Now It's ESPN's Turn to Sack the Cowboys For Having Merch Made in Cambodian Sweatshops

By Robert Wilonsky Fri., Jan. 6 2012 at 9:14 AM

Categories: Biz, Sports

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In October we noted a report from Pittsburgh-based Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights that said the Dallas Cowboys are having team-branded clothing made in "gross sweatshop conditions at the Style Avenue factory in El Salvador" -- which Cowboys Merchandise Ltd. chief operating officer Bill Priakos denied in a statement provided to Unfair Park. On Sunday, ESPN's Outside the Lines picks up the story -- this time at two Cambodian factories, where workers are paid 29 cents an hour to make goods for Jerry Jones and the 'Boys.

What you see above is a sneak-peek at that piece, done by Mark Fainaru-Wada, one of the two San Francisco Chronicle reporters threatened with jail time for not revealing sources after breaking the Barry Bonds-BALCO story. He too gets a quote from Priakos, seen at the end of the piece but not mentioned by name. Says the merch-maker, according to ESPN: "Clearly, these are important issues. But I can go into any restaurant and find a roach. I can go into any hotel and find a fire hazard. We just need to keep our head down and try to improve."

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Not Defending The Dallas Cowboys, but this is the hypocrisy of the media! Disney World (whom owns ABC/ESPN) is the biggest employer of sweetshops! Funny how ESPN failed to mention that!
The key phrase in the ESPN piece was, ".29¢/hr is about one-third the amount you can live on on." That's about right. When you have a job -- sewing jerseys or flipping burgers -- you're going to need a couple of roommates. This is a hatchet job. If the Cowboys, Nike, Puma, etc pull out of Cambodia the situation is even worse.
Americas team ? So why is it all the merch is made overseas ? You want to be Americas team, support America and keep the jobs here ya greedy F....
This is absolutely appalling but not surprising. Capitalism's ugly reality; find a way to keep costs as low as possible so profits can grow and grow and grow. The consumers have all the power to change the situation by not buying the product but we all know that won't happen.
Isn't the story that Jerry gets richer because he saves money by paying someone in Cambodia 29 cents to make his freakin' merchandise and then sells it for some gawdawful amount? It's the ugly side of capitalism. And guess who's buying the crap. As much as Jerry is a scumbag, people keep feeding that scumbag with their money to get their fix of a crap franchise. Quit feeding him and he goes away.
Any update on the lawsuit over Legends Hospitality pocketing tips? Just trying to keep the Jerry Jones money grabs straight - they seem to work out better for Jones than the actual product in the DeathStar.
B O Y C O T T J E R R Y J O N E S !
Look no further than the Cowboys garment facility in Irving. That's a sweatshop. Long hours and little pay. Best not to be a salaried production worker there. You'll work long hours and the weekend with no overtime pay.
And this is "America's team"? HA!
I don't think the forced overtime is going to be much of an issue in the future unless these folks are also making Houston Texan clothing.
As much as I wouldn't want to work in a place like that, it does seem like a few steps up from the Killing Fields.
Well... The biggest improvement I see is that they woudn't have to have any of those ugly, blue, starred jerseys from some second-rate American football team floating around their country.
The entire country is poverty defined. But instead of treating them like a charity and KIVA-ing them into a welfare mindset, work enables and empowers. They don't seem to be abusing the employees, or even operating a liquor store at the check-cashing facility near the job site.
Not to worry, SEIU will ride to the rescue. They'll get the minimum wage bumped up to 30 cents and it'll only cost the workers a nickle an hour for dues. I'm shocked that J-Bird is this stupid cuz he could get a Zeta sweat shop in Mexico to do the same for a suite in the Mothership and the crap would be made out of hemp.
what do they consider gross sweatshop conditions? I mean, if they were "gross", the product wouldn't come through so fresh and clean. When I see "gross sweatshop conditions", I think of a dark room in a warehouse poorly lit, water puddles everywhere, workers wearing raggedy clothes. But in reality, it's probably a very well lit work space, good machinery, and the people actually have jobs. I'm guessing they'd rather do that kind of work than something else? I don't know. Maybe the Cowboys pull their operations out and then the workers do what? If there's a better place to work, I doubt a gun is being put to their head to make them come in everyday. edit: I watched the video. The living conditions suck, what do you want the Cowboys to do about it? Build a new living complex? Not sure what the answer is here.
Breaking News: Jerry Jones is a scumbag. Oops, we have known that for years. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
"We just need to keep our head down and try to improve." Tony? Jason?
$100 a month is over the per capita income of Cambodia (about $1,000 a year). Cambodia is a poor country, living conditions and wages are going to be poor. That is why the Cowboys and every other manufacture locates there. If the Cowboys are forced to pay higher wages artificially, the will locate to a higher wage country (China) with more mechanized production and less workers. How would Cambodian peasants gain from that?