Collections Search Results
Your search found 38 records from all Smithsonian Institution collections.
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- Description
- Workers in the El Monte sweatshop manufactured this B.U.M. brand boys shorts during the 1990s. The shorts were seized during a well-publicized 1995 sweatshop raid and is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1990 - 1995
- ID Number
- 1996.0292.11a
- catalog number
- 1996.0292.11a
- accession number
- 1996.0292
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- Description
- This bag of mung beans was sold at the El Monte company store. Shop operators forced workers to buy food and personal items from them at inflated prices. The beans were seized during a well-publicized 1995 sweatshop raid and is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- Late 20th Century
- 1990s
- ID Number
- 1997.0268.18
- accession number
- 1997.0268
- catalog number
- 1997.0268.18
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- Description
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1995
- ID Number
- 1996.0292.42b
- catalog number
- 1996.0292.42b
- accession number
- 1996.0292
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- Description
- This white envelope contained the pay for Aquelina Gaspar and was seized as part of the well-publicized 1995 El Monte sweatshop raid. The envelope is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
- On August 2, 1995, police arrested eight operators of the clandestine El Monte garment shop and freed seventy-two Thai nationals who had been working in a form of modern slavery. Workers, recruited in Thailand, were promised good pay and good working conditions. After signing an indenture agreement for $5,000 they were smuggled into the United States with fraudulent documents. The workers were paid about $1.60 an hour with sixteen-hour workdays in horrifying conditions. They were held against their will in a razor wire enclosed complex with an armed guard and were jammed into close living quarters. By 1999, eleven companies Mervyn's, Montgomery Ward, Tomato, Bum International, L.F. Sportswear, Millers Outpost, Balmara, Beniko, F-40 California, Ms. Tops, and Topson Downs, agreed to pay more than $3.7 million dollars to the 150 workers who labored in the El Monte sweatshop. As in most cases of sweatshop production, these companies contend that they did not knowingly contract with operators who were violating the law.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1997.0336.28
- accession number
- 1997.0336
- catalog number
- 1997.0336.28
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- Description
- Workers in the El Monte sweatshop used this spool of black thread with the Juki industrial sewing machine seen in object 1996.0292.29a. The spool was seized during a well-publicized 1995 sweatshop raid and is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- Late 20th Century
- 1990s
- maker
- American Thread Company
- ID Number
- 1996.0292.01
- accession number
- 1996.0292
- catalog number
- 1996.0292.01
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- Description
- Esmeralda Bordales was an illegal immigrant working for S&K Fashion, a small apparel manufacturing operation in the Los Angeles garment district. Although her pay stub indicates that she worked 40 hours and received $ 155.30 neither are probably true. Sweatshop workers toil long hours and are almost always paid by the piece.
- On August 2, 1995, police officers raided a fenced compound of seven apartments in El Monte, California. They arrested eight operators of a clandestine garment sweatshop and freed 72 illegal Thai immigrants who had been forced to sew in virtual captivity. Authorities also raided the front shop where Esmerelda worked. The 50 to 80 Latina employees in the front shop provided the theoretical source of garment production when representatives from retailers and manufacturers came to inspect facilities and the merchandise they ordered. However, even this shop was in violation of wage and hour codes. Workers, mostly women, finished the garments, put them on hangers, and added tags in preparation for delivery to stores and manufacturers.
- date made
- 1995
- ID Number
- 1997.0336.29
- accession number
- 1997.0336
- catalog number
- 1997.0336.29
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- Description
- This is a specimen sample of a 10-dollar food coupon from 1995. Food coupons, colloquially known as food stamps, is a program administered by the Department of Agriculture to help alleviate hunger and improve food distribution in the United States. The coupons are high-quality intaglio engraved one-sided notes printed on watermarked currency paper. They are slightly smaller in size than U. S. currency.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1995
- ID Number
- 1997.0335.06
- catalog number
- 1997.0335.06
- accession number
- 1997.0335
-
- Description
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1990 - 1995
- ID Number
- 1996.0292.12a
- catalog number
- 1996.0292.12a
- accession number
- 1996.0292
-
- Description
- This toothpaste was sold at the El Monte company store. Shop operators forced workers to buy food and personal items from them at inflated prices. The toothpaste was seized during a well-publicized 1995 sweatshop raid and is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- Late 20th Century
- 1990s
- ID Number
- 1997.0268.17
- accession number
- 1997.0268
- catalog number
- 1997.0268.17
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- Description
- This phony time card was maintained for Hang Ngoc Tan for the week of May 10th, 1996. This time card, along with others seized from El Monte by U.S. Department of Labor investigators, shows an employee working eight hours a day. Further investigation revealed that she actually worked much longer hours.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- Late 20th Century
- 1990s
- ID Number
- 1997.0279.12
- catalog number
- 1997.0279.12
- accession number
- 1997.0279
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- Description
- Workers in the famous El Monte sweatshop used this bundle of knit trimming fabric (collars and cuffs) as they sewed Airtime brand shirts. While the sweatshop was located in El Monte, California, Dolphin Trimming Inc. (where the fabric was cut) was nearly 3,000 miles away in Miami Lakes, Florida. The apparel production business is typified by small shops doing specialization work. Authorities seized the fabric along with other evidence during a well-publicized 1995 raid. The bundle is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
- 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
- Late 20th Century
- 1990s
- ID Number
- 1996.0292.05
- accession number
- 1996.0292
- catalog number
- 1996.0292.05
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- Description
- Yue Jin Wu used this production notebook to record output and compute pay in New York City in 1995.
