Levi's Evils

Levi-Strauss, that all-american brand, has announced the closure of its remaining factories in the US and Canada. Almost 2,000 jobs will be lost as the company joins the now familiar race-to-the-bottom in transferring its manufacturing operations offshore.

“Regrettably, these closures will affect workers who have done a tremendous job for the company over the years,” said chief executive officer Phil Marineau. “We understand the impact this change will have on them, their families and communities. As we have done in the past, our intent is to provide a comprehensive separation package for employees, along with support for the local communities through philanthropic grants.”

In 1990, Levi's closed its largest plant in the US to relocate to Costa Rica where workers earn in a day what their US counterparts earn in an hour. The non-unionised San Antonio, Texas plant was the largest in the community's history. Of the severed 1,150 workers, many of whom received less than 24-hours notice, 86 per cent were female and 92 per cent Latinos. They were denied any of the useful retraining and other assistance that Levi's claims to bestow on its rubbished ex-employees. Viola Casares, a co-coordinator for sewing co-operative, Fuerza Unida, recalls: “As long as I live I’ll never forget how the white man in the suit said they had to shut us down to stay competitive.”

Levi's claim that it “is committed to ensuring that individuals making its products anywhere in the world do so in safe and healthy working conditions and are treated with dignity and respect” is a marked contrast to CEO and President, Philip Marineau's, surprisingly candid acknowledgement that, “the apparel industry is chasing low-cost labor.”
It is such “low-cost labour” that led to immigrant workers in Saipan's garment industry to file a lawsuit in 1999 alleging that they were falsely lured to the US territory by promises of high pay. On arrival they were forced to endure the country's minimum wage of $3.05, “donate” time after their shift was over and live with the threat of being fired and deported at whim.
As a U.S. Commonwealth, Saipan is exempt from American labour, immigration and customs laws, thus allowing clothing to be stamped with the coveted “Made in the USA” tags and avoiding the complex system of quotas that limits U.S. imports from foreign nations. Twenty-six companies agreed to a settlement involving the establishment of an independent monitoring system to prevent future abuses and the creation of a $20 million fund to pay for back wages. The twenty-seventh company, Levi's, is still refusing.