Foul Ball:
Major League baseballs sewn by
sweatshop workers in Costa Rica,
Denied their rights & paid just 25
cents for each ball they make
February 2004
National Labor Committee
National Labor Committee – 540 West 48th Street, 3rd Floor – New York, NY 10036 – 212-242-3002 – www.nlcnet.org
-Labor Donated-
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The National Labor Committee wants to thank the Asociasion Servicios de Promocion
Laboral (ASEPROLA) for their invaluable collaboration on this joint research. Without
ASEPROLA’s assistance this report could not have been done.
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Rawlings of Costa Rica, S.A.
Barrio Las Americas
Canton of Turrialba
Cartago Province
Costa Rica
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Phone: (506) 556 44-55
Fax: (506) 556 07-40
Email: [email protected]
General Manager: Douglas Richard Kralik
Quality Control Manager: Diane Kralik
Chief of Human Resources: Shirly Cooney Leiua
Export Manager: Jose Manuel Valerin Vargas
The Rawlings plant, located behind the Stadium Rafael Angel Camacho in the city of Turrialba,
is about an hour and forty-minute drive east of the capital San Jose. It is a rural area, surrounded
by coffee plantations. Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of the area’s economy, and coffee is
the principal crop. When the bottom fell out of world coffee prices a few years ago, it had a
devastating effect in Turrialba and unemployment among the coffee workers soared. Rawlings
used this to its advantage. With so much unemployment it could hire more temporary workers,
firing and rehiring them every three months. This new contingency work force has no legal
rights, and their wages do not have to be increased.
There is a lot of fear in the factory, and the workers are afraid of even being seen talking with
outsiders. It’s a small town in a rural area. It’s easy to be seen. No one wants to lose their job –
especially as this was one of the very few factories in town.
However, several brave Rawlings workers did agree to speak out about factory conditions, as
long as their identities were kept hidden. They are certain that if Rawlings management found
out who they were, they would be fired that very same day. No one at the Rawlings company
would agree to an interview – not the plant manager, the production chief, or the head of human
resources.
In search of low wages, in 1969 Rawlings closed its plant in Puerto Rico and shifted production
to Haiti. Soon, 1,000 Haitian women were sewing over 100,000 baseballs a week at the
Rawlings plant, being paid just nine cents for each ball they sewed.
It was not until after the fall of Jean-Claude Duvalier’s dictatorship in 1986 that Rawlings
decided to open a plant in Costa Rica in 1987. The plant, called Figgie Costa Rica, operated
with just 15 workers. These were warehouse and supply workers, since all the actual production
of sewing the balls was farmed out as homework.
For 21 years Rawlings felt quite comfortable producing baseballs in Haiti under the father and
son Duvalier dictatorship, and the military regimes which followed. However, when it became
clear that military rule was coming to an end, and that Jean-Bertrand Aristide was certain to win
the democratic presidential election on December 16, 1990 by a landslide, Rawlings quickly shut
its Haitian plant on November 30, 1990. All remaining work was shifted to Costa Rica. By
1994, Rawlings had 400 workers at its Costa Rican plant and by 1998 there were 800 workers.
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Rawlings representatives said they were pulling out of Haiti “because we have a responsibility
to Major League Baseball and our other baseball customers.”
More to the point, there was a growing concern among the maquila factory owners that under a
democratically elected government in Haiti, factory workers would want to exercise their legal
right to organize, and that there would be calls for an increase in the minimum wage, which was
just 22 cents an hour at the time.
In Haiti, as in Costa Rica, Rawlings prefers to operate in secrecy. In 1988, Rawlings even
refused entry to its Haitian plant to a group of Figgie International—Rawlings’ parent
company—shareholders. On September 19, 1989, in the Journal of Commerce, Larry Luxer
commented: “Rawlings appears suspicious of the media and refused to allow The Journal of
Commerce to enter the plant and photograph the workers.” Rawlings was no doubt afraid of
attracting any such further coverage as appeared in the Toronto Star on April 29, 1998, where
Bruce McLeod wrote that while company spokespeople tell us “that Rawlings products are
‘nothing but the best,’ Don’t believe them. Every major League Baseball, however well
made, is a symbol of third world exploitation, which is nothing but the worst.”
Today, the Rawlings plant in Turrialba produces not only baseballs, but also uniforms and other
garments, as well as sporting goods. We can only make estimates based on our communications
with the workers since management refused to speak, but there could now be as many as 1,450
workers at the Rawlings plant – 850 people in the baseball department, and another 600
workers in the textile department.
Rawlings operates under the Free Trade Zone regime, meaning it pays no corporate, province,
city or even sales taxes, and is 100 percent exempt from all import and export taxes.
No doubt the figure is far higher today, but even as of August 23, 1998, Costa Rica’s La Nacion
Sunday Review newspaper reported that the Rawlings plant produced two and a half million
baseballs a year, of which half – or one and a quarter million balls – went to the Major
League teams in the U.S. The other half were sold commercially.
Rawlings is the official baseball not only for the Major Leagues, but also for Minor League
baseball and the NCAA college World Series. More than half of all Major League players use
Rawlings gloves. Rawlings also supplies baseball equipment and uniforms in Japan.
Sewing Major League Baseballs is Tough Work –
an Estimated 80 percent of the workers are
injured
! A worker must sew a minimum of 156 baseballs a week, approximately 4 per hour, and
one every 15 minutes.
! On average, the worker will be paid just 28 cents per completed ball.
! 108 stitches are required per ball, or one every 8.3 seconds, 432 an hour, and 4,536
stitches in a 10.5 hour shift.
