[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 59 (Monday, May 15, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H3035-H3036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  PERMANENT TRADE RELATIONS WITH CHINA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ose). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform my colleagues and those who 
are listening this evening of the publication of an excellent new 
report called Made in China, released by Charles Kernaghan, of New York 
City. This report can be found at web site www.nlcnet.org. It talks 
about the role of U.S. companies in denying human and worker rights in 
China.
  The report begins, ``For years, and now again with renewed vigor, 
U.S. companies have claimed that their mere presence in China would 
help open that society to American values.'' And it talks about 
``Recent in-depth investigations,'' conducted by individuals in China, 
at great risk to themselves, ``of 16 factories in China producing car 
stereos, bikes, shoes, sneakers, clothing, TVs, hats and bags for some 
of the largest U.S. companies clearly demonstrate that Wal-Mart, Nike, 
Huffy and others and their contractors in China continue to 
systematically violate the most fundamental human and worker rights, 
while paying subsistence wages.''
  The report talks about Kathie Lee handbags being made for Wal-Mart at 
the Qin Shi factory where 1,000 workers were being held under 
conditions of indentured servitude in that Communist country forced to 
work 12-to-14-hour days 7 days a week with only one day off a month 
while earning an average of 3 cents an hour. However, after months of 
work, 46 percent of the workers surveyed have earned nothing at all. In 
fact, they owed money to the company.
  This report is absolutely amazing, and I would urge all my colleagues 
to take a look at the firms mentioned in this book.
  I also want to refer this evening to one in particular, Huffy 
Bicycles, which had been manufactured in my own State of Ohio, where 
2,000 people lost their jobs, people who were earning $11 an hour, 
making a quality product. They were asked by their company to take a $2 
an hour wage cut in Salina, Ohio, and they did, earning $9 an hour, 
because they wanted to keep their jobs. And I might say that Huffy has 
80 percent of the U.S. bicycle market. Those jobs were moved to China. 
They were testing the waters in China. This is even before this 
proposal here to have permanent normal trade relations with China.
  Why should we approve of a system which does the following? Huffy 
uses a contractor in China, the Taiwanese Zhenzhen Nan Guan Corporation 
in Bicycle Factory Number 1. There is also a Bicycle Factory Number 2. 
They assemble these bikes from parts supplied from local materials, 
from local factories, or from the Fuda Corporation from Taiwan. The 
workers in this factory work from 8 in the morning until 9:30 or 11:30 
at night. They work 7 days a week. They earn 25 cents to 41 cents per 
hour for a weekly wage of $16.68 for a 66-hour workweek.
  Think about that. And if they do not work the mandatory overtime, 
they are penalized double. They lose $6.02 of their weekly wage, or 2 
full days of wage if they refuse to work the overtime.
  Not only that, but the quality of the bicycle has gone down. If we go 
to Kmart, if we go to these retail outlets and we buy a Huffy bike, it 
still costs $100, but look at the welds. The double welds that used to 
exist on the fenders, which our workers were very proud of their work 
in the State of Ohio, they know good metal and they know good quality 
workmanship, that does not exist any more. The quality of metals has 
gone down.
  And when we try to find if the bearings are good or we try to figure 
out before we buy it whether the bike is of quality, everything is 
sprayed with paint now. We really cannot tell the quality of the 
workmanship until we buy the bicycle. Huffy does not stand for quality 
any more.
  I will never get one of their campaign contributions, but what they 
did to the workers in Salina, Ohio, to me, is repugnant. And I think to 
have this kind of indentured servitude, for America to approve anything 
permanent with China, until we fix situations like this, really 
undermines the fundamental liberties and principles for which this 
Nation should stand domestically and internationally.
  And let me add a word as a graduate of the University of Michigan. 
Two weeks ago the University of Michigan Board of Trustees, along with 
Brown University and the University of Oregon, refused to sign 
contracts with Nike Corporation, which is also talked about in this 
excellent report. And they did that because all the university boards 
of trustees asked to do was that the sports departments not buy sports 
equipment from sweat shop labor in places like China. Those companies 
were so angry that they cut off $26 million to the University of 
Michigan's endowment as well as the University of Oregon and Brown 
University.

[[Page H3036]]

  Well, Mr. Speaker, my hat is off to those university boards. The 
presidents of those universities, including Gordon Gee of Brown 
University. They did the right thing for the world, the right thing for 
America. Their moral courage will stand on its own.

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