor rights for
workers both in the United States and abroad.
also get to learn about conditions in other factories and what other workers are doing to improve their situation. And most of all, the two group leaders, Chrek and
Ly, represent to the workers what is possible. Both Chrek and Ly were former factory workers who found a way to get better jobs out of the industry. The garment
workers see them as role models. At the end of the meeting, we thanked the workers for meeting with us and sharing their stories. As a token of our appreciation,
we presented each worker with a bag of fruits and vegetables which cost two dollars — equivalent to one day’s wage.
The next morning, we met both Chrek and Ly, and other Womyn’s Agenda for Change staff members at their office. The WAC started in 1998 and became a
locally run independent NGO in 2004. WAC is currently focused on three primary projects: the Garment Empowerment Project described here; the Sex Worker
Empowerment Project and the Globalization and Development Project. Both Chrek and Ly are leaders in the Garment Empowerment Project. In addition to the
primary projects, the organization has a six-member messenger band whose singers create songs advocating for better living, social and working conditions.
Through song, they spread their message of change through the city and into rural communities. We had the pleasure and good fortune to hear one of the songs
at the meeting. As I listened, Sweet Honey and the Rock, Bob Marley, and Joan Baez immediately came to mind as I thought about how they too, sang songs of
change and social justice. I hope this country too can begin to experience change much like we have.
As I reflect on the trip, I am more determined than ever to use the firsthand knowledge I have gained to inform UW-Madison campus about realities in the
field and look at our policies closely to help garment workers abroad. I will also look more closely at things in my personal life to help improve labor rights for
workers both in the United States and abroad.