! Factory temperatures reach 97 degrees Fahrenheit, and the workers are sweating
constantly.
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! For 10 hours a day, the worker’s body is in an awkward position bent over her press,
repeating the same strenuous stitching motion, pulling her arms up and out, hour after
hour, day after day.
! Factory workers estimate that 80 percent of the baseball sewers are injured, suffering
some form of repetitive motion disorder – to their back, shoulders, wrists, hands, and
especially their vision due to the constant need to focus and concentrate.
! The Rawlings Company makes no attempt to prevent these repetitive stress injuries,
not even implementing the simplest of measures, such as requiring periodic breaks,
and structuring exercises, which would cost the company nothing.
! Further, Rawlings refuses to consider these repetitive stress disorders as work
related, classifying them instead as personal injuries for which the company is not
responsible. In fact, if an injured sewer requests a day off to consult with a doctor,
Rawlings docks her pay.
! Workers injured badly enough so that they cannot consistently reach their
minimum quota of producing 156 baseballs a week are fired. They receive some
small severance pay, but are left incapacitated, some unable to do any physical
work.
! Few workers sewing baseballs for the Major League last more than two or three
years.
! Sewers jab themselves with their needles, often under their nails. The company provides
safety equipment, but the leather is stiff and uncomfortable, causing the workers to sweat
even more, which results in the needle slipping. Forced to meet their high production
goals, the workers instead wrap their fingers in masking tape. Rawlings does not object
to this, however if a worker jabs and injures herself, it is simply her problem. Rawlings
will accept no responsibility, since she was not wearing the protective gear – despite the
fact that she could not reach the mandatory quota if she had been wearing it. Either way,
she stands to lose.
! The bathrooms are locked and a worker needs to get permission to use the toilets, which
is limited to one or two visits, or at the most three a day.
! Talking during working hours is prohibited.
! Company rules strictly prohibit workers from assisting each other either in the sewing or
repair of the baseballs.
! Production reports are kept on each worker, which the accounting department uses to
measure their productivity and efficiency, monitoring the workers constantly. Sewers
making too many errors will be “replaced.”
! Workers who produce their quota of 156 baseballs two weeks in a row will receive a
bonus of $7.42 – or a little more than two cents per ball. Supervisors also receive
incentives when their team of sewers reaches their production goal.
! There is constant tension and pressure to reach the company’s goals.
! At 7:15 a.m. each Monday the workers must attend a meeting where their supervisor
gives them a pep-talk, encouraging them to work with greater speed and efficiency, and
pointing out the most common errors made the week before.
! New workers in training at the factory’s “little school” are not paid. Instead, Rawlings
reimburses them only for their bus fare. They will remain in school until they can
consistently produce 7 to 10 flawless balls.
! Rawlings policy on absences:
- Two paid days for marriage;
- Three paid days for the death of one’s child, spouse, or parents;
- One paid day for the father on the birth of his child.
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All other absences are unpaid. Still, a worker needing a day off must submit a
written request at least three days in advance. Permission is rarely given to those
who are not consistently reaching their production goals.
! Rawlings has an odd policy, considering that their workweek is Monday through Friday,
of requiring workers to seek permission to be “absent” on Saturday, for example, if they
want to take an exam or go on a family outing. Management invariably denies
permission and instead instructs the worker to stand by and be ready to work, just in case
a shipment either arrives or must go out. One worker going to school at night had to pray
that a shipment did not come in on Saturday so he could take his Biology exam.
Rawlings had refused to give him permission to be “absent” on his day off.
! Sexual harassment: at least one worker we spoke with said some male supervisors
showed a certain favoritism toward the younger women—e.g. overlooking any defects on
the balls they had sewn – if they would “date” him outside the factory.
! Three-month contracts without rights: Few workers at the Rawlings plant have any
sense of security, knowing they can be fired very easily at any moment. Everyone knows
that Rawlings “keeps a whole mountain” of applications on hand for just that reason.
However, it now appears to be getting even worse, as Rawlings is increasingly hiring
workers without contracts, employing them for less than three months, firing and
rehiring them. This way the workers have no legal protections and no rights to any
benefits, since under Costa Rican law these rights only apply after a person has
worked for more than three months. Rawlings is creating the ultimate contingency
workforce.
! At the Rawlings plant, the workers were very clear: If they ever attempted to organize a
union, they would be illegally fired on the spot. And if they were ever somehow
successful, Rawlings would shut down the plant and move it to a place like China.
A Professional Baseball Worker Speaks Out
A major league player? No. This is a worker at the Rawlings plant in Costa Rica who sews the
baseballs the Major League players use. We cannot mention his or her name, nor those of any of
the other baseball workers quoted here, since the Rawlings company would – in reprisal –
immediately fire all of them. They sew over 1.25 million balls a year for the major leagues.
Fifteen Minutes and 25 Cents Per Ball
! 6:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – 11 ½ -hour shift.
! Paid $1.00 an hour, sewing 30 balls a day, four each hour, one every 15 minutes— paid
25 cents per ball.
! The work is draining and the constant movement leads to serious injuries – back,
shoulders, wrist, and vision. Often one stabs oneself with the needle, mostly underneath
the nails.
! Ninety-three to ninety-seven degree temperatures.
! Few last longer than three or four years. The atmosphere is very tense – they can
“replace” you at any moment.
! The American bosses, the ones with the most power, always treat the workers very
roughly.
! Bathrooms are locked.
! Speaking is prohibited.
