Made in L.A.: Reactions to Made in L.A.

• Introduction
• Bill Richardson
• Robert Ross
• Sweatshop Free Campaign Stanford
• Lupita Castañeda
• Lupita Castañeda (es)

Introduction

Governor Bill Richardson
Immigration -- under any guise -- is one of the defining issues of our age. With Made in L.A., Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar show in vivid detail that, at a fundamental level, this is not simply an issue of competitive intermingling of people, but that it is also an issue of the assault on universal human dignity in the face of enormous global economic pressures.
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Author Robert Ross
"In southern China's export factories, young women live in walled or fenced factory complexes, in single sex dormitories, crowded in rooms with many-tiered bunk beds, and they work even longer hours than the workers in L.A. or Managua ... In the global "rag-trade" there is a "Race to the Bottom" in labor standards, where China and other low-wage Asian countries define the bottom."
Read more  »

Sweatshop Free Stanford Campaign
For those of us who have never met Lupe, María or Maura, it is simple enough to sympathize with the fight and quietly express horror at sweatshop injustices. But when we forgo action we effectively ignore the most pervasive labor violations that exist in the United States.
Read more »

Lupita Castañeda, a factory worker featured in Maquilapolis (POV 2006)
"It was very important to me to see how working at the Center gave every one of them strength and enthusiasm. It gave them joy and happiness. María felt happy as she forgot about her family's problems for a while. Participating in a protest makes Lupe feel important. Maura overcame her shyness to speak in public. It's amazing to see how these women become more and more empowered throughout the movie."
Read more »

• Introduction
• Bill Richardson
• Robert Ross
• Sweatshop Free Campaign Stanford
• Lupita Castañeda
• Lupita Castañeda (es)

Bill Richardson

Bill Richardson

Immigration -- under any guise -- is one of the defining issues of our age. With Made in L.A., Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar show in vivid detail that, at a fundamental level, this is not simply an issue of competitive intermingling of people, but that it is also an issue of the assault on universal human dignity in the face of enormous global economic pressures. Ultimately though, they show that despite the political or economic vices twisting down upon the planet, the elementary human spirit remains the most powerful force at work.

Next: Robert Ross »

Bill Richardson has been the governor of New Mexico since 2003. Previous to that, he served as a U.S. Representative, Ambassador to the United Nations, and as the U.S. Secretary of Energy.

• Introduction
• Bill Richardson
• Robert Ross
• Sweatshop Free Campaign Stanford
• Lupita Castañeda
• Lupita Castañeda (es)

Robert Ross

Robert Ross

Made in L.A. is a demonstration of conditions in the global garment business and a challenge to those who would change them. The film shows us why L.A. became known as the "Sweatshop Capital of the U.S." in the 1990s. Working for $3 an hour in places where Maura says "they throw your dignity to the floor," she and María and Lupe were part of an American garment sweatshop labor force of about 250,000 when the Forever 21 campaign began in 2001. In my book, Slaves to Fashion, I calculated that the number of garment workers in the 2000s had declined from the 1990s not because conditions improved, but because the industry was migrating away from L.A. and the United States.

The film challenges us as well. The challenge is both personal and political. The three women and the Garment Workers Center staffer, Joann Lo, glow with courage and dedication. Their stories appeal to us across the divides of ethnicity, gender and class. Lupe is inspired to become an organizer; Maura grapples with her shyness; María explains to us how "her whole body hurt" under the abuses of the L.A. sweatshop system. The women maintain their commitment through a long legal struggle, and they come to sense their own ability to change their circumstances. They challenge us to consider our own efforts. The challenge also concerns public policy.

Since 2001 when the Forever 21 campaign began, L.A. has lost over one-quarter of all its apparel manufacturing jobs (now there are only 77,000 jobs). The official hourly wage rate, an overestimate because it is the product of false reporting by contractors to U.S. and California agencies, nevertheless shows a five percent loss in purchasing power (a loss of over $950 per year for L.A. garment workers). Even as the Forever 21 workers won a pledge from that retailer to see to it that their contractor shops would be law abiding, the industry was deserting L.A. Maura says, "It's hard to find work." Once made in nearby Mexico, now the kind of low price clothing Forever 21 sells to young people is usually made in Asia.

When the campaign began, the Latina women in L.A. faced abusive conditions in which unscrupulous employers in the United States were competing against other unscrupulous employers in Central America. In 2000, I visited a plant in Managua where cameras were trained on the guarded entrance to the jeans factory and workers were closely questioned if they were seen talking to the union activists at the gate. But even those Latina sisters lived in nearby workers' districts in their own homes, part of a vibrant community life. In southern China's export factories, young women live in walled or fenced factory complexes, in single sex dormitories, crowded in rooms with many-tiered bunk beds, and they work even longer hours than the workers in L.A. or Managua. At the outset of the Forever 21 campaign (2000-2001), Mexico and China manufactured roughly equal shares of the U.S. clothing import market. Five years later, at the end of 2006, China manufactured approximately 30 percent of the U.S. clothing market, while Mexico only manufactured about 8 percent.

