Wikileaks: U.S. Fought To Lower Minimum Wage In Haiti So Hanes And Levis Would Stay Cheap

A Wikileaks post published on The Nation shows that the Obama Administration fought to keep Haitian wages at 31 cents an hour

This infuriated American corporations like Hanes and Levi Strauss that pay Haitians slave wages to sew their clothes. They said they would only fork over a seven-cent-an-hour increase, and they got the State Department involved. The U.S. ambassador put pressure on Haiti’s president, who duly carved out a $3 a day minimum wage for textile companies (the U.S. minimum wage, which itself is very low, works out to $58 a day).

www.businessinsider.com...

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Sad, disturbing, and just wrong.

I'm sure most own, or have owned clothing from Hanes, or Levi. I know I have, and do. But after reading that, i'll keep them out of my wardrobe.

Everything is corrupted, and the all mighty dollar is what drives the corruption.

Terrible.

its truly horrid. those people are being exploited for pennies so corporations can make more money.

every corporation would have to be boycotted, because they all do the same things.

I'm not surprised, evil continues to run amok.
I won't be buying any of those ugly, disgusting Levi or Hanes products anyway, that's for sure.
I wouldn't wear them if they gave them away for free.

No more Levis for me, they are some of the poorest people in the world. It would not affect the cost of that much if they payed them more wage...

I think human rights matters more than the price of jeans and underwear. Many people in Haiti don't have food to eat. Compare that to America, where so many people are obese. And those obese people are just going to buy jeans way too tight so they could show off their lovely muffin top. Okay, that was a joke. But, does this make ANY sense? People before products.

reply to post by Oozii


Now this can go either way. I want my country to act on my behalf.
But I do not want my country to be responsible for Haitians earning a low or unfair wage.
If our country will work to keep the minimum wage low for Haitians what makes us think they are not forceably keeping the minimum wage low here to help corporations in America?

I know the minimum wage is supposed to keep track with the cost of living but the one has been leaving the other in the dust here for a long while. This injustice and this error is what caused most people to forgo cash for things and buy on credit. If minimum wage had kept up with THE COST OF LIVING we would not have turned into a credit indebted nation.

People have to house feed and clothe themselves regardless of what the minimum wage is set at. When the COST OF LIVING out paces minimum wage, two things are going to happen.

1. People will borrow money they don't have and amass a bigger debt.
2. More people will drop to the next lower economic level. Middle class becomes lower middle class, lower middle class becomes impoverished and the impoverished become destitute and desperate.


Yes that does look like what we have going on in America now.

Originally posted by purplemer
No more Levis for me, they are some of the poorest people in the world. It would not affect the cost of that much if they payed them more wage...

It would affect the cost because as with every improvement in every corporation that makes anything the corporation is not going to take a hit. The price will increase to incorporate the new expense.

Still you make a great point that people should really listen to BOYCOTT LEVIS AND HANES.

reply to post by Oozii


Where is Sean Penn when you need him?
If this situation was made public by even one minor movie star you know Americans would stop buying Levi's and Hanes to help the Haitians. How is what America is doing now "helping Haiti?" That is just more exploitation of a desperate people and despicable. Anyway to get this some media exposure? Beside ATS.

reply to post by Oozii


I will tell everybody I know about this.
So sad and scandalous.

No more Hanes or Levis for me.

Originally posted by purplemer
No more Levis for me, they are some of the poorest people in the world. It would not affect the cost of that much if they payed them more wage...

Why not continue to buy their products? Maybe it wasn't the makers of Hanes, Levis that wanted the minimum wage lowered, maybe it was the U.S government that wanted the wages lowered so they could raise tariff's with out Americans noticing. If you stop buying what they make, they will all lose their jobs and any of the wealth that their starting to make and that will hurt them more in the long run.

This is crap. But really is this surprising news? Wikileaks again releasing info that is not news to the average person that gives a damn about this world. And why is Disney not mentioned? So those 10000 us soldiers that arrived a day after the earthquake were there to ensure western supply lines kept goin? Designer clothing is a fkn sad part of society


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

triple

double

Originally posted by newcovenant
reply to post by Oozii

 

Where is Sean Penn when you need him?
If this situation was made public by even one minor movie star you know Americans would stop buying Levi's and Hanes to help the Haitians. How is what America is doing now "helping Haiti?" That is just more exploitation of a desperate people and despicable. Anyway to get this some media exposure? Beside ATS.

The last I heard - on an Anthony Burdain show about Haiti - which is EXCELLENT I might add - Sean Penn is down there in Haiti living and working alongside the refugees in a little tent planting corn and food and trying to build shelters and educate kids.

So I think, in light of that, that perhaps he deserves a break.

It might be up to us - THE US PEOPLE - to spread this around, one friend at a time.

reply to post by hadriana


Does he?

I think the people of Haiti do more.

Mentioned Sean Penn because I am aware of his singular dedication and hard work for Haitians. Making a practical suggestion that he be made aware. Where is Sean Penn? translates to "find him" because he will help.

what do you expect when we let money corrupt our lives to the very core.

Does this make Michael Jordan NWO?

Sickening, beyond words.

Hanes products used to be made in the US. I worked for them many years ago. They actually paid a fairly decent wage back then.

Sarah Lee Corp. then bought them out.......moved the factories to Mexico......I quess the Mexicans were making too much......so now they move to Hati....so they can pay slave wages.

This country has gone to hell economically due to Corporations moving factories for the cheapest labor available.

Companies used to care about their employees.....and the welfare of this country.

Now all they care about is the bottom line, and the shareholders.

I quit buying Hanes products years ago...when the Greed-Masters closed down most of the US factories.

Another reason I quit buying their products......They put poor working class people out of a job....but yet they paid Micheal Jordan MILLIONS and MILLIONS $$$$$$....to advertise for them.

Kiss my #%* Hanes, and all of you greedy #%@ bastards that have helped to destroy this country.....while you drive around in your luxury cars....live in your mansions.....and feed your fat ass faces in your elite country clubs.

Just remember.......when the peasants have nothing to lose.......you better hope your gated elitist compounds...have plenty of protection........BECAUSE>>>>>KARMA>>>>>>IS HELL>>>>>when it's time to receive your just rewards.

GREEDY EVIL BASTARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by newcovenant
reply to post by hadriana

 

Does he?

I think the people of Haiti do more.

Mentioned Sean Penn because I am aware of his singular dedication and hard work for Haitians. Making a practical suggestion that he be made aware. Where is Sean Penn? translates to "find him" because he will help.

Sean Penn is probably too busy beating his new gf up.

well this is just one brushstroke in the big painting. this situation actual applies to all commercial products now, ALL. corporate overlords pulling governments strings accross the globe. I really can't see anyway to break this chain of events other then waiting it out till the world economy hits total collapse due to vast amounts of wealth in too few a peoples hands...or....some sort of anti-corporate international terrorism.

products are getting cheaper to make yet more expensive to buy and the quality of said products continues to plummet. all in the name of bringing in the massive profit margin for the corporations and thier shareholders. can't last forever though, theres not enough people on this planet left to exploit worse then the last.