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Panel Discussion: "Sweatshops or Sweet Deals?"
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From left: Mr. Scott Nova, Dr. Vasant Kaiwar,
Dr. Andrew Bernstein, Dr. Peter Arcidiacono.
Listen to the panel discussion!
(Click to download mp3 files.)
Section
1 (~52MB)
Section 2 (~52MB)
Section 3 (~31MB)
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On
September 27, 2002, over 130 students gathered to hear four
panelists discuss labor relations and to answer questions about
the globalization of US business. In a lively discussion that
lasted over two hours, the panelists addressed a wide range
of issues. They considered the role governments should play
in employer-employee relations, and the moral and economic principles
that should guide businesses.
During
the second half of the event, students in the audience questioned
the panel about what they could do to make informed choices
in the market, who benefited most from the globalization of
production, and what sources students should consult when trying
to learn more about the subject.
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Moderator:
Mike Munger: Dr. Munger is Chair of the Political Science
Department at Duke University.
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Panelists:
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Andrew
Bernstein:
Dr. Bernstein is an adjunct philosophy professor at Pace University.
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Scott
Nova: Mr. Nova is director of the Worker's Rights Consortium. |
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Peter
Arcidiacono:
Dr. Arcidiacono is Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics
at Duke University.
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Vasant
Kaiwar:
Dr. Kaiwar is Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Duke University.
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Should
we boycott the Mt. Olive Pickle Company and Nike? Should we demand oversight
of their working conditions before we buy their products? Are these
companies guilty of using "sweatshop" labor or do they create
"sweet deals" both for themselves and their workers?
Many
corporations, such as Nike, New Era, Reebok, Wal-Mart, The Gap, sell
products manufactured in countries where people work in harsher conditions
and earn less than do Americans. Colleges and universities across America
contract with many of these companies to sell licensed t-shirts, sweatshirts,
ball-caps, and other memorabilia made abroad.
Is
it fair to buy products from these companies? If you do, are you supporting
exploitation and "wage slavery?" Should US companies be required
to disclose factory conditions abroad to overseers in America? Do these
companies have an inviolate right to property, including the right to
negotiate any wage agreed to by both the company and the employee? Is
it right for a company to be motivated by a selfish desire for profit,
and does such a desire hurt or help workers?
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