In the global "rag-trade" there is a "race to the bottom" in labor standards, where China and other low-wage Asian countries define the bottom. To combat the "race to the bottom," students have demanded that their universities pledge to procure logo t-shirts in factories that allow workers to exercise their rights to form unions. State and city governments have joined a State and Local Government Sweatfree Consortium to insure that taxpayer dollars for uniforms are spent only in factories with fair labor policies. Political leaders and citizens are demanding that we form trade policies that protect workers as well as we now protect the interests of investors. The women of Made in L.A. deserve no less.

Next: Sweatshop Free Stanford Campaign »

Robert Ross is the author of Slaves to Fashion: Poverty and Abuse in the New Sweatshop. He is a professor of Sociology at Clark University, where he is also the director of the International Studies stream, the elected faculty chair, and the former chair of the Sociology Department. His work has appeared in The Nation, Foreign Affairs, In these Times and other publications.

• Introduction
• Bill Richardson
• Robert Ross
• Sweatshop Free Campaign Stanford
• Lupita Castañeda
• Lupita Castañeda (es)

Sweatshop Free Campaign Stanford

Sweatshop Free Campaign Stanford

"My mother was a garment worker. In my earliest memories, I distinctly remember the colorful, eclectic shreds of unwanted fabric that she secretly picked off the floors of her factory and stitched together, crookedly so, to make enough clothing for her four children. She threw her back into the manual labor, often toiling long evenings and being rewarded piece by piece. Her income was never to exceed a predetermined amount, no matter how many pieces of clothing she was able to produce. Although we grew up in the ethnic enclave of Chinatown, while María, Lupe and Maura searched for economic livelihood in the streets of Los Angeles, the undocumented workers in L.A. and the unyielding garment workers in Chinatown, NY share the same plight of unspoken hardship."
-- Theresa Zhen, Stanford University, Class of 2009

It's no accident that most of us in the Sweatshop Free Stanford Campaign have had a direct personal connection with issues of labor exploitation. One coordinator's great-grandfather worked on the transcontinental railroad that funded the Stanford family fortune. Others of us have family members who have been garment or migrant farm workers. Still others have observed sweatshops in action and visited organizations such as the one featured in Made in L.A. All of us share a passion for this work, and for many of us, it is because people we care about have faced workplace exploitation. We know their dignity and their courage, and for that reason, we applaud the fact that this documentary refrains from casting María, Lupe and Maura as victims. Instead, Made in L.A. introduces us to three strong, complicated and courageous women who strive to be agents of change. These heroines defy the typical caricature of undocumented garment workers -- they are not beaten, shrouded in fear or tolerant of attempts by large companies to stifle workers' voices. Not only do we witness their fight for dignity, we also are brought to understand all of the forces that sometimes make it difficult for them to fight. Facing poverty, fleeing war, being separated from your children -- in the face of these hardships, their story of self-empowerment further empowers students to fight on their behalf.

Lupe Hernandez from Made in L.A. visited Stanford University to talk to Sweatshop Free Stanford Campaign members about her work with the Garment Worker Center.

Made in L.A. succeeds because it personalizes an issue that can seem faceless and complicated to the general population. The sad fact is that too many people, including students, are unconcerned with the issue of labor exploitation because they are not faced with the reality of it in their day-to-day lives. As seen in our experience with anti-sweatshop activism, this paradox is further complicated by the role of the University in the production of college apparel. Our president highlights the need for global consciousness and the need for universities to be leaders in the advancement of human health and wellbeing. Yet, in today's day and age, college sweatshirts are made in sweatshops around the world; our school pride is plastered on our chests at the expense of human rights and the moral high ground. If university pride is implicated in the proliferation of sweatshop labor, then our fight is for women like María, Lupe and Maura in countries where unlike the United States, voicing concern over labor practices is prohibited and worse, cause for punishment.

The Sweatshop Free Stanford Campaign aims to convince the Stanford University administration to partner with the Worker Rights Consortium and the Designated Suppliers Program, two organizations that protect the rights of garment workers who make university apparel.