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! There is no right to organize: “there exists too much exploitation – especially in terms of
the wages of the people that work.”
Worker ‘A’ is an experienced sewer
Is it difficult or tiring to make baseballs?
The work is draining because there are practically 10 hours daily that one has to be in the factory
and the work requires the constant movement of the arms and the lower back. On finishing a job
that one is asked to do, of a certain amount, you can’t rest – one has to be active all day long and
as a result it is draining.
Do you believe that people can burn out after a few years being here, in this?
Many people, let us say, suffer serious injuries that do not allow them to finish their work. An
example is that they experience wear on the shoulders, the spinal column, on the lower back, and
more than anything vision – vision is what gets damaged the most because you remain
permanently concentrated on a specific place. So, one doesn’t look to the sides or anything.
How long is the average amount of time a worker stays at the factory?
In general, I see that people last 2 or 3 years, more or less, and then they “retire.”
Is there a risk of stabbing oneself with the needles?
The risk exists, but measures are taken like using a type of leather as protection – that more than
anything for . . . the needles themselves do not have a point, though they are a little thick, but the
force that is utilized to pass the needle through a hole – always one stabs oneself, mostly
underneath the nails, which is the softest part of the skin, so it penetrates.
Do you always use that material for protection?
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The people manage, let us say, an example me – I use what we call “masking’ [masking tape]
because sometimes the leather is too dry so it makes it difficult to close the hand or to handle the
needles.
With respect to the atmosphere at the factory, is it tense, relaxed for you? Do you feel secure or
do you feel that you could be replaced at any moment?
The atmosphere at the factory is very tough, they can replace you at any moment because
hundreds of persons want to enter and work because of the difficulty that there is no work.
Is it tense?
Yes, it is tense. Let us say one endures constant pressure all day – they keep saying that you
have to make such and such because it is a commitment to make 30 balls daily. First, to meet the
30-ball requirement daily one has to make more or less 4 balls per hour, which is nothing easy –
that you have to make one every 15 minutes. And where a ball comes out defective they will
take it away and you will not meet with those 4 balls where the material itself can be destroyed
and there you will not have the time to replace it. So, the constant pressure makes the people
tense, tense all day, plus they ask for quality, which is what makes it most difficult.
And the temperature?
Well, in summer time, for example from summer which was so hot, we measured the
temperatures with one of my co-workers and it was 93 and 97 degrees, and in winter time, it is
hot in winter time – there are fans, but a fan is cool in the morning, but by the time the
temperature begins to rise, what the fan does is circulate the hot air so it just gets hotter and
hotter.
Is the glue that you use for the manufacturing of baseballs toxic?
In large quantities it said that it is toxic, but they use it in small amounts – not so much because it
is toxic, but because it damages the leather, it stains it. It is a yellow colored glue that with the
passing of time and with the temperature it softens and stains the leather.
Can you converse with your co-workers while you work?
One says no, in the sense that it is demanded that one not speak because it supposedly affects
production, although that has been proven to be a lie. But if in those moments one does it, and if
a person, let us say the boss, catches you speaking he sanctions you, so one could say that
speaking is prohibited, but one always does it.
What does the sanction consist of?
Let us say that if one is being too loud, that is, in a manner that one is talking too much they
could send you home for a week, (they suspend you one week), if it is a little, a commentary or
something like that, it could be a reprimand.
Can you go to the bathroom as often as necessary?
No, now there exist defined schedules over everything – they ask that you go to the bathroom
during coffee hours and breaks, to say it like that, during free time which are the breaks and the
half hour for lunch. But let us say, if it is an emergency, one has to request permission from the
supervisor in order to have some facility opened.
Can you attend social security appointment when necessary?
Yes, so long as one presents the certificate that one attended and so long as you ask for
permission with anticipation, I mean like three days in advance.
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If you are incapacitated by illness is there some consequence on the job?
That depends on the length of the sick time. If it is a leave of months, by the time you return to
work they fire you because being out does not work for them.
What is the healthcare system?
Well, at the factory there exists what we call the infirmary – it is one doctor that comes twice a
week. She does not have exact days, sometimes she comes Monday, sometimes Tuesday,
sometimes she comes Thursdays or comes Fridays – she comes two times a week. And so, since
many cases present themselves at the factory, she takes care of them according to the gravity of
the case. The sickest people go first, and the ones that can, as one would say, stand it longer,
they wait.
How much time do you spend there, at the factory? What is your schedule?
The schedule is from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but in general, one arrives earlier in order to
advance the work, to get ahead on the work, so I am in the factory from 6:00 a.m. until 5:30
p.m., that makes 11 ½ hours.
Do you have any time to rest?
No, only the hours to sleep. When one finishes the work, upon arriving at home, one could say
that it is to sleep, in addition to arriving early, one leaves late – one arrives at home only to leave
early the next day.
And to do social activities?
Not that either because, let us say, one leaves at 5:30 a.m., until 7:00 p.m. – nothing more than
the hours to sleep.
Does the factory schedule allow you to study?
The factory schedule does not allow me to study, but because of the friendship I have with the
head of human resources something is done – well, the people that have a friendship with the
head of human resources – she makes some exceptions and accommodates the schedule. But
over all it’s according to the amount of balls, that makes it a little more flexible to be able to
leave before the schedules.
Do you know, are you familiar with any information about the business? What is the
approximate number of employees, of men and women?
Approximately there are like 850 people, that is only the baseball department. There could be,
men and women, there might be, 70% may be men and 30% women.
What is your current wage?