- In the garment industry, workers are paid for the actual number of pieces they complete, regardless of how long it takes. Under federal and state law, however, employers are still required to pay the equivalent of the minimum wage. Manufacturers and some workers point out that piecework rewards those who work quickly and stay focused. However, the system can easily be abused. Despite toiling at breakneck speeds, sweatshop workers often earn substantially less than minimum wage.
- On August 2, 1995, police arrested eight operators of the clandestine El Monte garment shop and freed seventy-two Thai nationals who had been working in a form of modern slavery. Workers, recruited in Thailand, were promised good pay and good working conditions. After signing an indenture agreement for $5,000 they were smuggled into the United States with fraudulent documents. The workers were paid about $1.60 an hour with sixteen-hour workdays in horrifying conditions. They were held against their will in a razor wire enclosed complex with an armed guard and were jammed into close living quarters. By 1999, eleven companies Mervyn's, Montgomery Ward, Tomato, Bum International, L.F. Sportswear, Millers Outpost, Balmara, Beniko, F-40 California, Ms. Tops, and Topson Downs, agreed to pay more than $3.7 million dollars to the 150 workers who labored in the El Monte sweatshop. As in most cases of sweatshop production, these companies contend that they did not knowingly contract with operators who were violating the law.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1990 - 1997
- ID Number
- 1997.0280.01
- accession number
- 1997.0280
- catalog number
- 1997.0280.01
-
- Description
- This unfinished Airtime brand boys shirt was in production when authorities raided the the infamous El Monte, California sweatshop in 1995. It is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1990 - 1995
- ID Number
- 1996.0292.10
- catalog number
- 1996.0292.10
- accession number
- 1996.0292
-
- Description
- Workers in the El Monte sweatshop used this spool with the Juki industrial sewing machine seen in object 1996.0292.29a. The spool was seized during a well-publicized 1995 sweatshop raid and is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- Late 20th Century
- 1990s
- ID Number
- 1996.0292.26
- accession number
- 1996.0292
- catalog number
- 1996.0292.26
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- Description
- This chair was used in a suburban El Monte, California sweatshop as part of a sewing machine workstation seen in object 1996.0292.29a . The chair was seized during a well-publicized 1995 sweatshop raid and is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
- 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
- 1974 - 1995
- ID Number
- 1996.0292.28B
- accession number
- 1996.0292
- catalog number
- 1996.292.28B
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- Description
- This is an application for a replacement Thai passport based on fraudulent claim of loss. Obtaining real passports allowed the El Monte operators to simply change the picture in order to smuggle new workers into the country.
- Recruited from Thailand, the El Monte workers were tricked into accepting employment by misrepresentations of their future working and living conditions. They were told they would sew in a clean factory, receive good pay, and have the weekends off. They were even shown photographs of company parties and outings to Disneyland. After signing contracts (indenture agreements) committing themselves to repay 120,000 baht (about $5,000 in 1997 dollars), they were smuggled into the United States on fraudulent passports.
- On arrival, the sweatshop operators confiscated the passports and the workers were forced to sew 18 hours a day seven days a week. The debt, a guard force, and threats of physical harm to the workers and their families in Thailand discouraged them from escaping. Although the physical confinement of the work force was unusual, many aspects of the business, such as recruiting and smuggling workers, are relatively common. Less enslaving forms of debt peonage occur surprisingly often in some Asian immigrant communities.
- Sweatshops occur in many sectors of manufacturing, but are most often associated with the garment industry. While garments are designed and marketed through big name companies, assembly is often left to contract and sub-contract operations. In these small shops, where profits are razor thin and competition is excessive, abuses are rampant.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1995
- ID Number
- 1997.0268.05
- accession number
- 1997.0268
- catalog number
- 1997.0268.05
-
- Description
- 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
- 1974 - 1995
- ID Number
- 1996.0292.29b
- catalog number
- 1996.0292.29b
- accession number
- 1996.0292
-
- Description
- This unfinished Airtime brand boys shirt was in production when authorities raided the the infamous El Monte, California sweatshop in 1995. It is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
- 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
- 1990 - 1995
- ID Number
- 1996.0292.08
- catalog number
- 1996.0292.08
- accession number
- 1996.0292
-
- Description
- This bottle of Mucosolvan was sold at the El Monte company store. Shop operators forced workers to buy food and personal items from them at inflated prices. The respiratory medicine was seized during a well-publicized 1995 sweatshop raid and is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- Late 20th Century
- 1990s
- ID Number
- 1997.0268.20
- accession number
- 1997.0268
- catalog number
- 1997.0268.20
-
- Description
- This Juki industrial sewing machine was used in a suburban El Monte, California sweatshop. Law enforcement officers seized the sewing machine during a well-publicized 1995 sweatshop raid and is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation. The El Monte sweatshop, like the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in 1911 earlier, took on an iconic role as government and activists used media coverage to galvanize the American public into action.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1996.0292.28a
- accession number
- 1996.0292
- catalog number
- 1996.0292.28a
