[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 2 (Thursday, January 7, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E47-E48]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          STOP SWEATSHOPS--NOW

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 6, 1999

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, today I am joining with 26 of my colleagues to 
introduce legislation to curb the re-emergence of sweatshops in the 
domestic garment industry. This legislation is identical to a bill I 
introduced in the last Congress, H.R. 23.
  Sweatshops have returned to the apparel industry in the United States 
in numbers and forms reminiscent of the turn of the century. A decade 
and a half ago, the General Accounting Office (GAO) documented the re-
emergence of sweatshops. The GAO has identified sweatshop activity 
across the country, from California to New York and from Chicago to 
Texas and Florida. Despite significant and commendable enforcement 
efforts by the Department of Labor under the Clinton Administration, 
sweatshops continue to be a serious

[[Page E48]]

problem, particularly within the garment industry. Even my Republican 
colleagues on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the 
Gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Goodling, and the Gentleman from 
Michigan, Mr. Hoekstra, have noted the re-emergence of sweatshops.
  The re-emergence of sweatshops has impoverished workers and their 
families and has driven reputable contractors out of otherwise 
profitable businesses. It represents a problem that cannot and should 
not be tolerated.
  The ``Stop Sweatshops Act'' establishes joint liability on the part 
of manufacturers in the garment industry who contract with sweatshop 
operators for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This 
legislation strengthens the ability of the Department of Labor to 
enforce the law and improves the ability of garment workers to obtain 
redress where violations occur. As importantly, by encouraging 
manufacturers in the garment industry to deal with reputable 
contractors, this legislation acts to balance market pressures that 
have encouraged the re-emergence of sweatshops.
  One hundred of my colleagues joined me last Congress as cosponsors of 
this legislation. I urge those of my colleagues who have supported this 
legislation in the past to do so again. And, I urge those who have not 
previously cosponsored this legislation to do so now. We cannot 
continue to allow unscrupulous employers to drive responsible employers 
out of business. Nor should we continue to tolerate working conditions 
that undermine rather than promote the well being of workers. As we 
near the end of the 20th Century, we must eliminate this vestige of 
19th Century exploitation.

                          ____________________