The legal wage, which is 21,500 colones(US$ 53.15), something like that, gross weekly
(approximately $48.37 take home).
Does the wage include incentives or production bonuses?
The factory incentive is, for more than anything, by the quantity produced, and when we do 48
hours, in the same week, we receive it.
Do you think your wage is in compliance with the rule of law or no?
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Yes, it does comply with the rule of law. What they never comply with are the incentives. Let
us say that they have an incentive for the people that meet a very high production goal, but that
incentive has remained like that for 5 to 6 years – they have not raised it.
Do you think that the wage is just taking into account that the baseball players earn more than
one million dollars a year? (The average annual salary is actually $2.57 million a year or
$15,864.19 a game.)
The wage is not just, not even taking into account that they earn one million dollars. The wage is
not just because we get paid 100 colones (US$ 0.25) per ball and they currently sell those balls
for up to 10,000 colones (US$ 24.72) and there is the case that those balls are, in a manner of
speaking, of the highest quality – the ones for collecting - and have a very high value.
Do you have any desire of organizing a union?
The truth is that unions are good, but in this factory when there is some type of progressive
movement or a strike, like we say it, certain measures are taken against those persons and they
do not let them organize.
How do you feel working at the factory? Do you believe that they treat you justly, with respect
or no?
Let us say that there are many types and a series of different persons – some have respect for you
and others do not. I feel that the people who have more power, just to say it, the Americans and
the bosses, which are the ones with the most power always treat the persons very tough – let us
say, they are not interested if a particular person has a problem at home or whatever. They are
also not interested in the physical, so they always ask for the maximum of the person. But there
are other people, like the instructor who is indeed a friend – that is the person you trust the most.
He understands one a little more.
If you wanted improvements in the factory what would ask for?
If I wished for improvements . . . over everything the wage because the wage is supposedly
lawful, but one might think that, perhaps, one could earn more due to the high percentage at
which the ball is sold – let us say that one ball costs a lot, here Rawlings pays us too cheaply.
Another improvement could be the labor environment, where there is too much pressure – and
that there not be so much pressure more than anything.
Do you know the Solidarista Association?
Yes, I belong to it – the association.
Do you feel good about the association?
The association gives certain benefits, especially for those with little resources, more than
anything that they make money available by making loans for food and since they deduct it from
the pay it is not necessary to have money at that moment.
Do you know the amount of contribution made by the company and what is the amount that you
contribute?
Actually, I think that we contribute around 5% and the company contributes 3.5%.
In your case – in the purchase of electrical equipment, credits, clinics, cafeteria purchases – who
pays for those services?
Everything is paid by us because all that is consumed within the plant is either deducted or paid
for in cash – the company does not cover any of those costs.
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The items that you can get, including credits, are they cheaper on the market or no?
No, they are more expensive.
By how much?
I have heard that it’s an increase of 10%, something like that.
Any final comments?
Well, for the interview, this is about exploitation more than anything. My commentary is
that there exists too much exploitation – especially in terms of the wages of the people that
work. Because what I most complain about is that the people that do the work of least difficulty
obtain wages that are too high. I will put as an example, like a chief of a factory whose job is to
supervise the other supervisors, those people, as one says in vulgar terms, walk from here to
there, from here to there – they rob the wage and have a wage that is way too high. And the
operators, who are the ones that create or have the raw materials or the principal product of this
factory are the ones that are discriminated against because they are paid miserably in terms of the
earnings that they will obtain – and what is not just is that for one ball, one gets paid 100 colones
(US$ 0.25) and that they are going to sell that ball to another person for 10,000 (US$ 24.72).
Another injured sewer . . . out for more than a
season – actually for good.
“What got me screwed up were my tendons, that is to say they swelled up, my tendons
swelled up. It was from sewing – since it is all day long, right there.”
Tell me something, when you made balls, was it tiring for you, that is to say the movements in
making the balls?
Oh yes, that is certain, it was tiring because of the stretching and tugging of the thread – tugging
all day long, practically from 7:00 a.m., well, now until 5:40 p.m. you work.
Well then, do you feel like you burned out after a certain amount of years making balls?
Yes, well, before, just to say it like this, when I began in the first three months, that is to say one
exceeded production, that is to say one gave good quality and quantity. After a while one gets to
a level that one does not pass from there – one maintains the minimum, just to say it like this,
just enough so that you do not get fired. If one does less than the minimum and it is too
continuous, then they harass you, they harass you until they fire you.
When you made balls, was there the risk of stabbing fingers with the needles, and how often, that
is to say daily?
No, that depends on practice, that is to say it was all of the time at the beginning, yet later on gets
used to it and one does not stab oneself so much.
Any other risks that you had during the time you made the balls, back pain?
Yes, for sitting, it is just that it also depends on the caballito [grip to hold the ball in place,
controlled by foot peddle], as they call them, that is to say if you are on an uncomfortable
caballito one works bad and always has pains.
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What was the atmosphere like in the factory?
It was tense. There, all day is tense, more in stitching because one does not have one boss, that is
to say you have a group supervisor, you have a plant boss, of those, if you come out badly in
quality you have the quality boss, understand? This is to say many quality controls.
And did you feel like you could be easily replaced? Could you be easily replaced?
In stitching yes because there new people enter with drive and for one, already old, it is difficult.
Perhaps one no longer gives the same quantity that they want, from that side yes.
Could you go to the bathroom as often as necessary?
In stitching no, in stitching no because there they lock the bathrooms. If you get up, you
have to go say that you are going to the bathroom and if it is closed you cannot go and have to
hold it, to say it like this, so they can get you keys or something like that, that is to say in
stitching it is more, more annoying.
