The workers contended that they were never paid overtimedespite working more than 40 hours a week, and many workers havecomplained of poor health conditions in Saipanese factories. Saipan, one of the islands in the U.S. Commonwealth of theNorthern Marianas in the Pacific Ocean, has drawn attention inrecent months as labor groups underscored the lower minimum wagesand lack of oversight Saipanese workers face compared to their U.S.counterparts. Lax immigration laws alsoallowed firms to benefit from cheap labor from nearby Asiancountries, especially China, the Philippines and Bangladesh. Many of Saipan's laborers, including 40,000 immigrants, often sign contracts waiving their basic labor rights,including the right to join a union, labor rights groups say. Miller argued last month.
Manylocal officials turn a blind eye to the regular abuses thatworkers face.
If the judges and other officials there won't doanything, it's up to the retailers here to pressure the factoriesto clean up their act. The Gap has shown its responsiveness to consumer protests andlabor rights allegations before, when the New York-based NationalLabor Committee charged the retailer in 1995 with purchasingorders from a factory in El Salvador, Mandarin International,where child laborers worked for low pay in locked rooms. After a number of demonstrations, Gap Vice President StanRaggio signed an agreement with the National Labor Committee andtwo religious groups that would prod Mandarin to rehire firedunion leaders and explore independent monitoring of The Gap'sSalvadoran subcontractors. Raggio pledged in theagreement. Yet Salvadoran workers last year argued that laborrights violations, including harassment of union leaders,continued at Mandarin even after the agreement.