Ralph Lauren and the Olympic Uniforms (from the LA Times)

Op-Ed Hey, Ralph Lauren, sweatshops aren’t chic Olympic gear shouldn’t come from such factories — ours or theirs. By Robert J.S. Ross July 19, 2012 Ralph Lauren, the crown prince of preppy, received more than $30 million in compensation in … Continue reading →

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Remembering MayDay

MAY DAY 2012: REMEMBERING WHY Robert J.S. Ross, rjsross@clarku.edu The story of May Day begins with the struggle to make the eight-hour workday the legal and economic norm for wageworkers. In the older industrial countries, this struggle was largely successful, … Continue reading →

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Bread and Roses: Dignity and Respect in Working Class Struggles

Wednesday, September 7, 2011 From This week in Sociology Bread and Roses: Dignity and Respect in Working Class Struggles by Robert J. S. Ross, Clark University, Professor of Sociology On January 11, 1912 a group of Polish women textile workers … Continue reading →

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Struggles at the bottom of the pyramid [unpublished] June 2009

In the midst of the last Great Depression, in 1933, Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins said: “The red silk bargain dress in the shop window is a danger signal. It is a warning of the return of the sweatshop, a … Continue reading →

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Workers’ Wages in China and Bangladesh

Author’s note:  this letter made the NYT website, but not the grown-up newspaper. link » July 23, 2010 Workers’ Wages in China and Bangladesh To the Editor: Re “As Labor Costs Rise in China, Textile Jobs Shift Elsewhere” (front page, … Continue reading →

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Bangladesh and the Triangle Fires: Exporting fires from rich to poor

12/15/10 Bangladesh and the Triangle Fires:  Exporting fires from rich to poor 100 years after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, a sordid parallel exists across the globe Laws and enforcement needed in trade agreements  On March 25 we will observe the … Continue reading →

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In Chains at the Bottom of the Pyramid : Gender and Sweated Labor in Global Apparel Production

Published on the blog site This week in Sociology OCTOBER 25, 2011 Robert J.S. Ross – Clark University Sweatshop conditions refer to long hours, low wages and oppressive conditions – dangerous unhealthy, psychologically abusive or squalid. In the global assembly … Continue reading →

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