Have you worked at sewing balls some time?
Yes, I worked there in sewing, making the balls, exactly, and…worked like a donkey—it really
affects the back, arms, shoulders, neck, and wrists.
Did you have some injury during the time you worked with balls?
It just so happens that I have a problem in a shoulder that if I make some movement, let us say,
to say it like this, when combing, I move it backwards [and] my shoulder cracks. It is a debility
that is left there.
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The amazing thing is that the Major League
players have such power, that if even one of them
spoke out, factory conditions and respect for
worker rights at the Rawlings plant in Costa Rica
could be cleaned up overnight.
This is even more true of the Major League baseball owners, whose teams are collectively worth
more than $8.9 billion. The New York Yankees are valued at $849 million, and the Mets are
worth $498 million. Imagine the impact if Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and Mets owner
Fred Wilpon called for reforms, fair wages, and respect for basic worker rights at the Rawlings
plant!
However, the sad reality is – and this is hard to believe- that Major League Baseball properties do
not have any “worker rights guidelines,” and their licensing agreements have no “requirements
or guidelines that address production standards, domestic versus foreign production, and
labor standards at production facilities.” (April 25, 2002 letter by Robert Manfred, Jr.
Executive Vice President of Major League Baseball.)
This is wrong and must be changed.
On the other hand, when it comes to protecting its copyrights, products, and royalties, Major
League Baseball leaves nothing to chance, and is aggressive and thorough. In 1992 Major League
Baseball helped found “one of the most visible organizations… devoted to protecting vendors,
trademark holders, retail business… called Caps – the Coalition to Advance the Protection of
Sports Logos. The coalition is made up of Major League Baseball Properties,
National Basketball Association Properties, National Football League Properties, National
Hockey League Enterprises, and the Collegiate Licensing Company. “In 2001, Caps
participated in 136 collective enforcement actions in 12 states which lead to 531 arrests and
seizures of more than 250,000 items of product.” Not only that, but “lobbying by Caps” and
others “helped put the felony counterfeiting penalties on the books in 30 states; prior to 1992,
there was not a single felony anti-counterfeiting law in effect” (Sporting Goods Business,
June 2002)
It’s amazing what can be accomplished when the Major League owners put their mind to
something. Imagine what a difference it would make to the lives of workers all over the world if
the team owners devoted even one-tenth of this energy to demanding respect for and adherence to
internationally recognized worker rights standards. If the will was there, it could be done.
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April 25, 2002
Mr. Edward Feigen
Strategic Campaign Coordinator
Center for Strategic Campaigns, AFL-CIO
815 Sixteenth Street, NW
Room 5049
Washington, DC 20006
Dear Mr. Feigen:
Ethan Orlinsky has forwarded me your e-mail of April 10, 2002 for response.
As an initial matter, Major League Baseball Properties and New Era are party to
several license agreements. It would not be appropriate for Major League Baseball
Properties to provide you with copies of its licensing agreements with New Era Cap
Company because those agreements contain confidential business information. We
would, however, like to accommodate your concerns to the extent possible. By means
of this letter, therefore, I will attempt to provide you with the information you are
seeking.
I will represent to you that the licensing agreements with New Era do not contain
any specific “requirements or guidelines that address production standards, domestic
versus foreign production, and labor standards at production facilities.” The absence of
these provisions should not be taken as an indication of a lack of concern on these
topics or an indication that New Era is not held responsible for compliance with
applicable laws, regulations and standards. We do, in fact, have contract language
establishing such responsibility. Similarly, Major League Baseball Properties does not
have any “worker rights guidelines,” but, again, holds all of its licensees legally liable
for ensuring that the products they produce under licensee are made pursuant to the
relevant laws. Finally, most of our business partners have a long relationship with
Major League Baseball. As a result, we have a working familiarity with their business
practices and, if issues develop, we deal with those issues as the situation warrants,
whether formally or informally.
In closing, I should say that I am familiar with the concerns that the AFL-CIO has
with New Era. I too have closely followed the labor dispute at the Buffalo facility. Our
245 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10167 (212)
http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com
15 of931-7800
60
Mr. Edward Feigen
April 25, 2002
Page 2 of 2
concern with respect to that situation has been greatly reduced by the fact that, to the
best of our knowledge, all unfair labor practice charges against New Era have been
dismissed.
I hope that the foregoing information proves helpful to you.
Very truly yours,
Robert D. Manfred, Jr.
RDM/dl
cc:
Timothy J. Brosnan
Ethan G. Orlinsky, Esq.
Howard Smith
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Players’ Strike Fund Based
on Sweatshop Labor?
When you purchase a baseball cap or jersey, or any other Major League Baseball product, and it
has a team name on it, the royalties go to the owners. On the other hand, when you purchase a
jersey or any other product which has a player’s name on it, then the royalties go to the Players
Association, which uses the money to support its strike fund. When the strike fund is full, any
left over royalty monies are distributed among the players.
It would be very disturbing if the Major League Baseball Players Association were using
royalties from sweatshop goods – made by workers stripped of their rights – to pay for
their strike fund.
For example, if we purchase “Jeter” or “Giambi” Yankee Kid’s baseball caps, or a “Piazza” Mets
cap made in China, and retailing for $18.00, how do we know that it was not made by workers
forced to work 13 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for wages as low as 16 cents an hour?
These workers have no health insurance. Many workers receive just 12 days off a year.
