In 2004, major lawsuits filed over sweatshops on the United States Island of Saipan were finally closed; a grueling process that was five years in the making. Of all the retailers involved, Levi-Strauss and Company was the only one that refused to provide a settlement fund, causing garment works in Saipan to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit. Due to the fact that a monumental settlement in the amount of a $20 million dollars had already been won against other U.S. retailers and Saipan garment sweat shops, the workers and their advocates backed off and declared the lawsuit as a victory. Up to 30,000 Saipan workers were distributed back payments, including those that worked in factories for Levi�s garments.

Background Story

Five years before the settlement, Sweatshop Watch, Asian Law Caucus, Unite and Global Exchange helped thousands of Saipan garment workers file a total of three separate lawsuits against several commercial retailers and associated garment factories on the island. The allegations were that these entities had violated a number of U.S. labor laws and international standards of human rights. Plaintiffs alleged that employees not only worked, but lived in deplorable conditions, working up to12 hours each day, seven days a week while earning less than $3.05 per hour. Being promised decent income and steady employment in the U.S., the workers were forced to pay recruitment fees totaling thousands of dollars. Some also attested to signing �shadow contracts,� essentially waiving basic human rights, such as the freedom to attend religious gatherings, marry, join labor unions, or even quit the job.

The outcome was a huge victory for the mistreated workers. With monitoring systems in place to make sure the conditions have improved, one can only hope that movements for labor rights will prevail throughout the world.

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