[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 78 (Thursday, May 11, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4871-H4872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COME SHOP WITH ME FOR MOTHER'S DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio [Ms. Kaptur] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, this Sunday America celebrates Mother's Day. 
And families all over our country will gather on this day to honor the 
women who strive every day both inside and outside the home to keep the 
families of America strong; a celebration they richly deserve.
                              {time}  2100

  We all know that American women are working more and more inside the 
home and outside the home, and what we may not know is that many of 
them are working for less money.
  For women in many industries, textiles, apparel footwear, for 
instance, their pay has actually dropped nearly 5 percent over the last 
10 years in spite of the fact that they are working harder and working 
longer. In fact, one-third of America's working women earn poverty-
level wages.
  Ironically, many of the gifts which we traditionally give our mothers 
on Mothers' Day as expressions of our gratitude turn out to be the 
products of industries which depend on the depression of wages, 
primarily women's wages, both at home and abroad, products such as new 
shoes or new handbags or new outfits and, yes, even roses.
  Last Tuesday, I had the privilege of participating in a press 
conference at which we pointed out the discrepancies in wages between 
products made in our country and the same products made overseas, in 
fact, products made by U.S. companies that have outsourced production 
abroad. We, to demonstrate our point, dressed a mannequin in many of 
these foreign goods, and on the mannequin we had a Coach handbag, where 
American women used to earn $7.42 an hour, not high wages by any 
standards, but today those bags are being made by Korean workers being 
paid $1.64 an hour, and those Coach bags cost nearly $200. So who is 
making the profit off those women?
  Or Naturalizer shoes; women in our country used to make $6.95 an hour 
in manufacturing Naturalizer shoes, but their wages and jobs are gone, 
and those shoes are now made in Brazil, where women there earn 47 cents 
an hour, but, of course, Naturalizer shoes cost well over $50. So who 
is making the profit off those women?
  Or take this sweater, a Chaus sweater that used to be manufactured in 
the United States, where women earned $7.88 an hour. Now this very same 
sweater made by that same company in China, where women work for 
pennies, but, of course, the sweater is not cheap. In fact, the price 
tag on this one is over $40. Who is making the profit off those women?
  Or take this skirt, manufactured by the At Last Company. This skirt 
used to be made in the United States of America. Women workers earned 
$7.49 an hour. Now this skirt is being made in India, and chances are 
if a child in India helped make that skirt, which is very likely, no 
wages were paid.
  [[Page H4872]] So it being Mothers Day, we provided our mannequin 
with a dozen roses. Roses are grown in this country, and they are 
harvested, and the average wage of farm workers is $5 an hour. But, of 
course, the roses that are available in this community today are 
provided through Colombia, where workers earn 55 cents an hour. But if 
you try to buy your mom a dozen roses in Washington this week, it is 
going to cost you $75. So ask yourself, who is making the money off of 
these women?
  But are we getting a real bargain for all of this value for our 
money? A break for the consumer? Well, I ask you, is a bargain a Coach 
handbag at $200 or Naturalizer shoes at $50 or a Chaus sweater at $40 
or roses at 75?
  The Come Shop With Me campaign asks: Is it worth it? Are we really 
getting a good deal? Can the 7,300 people who have lost their jobs 
making handbags here in America afford a $200 Coach handbag made in 
Korea? Can the 17,700 women who have lost their jobs in our country in 
the footwear industry buy Naturalizer shoes
 made in Brazil that cost $50? And can the women of Brazil or the women 
of Korea or the women of India, can they buy those products on the 
wages they earn? Absolutely not.

  Over the last decade in our country, nearly 300,000 women workers 
have lost jobs in the textile industry alone, mostly to foreign 
competition.
  Mr. Speaker, let me end by saying the Come Shop With Me campaign will 
continue over the next few months to draw our attention to the human 
cost of trade.
  Tonight I say to the mothers of America and the world, ``Happy 
Mother's Day. We will not forget you.''

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