Unfortunately, we ran out of time just before I was able to make my last point. Here's what I would have said had there been five more minutes to the class:
We at the American Automobile Manufacturers Association of America would like to take this opportunity to address the issue of sweatshops. Many have derided auto manufacturers who operate overseas for their treatment of foreign laborers, especially those working in large factories with unfavorable working conditions for long periods of time. We, the heads of industry, state that we too are opposed to such conditions, and will work over time to improve their working environment. However, let us point out this: these “sweatshops” never run out of workers, do they? Working there is entirely voluntary, yet despite the outcry over the terrible conditions there, there are lines outside the factories every day filled with people who would gladly take these jobs. What we know in America to be an acceptable working standard, they are not aware of. As they see it, they have a better-paying job than almost any other one they could get. Now, of course we stand in favor of improved working conditions, but we alone cannot unilaterally mandate them. It would raise production costs on our own business and surpass those of rival firms, putting our company at risk and passing along the costs to the consumer. Simply put, until a bill is passed that mandates all companies to implement working environment standards, it would be too great a financial risk to bear on our own.
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2 comments:
In a society where ethics take second place to a low price, such a problem is indeed difficult to combat. Furthermore, knowledge of which American companies use sweatshop labor is limited; obviously corporations wouldn't choose to publish that information. Still other Americans possibly do not care about the plight of these poor workers. The combined forces of corporate greed, consumer ignorance, and social apathy cannot be defeated by any amount of money; it will require a fundamental shift in the way the American people think.
Well put and I fully agree. Sweatshops are one of those tricky issues to deal with. While it's not our business or need to regulate them, there are atrocities going on. I don't believe government should step in, but I agree with Luke that it will take a very difficult societal change for sweatshops to be eliminated. AAM definitely laid down the law.
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