In China, workers have no freedom of association or the right to organize. Workers attempting
to organize an independent union will be fired, and perhaps imprisoned.
The Players Association should not be benefiting from sweatshop labor. Quite the opposite.
Professional athletes have some of the most powerful voices in the world, and the players should
use that prominence and power to end child labor and sweatshop abuses.
Yankee Team shirts, retailing for $80, along with those for the Phillies, the Angels, Sox, Indians,
and Cubs are made in Vietnam, where it would not be uncommon for young women to be forced
to work 14 ½ hours a day, seven days a week for wages as low as nine to fifteen cents an hour.
There is no such thing as overtime pay. You earn the same $30 to $40 a month whether you
work 48 or 60 or 80 hours a week. There is no health insurance. There is no right to organize
independent unions.
Does Major League Baseball really need to exploit workers in Vietnam who earn as little as 9
cents an hour, $1.17 a day, and $6.92 a week?
This is why the owners and Players Association must immediately adopt strict worker rights
standards as a condition of all sourcing and licensing agreements.
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Sewing Professional Baseballs
The Production Process
1) Rolling Process
The center of the ball is a sphere of cork or heavy rubber, referred to as the “pill” or “nucleus.”
The pill is passed through a tank of resistant glue and then rolled in a special machine which
wraps the sphere with strings of heavy rubber. The process requires constant monitoring,
measuring for weight and size, since the finished ball, with the leather cover, must weigh
precisely five ounces and measure 9 inches in circumference.
2) Stamping Process
Bundles of leather are shipped from the U.S. Each piece of leather, which is white and soft –
referred to as “soft cheese” in the factory – is carefully inspected, and sorted according to
quality. The best leather, referred to as K1, which has no stains or rough spots, goes to the
production for the Major Leagues. K2 quality has slight stains or black spots, which are more
likely if the leather is taken from the edge of the skin, while K3 leather has visible scars or lines
in it. K2 and K3 grades are used for commercial production. K4, the lowest quality, may be
shipped to production facilities in China.
There are eight stamping machines with one operator each, which then mold the leather into the
special forms required for the covers. Two similar pieces (resembling the figure 8 with a wide
center), matched for quality, are needed for each cover. Holes are punctured around the edges of
each piece, where the sewing needles will be passed through. The covers are wrapped in cloth,
boxed and passed to the moistening department
3) Moistening Process
The moistening process takes about an hour. Here, the leather is softened – so it is easier to
handle while sewing – through being humidified with a water-based adhesive.
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4) The Sewing Process
There are at least 300 workers in assembly lines at the Rawlings plant, who actually sew the
baseballs. Each supervisor oversees a group of 24 workers.
The supervisors distribute the matched pieces of covers to their workers. The covers are marked
with each group’s code and with the number of the stamping machine which molded the leather.
The ball is placed and held secure in a press, which in the factory is called the ‘little horse’. The
operator then places the two covers crosswise to cover the ball without overlap, so that the sides
of the two pieces of leather are precisely matched. Employing two needles simultaneously with
red thread, it takes 108 stitches to sew the cover on the ball. The size of the stitch, and the
pressure applied must be perfectly uniform. The stitches are done in the form of a ‘V’, with the
worker pulling her arms up and outward. The sewing is begun on the left side so that the
following stitches cover and hide the thread. Every one of the 108 stitches must be aligned,
tight, and identical, without revealing where the work began. The borders of the cover must be
pushed inside so the seam is smooth. There can be no needle scratches or marks, no smudge
marks from the press or the pliers that are used to pull the covers taut, and no excess glue.
The supervisor stamps each finished ball with invisible ink – so any errors found in quality
control can be traced back to a particular operator.
Sewing a baseball is tough work. A journalist from La Nacion Sunday Review, Ivannia Verela,
who toured the plant in 1998, was moved to write, “The process is not easy and it requires a lot
of patience to bear, for the long hours, of mechanical labor that is exhausting even to watch
at a distance.”
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5) Drying Process
First the ball is wrung dry in a machine, which spins the ball. Afterward, the ball is placed in a
special compartment with heated tiles for 24 hours.
6) Cleaning process
Workers use thinners to take off any excess glue or wax.
7) Quality Control
Here the balls are weighed (they must weigh exactly five ounces) and measured (they must be
precisely 9 inches in circumference). Next the stitching is reviewed. If there are any defects in
the sewing or smudges on the ball, it is returned to the person who made it for repair.
8) Receiving the official seal
Once the ball passes Quality control, it is stamped with the official seal, for example:
Balls going to the National League are stamped with black ink, while those for the American
League are stamped with blue ink.
If the stamp is placed off center, it means that due to some small defect the ball is not good
enough for the Major Leagues and will rather be sold commercially.
9) Packing
Each ball is packed in ‘silk’ paper and placed in an individual box. Performance balls are packed
24 dozen per carton.
Working Conditions
Hours
! Mandatory overtime: regular shift is 10 2/3 hours, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:40 p.m., five days a
week.
! Some 18 ½ hour all night shifts from 7:00 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., or 2:00 a.m. the following day.
! Some sewers arrive at work an hour earlier, at 6:00 a.m., in order to reach their production
goal.
The regular shift at the Rawlings plant is from 7:00 a.m. to 5:40 p.m., Monday through
Thursday, and from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday. However, it is not uncommon on Fridays
to be forced to work until 5:40 p.m. There are three breaks during the day, a half hour for lunch
and two 15-minute breaks, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.