Can the American Dream really hold up if it is born on the backs of workers who are denied dignity and respect? As portrayed starkly in Made in L.A., exploitation in sweatshops becomes a part of a large profit-seeking game in our consumerist society. Our campaign has exposed us to unions that are busted in order to diminish the collective voice of workers in Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines and other places. The workers who are paid 11 cents for a garment priced at $30 are relegated to invisibility and quickly dismissed in their attempts to prove corporate accountability. Faced with these obstacles, it is understandably difficult to continue to fight. After all, how could any one person, one organization or one university alone hope to influence the "supreme governance" of economic laws? Convened by the Stanford Asian American Activism Committee, the Sweat-Free Stanford Coalition has stumbled upon an innovative and thoroughly researched answer to that question, and it is found in the independent monitoring agency called Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) and the agency's innovative program, the Designated Supplier Program (DSP). These programs seek to reduce the negative human impact of downward price pressures and profit-hungry CEOs by ensuring living wages to workers, a fair price standard for workers and contractors, humane working conditions for factories and the ability to unionize for worker solidarity. Because Stanford students believed in the integrity of these solutions, they advocated relentlessly for the University's entrance into these organizations. After an emotional non-violent sit-in involving 11 students, Stanford has signed on to the WRC.

For those of us who have never met Lupe, María or Maura, it is simple enough to sympathize with the fight and quietly express horror at sweatshop injustices. But when we forgo action we effectively ignore the most pervasive labor violations that exist in the United States. The women in this film are a true inspiration to our students who strive for the WRC and the DSP. Their astonishing strength teaches us that although the complications and repercussions of our actions are tremendous, we must remain driven in the fight for human dignity.

Next: Lupita Castañeda »

Bethany Woolman and Theresa Zhen are members of the Sweatshop Free Stanford Campaign (SFSC), launched in 2006. SFSC has been campaigning for over a year to convince the Stanford University administration to partner with the Worker Rights Consortium and the Designated Suppliers Program, two organizations that protect the rights of garment workers who make university apparel. Bethany is a junior at Stanford University, majoring in Comparative Studies in Race an Ethnicity. Theresa is a junior at Stanford University, majoring in Economics and Sociology.

• Introduction
• Bill Richardson
• Robert Ross
• Sweatshop Free Campaign Stanford
• Lupita Castañeda
• Lupita Castañeda (es)

Lupita Castañeda

Lupita Castañeda

Read this update in:
English | Español

This movie, from beginning to end, shows us the similarities of many women in the working world. These are three unique women dealing with many of the problems immigrants face. They are stitch workers fighting for their human and labor rights.

María married very young. She came to the United States filled with dreams but her lack of education and the fact that she didn't speak English meant she could only get low-paying jobs at maquiladora factories. She also struggled in her personal life, as her chauvinistic partner didn't allow her to improve herself or fight for what she wants.

Maura's tearful face captivated me. I related to her as she remembered the moment she said goodbye to her children, what they were wearing and what her little boy said to her: "Don't go, Mom." I guess anyone watching can think of a member of their family or a friend who had to leave them and how heart-breaking that journey is.

Maura handed herself over to a "coyote" to cross the border. As an undocumented immigrant, she can't leave the U.S. to visit her family in Mexico. She finds work wherever she can, usually at garment factories where she has to withstand being humiliated on a regular basis in order to keep the job and send money to her family. It's very painful.

It was inspiring to me to see how working at the Center gave every one of them strength and enthusiasm. It gave them joy and happiness. María felt happy as she forgot about her family's problems for a while. Participating in a protest made Lupe feel important. Maura overcame her shyness to speak in public. It's amazing to see these women become more and more empowered throughout the movie.

I also liked the part when Lupe explains how immigrants arrive in the U.S. thinking they'll be able to get a job. When she visits the museum in New York, she sees the poverty in which stitch workers and ironers lived at the turn of the 20th century. She sees the boats arriving in the harbor filled with people, and thinks of herself when she arrived and the way she feels today, after having worked in the stitching industry for 13 years. The way she felt when she saw how other immigrants worked and lived 100 years ago, drove her to let others know the things she saw on those ships filled with immigrants and the "Organiza" (ILO) signs of the protestors in the streets. Scenes such as these motivate you to think things can't continue to go on in this way. Action has to be taken.

I think the movie helps viewers to better understand what low-wage workers are going through because it shows the challenges that immigrant workers face when fighting for their rights to be acknowledged. It shows the different stages of the process, from the time they ask for support with the help of the Center to the moment they decide to proceed with the lawsuit. One thinks about how important it is to never lose hope, no matter how long the fight takes. There will always be an end to any legal process. The boycott and the lawsuit sent a message and empowered workers and organizations dedicated to immigrant rights. Others will find in it the strength to go on with their own fight.

Throughout the film, you learn about the challenges immigrants in the United States have faced for many years -- and sadly, still do. You also end up committing to take action and effect positive social change.

