Articles About El Monte Sweatshop

The discovery of the El Monte sweatshop shocked the nation. What many consumers thought took place only in other countries was happening at home. The El Monte sweatshop, like the Triangle Shirtwaist disaster, has become a powerful symbol in American history. Although many sweatshops have been raided in recent years, El Monte has been used as a media event by U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich; Victoria L. Bradshaw, State Labor Commissioner, California Department of Industrial Relations; and others to galvanize the American public into action. Some industry representatives suggested the situation has been blown out of proportion. Others wondered whether it was just the tip of the iceberg.

"We will continue to use every tool in our arsenal to end the exploitation of garment workers" - Robert Reich, U.S. Secretary of Labor, 1995