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Under the schedule, the workers are at the plant approximately 51 to 53 hours per week. Also, at
least some workers sewing the Major League baseballs try to arrive an hour earlier, at 6:00 a.m.,
so they can get a jump start in reaching their daily production goals of 31 to 36 balls a day. In
this case they would be working an 11 2/3-hour daily shift, from 6:00 a.m. to 5:40 p.m.
When orders have to be shipped, overtime work is mandatory. In the warehouse department,
there are whole weeks when the shift stretches 15 hours each day, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Sometimes it is just half the department and not all the workers. Under this schedule the workers
could be at the factory up to 75 hours a week.
In extreme cases, when orders had to go out, there are mandatory 18 ½ to 19-hour all-night
shifts, stretching from 7:00 a.m. to 1:30 or 2:00 a.m. the following day. Even in these cases,
when the workers get out at 2:00 a.m., they must be back at work that same morning at 7:00 a.m.
sharp.
In the garment department it is much the same, and it is not uncommon to be forced to work 13
½ to 15 hours a day, from 7:00 am to 8:30, 9:30, or 10:00 p.m.
By law (Labor Code articles 135 and 136), the regular workweek in Costa Rica cannot exceed
eight hours a day, and 48 hours a week. Under certain circumstances, day shifts of 10 hours are
permitted. Also under Costa Rican Law (article 137), break times are to be considered as
working time (i.e. when an employee remains under the orders of the management and cannot
leave the factory). At a minimum, the company is responsible to pay for at least one half-hour
break each shift. Since the workers are at the factory 51 1/6 to 53 1/3 hours a week, this means
that at a minimum – if the company pays for just one 30 minute break each day – the workers are
putting in 40 minutes of overtime each week. If the company is required to pay for lunch and the
two 15-minute breaks – which appears likely – then the workers are actually putting in 3.08
hours of overtime for which they are not being properly paid.
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Wages
! Baseball workers earn $1.01 to $1.55 an hour.
! The average take-home wage is $1.12 an hour, which is only one cent above the legal floor
or base wage in Costa Rica.
(Note: There are 404.55 colones to one U.S. dollar)
Workers sewing baseballs destined for the Major Leagues earn a take-home wage of $1.01 to
$1.55 an hour, depending upon the number of balls they complete in a week. The average take
home wage for these baseball workers is just $1.12 an hour. New workers, for the first several
months could earn as little as 67 cents an hour, or $32.13 a week.
Low-End Wage
(21,500 colones, $53.15 a week gross wage.
After mandatory deductions of nine percent, the net or take home wage is $48.37)
Gross
$ 1.11 an hour
$ 8.88 a day (8 hours)
$ 53.15 a week (48 hours)
$ 230.32 a month
$ 2,763.80 a year
Take-home
$ 1.01 an hour
$ 8.08 a day
$ 48.37 a week
$ 209.60 a month
$ 2,515.24 a year
Average Wage
(A range of 23,000 to 25,000 colones a week gross, $56.85 to $61.80.
Average wage: 24,000 colones, $59.33)
Gross
$ 1.24 an hour
$ 9.89 a day (8 hours)
$ 59.33 a week (48 hours)
$ 257.10 a month
$ 3,085.16 a year
Take-home
$ 1.12 an hour
$ 8.96 a day (8 hours)
$ 53.99 a week
$ 233.96 a month
$ 2,807.48 a year
The Highest Wage
(30,000 colones gross wage plus 3,000 colones production incentive,
or $74.17 a week, plus $7.42 incentive. Very few workers ever reach this wage.)
$ 1.70 an hour
$ 13.60 a day (8 hours)
$ 81.57 a week (48 hours)
$ 353.47 a month
$ 4,241.64 a year
$ 1.55 an hour
$ 12.40 a day
$ 74.23 a week
$ 321.66 a month
$ 3,859.96 a year
The production incentive for reaching the goal of 180 baseballs per week is 3,000 colones, or
$7.42. If a worker reaches the minimum quota of 156 balls two weeks in a row, she may also
receive a 3,000-colones bonus.
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New workers in the pressing department earn a gross wage of just $44.49 a week, or 93 cents an
hour. Warehouse workers earn $1.01 to $1.07 an hour.
Legal Minimum Wage in Costa Rica
(for a sewer… 3,595 colones per day, or $8.89 gross wage before deductions)
$1.11 an hour
$8.89 a day (8 hours)
$53.28 a week (48 hours)
$230.88 a month
$2,770.56 a year
Legal minimum deductions in Costa Rica Equal 9 Percent of Gross Wage
* 5.5 percent for Health and Maternity
* 2.5 percent for Disability, Old Age and Death
* 1 percent for supplementary pension
Paid According to Production,
Professional Baseball Workers Earn Just 25 to 34
Cents for Each Major League Ball They Sew.
The baseball workers are paid according to a quota system. To earn a take-home wage of $1.01
an hour, the worker must complete a minimum of 156 baseballs a week.
In effect, the worker must sew four balls every hour, or one every 15 minutes. At $1.01 per
hour, the worker is, of course, earning 25 cents for each professional league baseball she
sews.
As we have seen, 108 stitches are required to sew
each ball, which comes to one stitch every 8.3
seconds. This goes on hour after hour, for a total of
4,173 stitches each day. The work is strenuous, all
day sitting in an awkward position, while constantly
pulling your arms up and outward stitch after stitch.
And each stitch must be 100 percent alike. The
concentration and pressure are exhausting.
Invariably small errors or defects are found in some
of the balls, which are returned to the sewer who
must immediately repair the defects. This adds to
the amount of work, since it is common to have 10
to12 balls a week returned for further work.