Next: Bill Richardson »

Lupita Castañeda is an ex-maquiladora worker and a community advocate.  She worked in a pantyhose maquiladora, but after taking a medical leave was unable to find another job because she was past 35, an age typically considered by the maquiladora industry to be "too old" for factory work.  It was this dilemma that led her to seek the support and training of local organizations and led to her becoming a "promotora," or advocate, for women's and workers' rights. Lupita has collaborated on the POV film "Maquilapolis" since 2001, and has coordinated the film's Community Outreach Campaign since the beginning of 2007.

• Introduction
• Bill Richardson
• Robert Ross
• Sweatshop Free Campaign Stanford
• Lupita Castañeda
• Lupita Castañeda (es)

Lupita Castañeda (es)

Lupita Castañeda

Read this update in:
English | Español

Esta película, de principio a fin, nos muestra la similitud de muchas mujeres. Son tres mujeres diferentes pero a la vez semejantes con los mismos problemas de tantos inmigrantes, trabajadoras de la costura luchando por defender sus derechos humanos y laborales.

María se casa muy chica, llega a este país llena de sueños pero la falta de estudios y a causa de no saber el idioma solo logra oportunidades de trabajo donde le pagan poco, como en las maquiladoras. Además en su lucha personal vive con una pareja machista que no la deja superarse ni luchar por lo que ella quiere.

Me llamó la atención la cara llorosa de Maura. Cuando ella recuerda cómo se despidió de sus hijos mencionando la ropa que llevaban puesta, las palabras que le decía el niño, "No te vayas mamá", me identifiqué con ella. Me imagino que cualquier espectador pudiera recordar algún familiar o amigo que alguna vez tuvo que cruzar la frontera y las horas de angustia que se viven en tal travesía.

Maura se expuso a la suerte de un coyote al cruzar de ilegal. El no tener papeles, no le permite salir del país y visitar a su familia. Así que en su vida trabaja en donde sea más fácil entrar por lo que la emplean los talleres de costura donde tiene que permitir que la humillen para conservar el empleo y por la necesidad de enviar dinero a su tierra. Es muy doloroso.

Para mí fue muy importante ver como el trabajo dentro del centro a cada una les dio fortaleza, entusiasmo. Les proporcionó alegría y felicidad. María se sintió contenta ya que olvida sus problemas familiares. Para Lupe participar en una protesta la hace sentirse importante. Maura pierde la vergüenza para hablar en público. Es impresionante como muestran a través de la película como poco a poco se van empoderando.

Me gusta también cuando Lupe narra por qué llegan los inmigrantes a EE. UU., pensando que van a encontrar trabajo. Cuando ella visita el museo en la ciudad de Nueva York y se da cuenta de la pobreza de la gente que trabaja cosiendo y planchando y que los barcos llegando con gente se asemeja a la experiencia que ella vivió; especialmente el trabajar en la costura por 13 años. La sensación que sintió cuando conoció la forma de vivir y trabajar de otros inmigrantes y el interés que la impulsó para mostrar a otros compañeros lo que ella vio sobre los barcos con inmigrantes y los carteles de Organiza, son estas escenas las que te inspiran a reflexionar pensando que las cosas no pueden seguir iguales; hay que actuar. Ella misma pensó en un momento cuando volvió a ver esa libreta donde había anotado "Organiza" e inmediatamente reacciona dejando atrás el pesimismo.

Todas estas tomas son para mí la parte esencial de la película, ya que estas mismas situaciones las viven otros trabajadores. Para mí es la parte positiva de la película porque les muestra los diferentes aspectos que tienen que vivir los inmigrantes, cuando se tiene que luchar para que sus derechos sean reconocidos. Muestra las etapas del proceso desde cuando inician pidiendo apoyo con la ayuda de una organización hasta donde ellos toman una decisión de continuar con la demanda. Uno reflexiona sobre cómo no se debe perder nunca la esperanza... sin importar el tiempo que dure el proceso. Siempre habrá una etapa final en todo proceso legal. Esto proceso de boicot y demanda legal llega como mensaje y refortalece a los trabajadores y las organizaciones que se dedican a apoyar a los inmigrantes. Para otros les dará el impulso de continuar su lucha basándose en estos ejemplos.

A través del film, uno aprende sobre la situación que han vivido -y que aún viven- los inmigrantes en EE. UU. desde hace muchos años. Al mismo tiempo y subjetivamente uno se compromete para realizar acciones que puedan impulsar un cambio social positivo.

Bill Richardon »

Lupita Castañeda is an ex-maquiladora worker and a community advocate.  She worked in a pantyhose maquiladora, but after taking a medical leave was unable to find another job because she was past 35, an age typically considered by the maquiladora industry to be "too old" for factory work.  It was this dilemma that led her to seek the support and training of local organizations and led to her becoming a "promotora," or advocate, for women's and workers' rights. Lupita has collaborated on the POV film Maquilapolis since 2001, and has coordinated the film's Community Outreach Campaign since the beginning of 2007.