El Monte SweatshopEl Monte sweatshop raid film negatives, 1990s

Description:

These negatives illustrate the inhumane working and living conditions of people that worked in sweatshops

On August 2, 1995, police officers raided a fenced seven-unit apartment complex in El Monte, California. They arrested eight operators of a clandestine garment sweatshop and freed 72 workers who were being forced to sew garments in virtual captivity. Smuggled from Thailand into the United States, the laborers’ plight brought a national spotlight to domestic sweatshop production and resulted in increased enforcement by federal and state labor agencies. The publicity of the El Monte raid also put added pressure on the apparel industry to reform its labor and business practices domestically and internationally.

Date Made: 1995

Maker: Bonner, Phil

Location: Currently not on view

See more items in: Work and Industry: Manufacturing

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: U.S. Department of Justice. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1997.0268.24.05.1Catalog Number: 1997.0268.24.05.1Accession Number: 1997.0268

Object Name: photographnegative

Physical Description: plastic; gelatin (overall material)Measurements: overall: 3.5 cm; 1 3/8 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b4-662e-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1930134

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