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Shipping Cost is Just
Four Cents Per Ball
The National Labor Committee estimates
that international shipping costs per
baseball amount to approximately four
cents. This four cents includes shipping
the raw materials to Costa Rica and the
return trip of the completed baseballs to
Miami. This is based on one 40–foot
container holding 108,000 baseballs with a
round trip cost of approximately $4,530.
Someone earning the average take-home wage of $1.12 an hour would still earn just 28 cents
for every Major League baseball she sewed.
A small number of people who are the very fastest workers in the factory can produce 180 balls
each week, earning a take-home wage of $1.55 an hour, including production incentives. In
this case, the worker would be averaging at least 4.5 balls an hour, meaning that the highest wage
in the factory would still just come to 34 cents per ball.
Rawlings baseballs retail for $16.99 at the
New York Yankee’s store in New York City.
This means that the workers’ wages to sew
the baseballs in Costa Rica amount to just 1.5
to 2 percent of the ball’s retail price. [$0.25
÷ $16.99 = 0.01471; $0.34 ÷ $16.99 = 0.02]
On average, the workers’ wages would
amount to just 1.6 percent of the baseball’s
retail price. [$0.28 ÷ $16.99 = 0.01648]
So, if Rawlings would double the workers’
wages so they could live with a modicum of
decency, it would add just 28 cents to the
direct cost to sew the professional baseball.
Under this scenario of decency, the direct cost to sew the ball would now be 56 cents, or just
over three percent of the ball’s retail price [$0.56 ÷ $16.99 = 0.03296]. It would be quite
possible to do this without bankrupting Major League baseball, or the Rawlings Company.
The legal minimum wage in Costa Rica is $1.11 an hour. Like in the United States and
elsewhere, this minimum wage is meant as an absolute floor beneath which a company cannot
go. It is not meant as an average, or anywhere near a living wage.
What is so disturbing is that the average take-home wage of a Rawlings worker sewing
Major League baseballs is just one cent an hour above the floor or minimum wage in Costa
Rica. This would be analogous to a U.S. wage of $5.16 an hour [U.S. minimum wage is $5.15
an hour], or $10,732.80 a year. The average size family in the town of Turrialba – where the
Rawlings plant is located – is 4.1 members. Can you imagine what it would be like raising a
family in the U.S. on $10,732.80 a year? This is essentially what the Major League owners are
asking their Costa Rican workers to do. It is unjust.
This is why the number one complaint at the Rawlings baseball factory is the low wages. The
workers feel cheated. As one worker put it: “We kill ourselves for nothing and they do not
pay us very well.” Another worker explained, “Work at the factory is very tough…it is a lot
of sacrifice, and poorly paid…” “The wage is not just,” said another, “because we get paid
100 colones (25 cents) per ball and they currently sell those balls for up to 10,000 colones
($24.72).”
The average professional baseball worker at the Rawlings plant in Costa Rica, paid just 28
cents for each ball they sew, would have to sew 56,658 balls—which would take nearly
seven years—to earn what the average Major League player does in a single game, which is
$15,864.19. A Rawlings worker would have to sew 60,357,143 balls to earn what Sammy Sosa
does in a year.
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In just two shipments in June of 2003,
the Rawlings plant in Costa Rica shipped
$312,606 worth of baseballs and garments
to the U.S.
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Page 1
AMS Bill of Lading Detail
9/17/2003
Source: AMS Database
Shipper
RAWLINGS DE COSTA RICA
ADTO 212-7150 TURRIALBA
CARTAGO
CR
Consignee
RAWLINGS SPORTING GOODS CO.
P.O. BOX 22000
ST. LOUIS MO 631260000
US
Notify Party
ORDER
Packaging Information
Weight:
Measurements:
Quantity:
TEU's:
Shipment Detail
Carrier: UPOF - CROWLEY LINER SERVICES
Vessel: CROWLEY AMBASSADOR
Voyage: 329
B/L:
UPOF610000297270
Pre Carrier:
TURRIALBA, CR
Lloyd's Code:
7920390
Inbond Code:
61
Estimated Value: $ 154,423.00
8438 KG
754 PIECE
2.05
Country of Origin: COSTA RICA
Coastal Region:
EAST
US Port: 5203
PT EVERGLADES
PT LIMON
For Port: 22313
US Dest: ST LOUIS
For Dest:
Mode of Transport: 11
06/20/2003
Arrival Date:
AMS Commodities
Container
TGHU7563111
Qty
754
Description
TOTAL 754 PIECES
587 PIECES WITH BASEBALLS
166 PIECES WITH CLOTHING/SPORTING
1 PIECE WITH PLASTIC CONES (YARN)
PIERS Commodities
Qty
166
1
Units
PCS
PCS
Commodity Description
CLOTHING SPORTING
PLASTIC CONES
CONTAINER CARGO
Harm Code
621149
392690
009669
JOC Code
3830000
7746000
9669000
Note: Bills of lading that contain multiple commodities will list the total weight and TEU's for the entire bill of lading
26 of 60
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What The Major League Baseball Owners
Do Not Want You To Hear
More Rawlings Workers Dare To Speak Out
! Forced overtime, some 19-hour shifts stretching from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. the following
day;
! $1.00 an hour wages;
! Thinners splash into eyes, hands burned, burned with silk screening iron;
! Many workers kept as temps with no legal rights, fired and rehired every three months;
! Bathrooms locked… workers can go once, twice, or at the most, three times a day;
! Extreme heat… “sweating a lot all day;”
! Speaking prohibited;
! Tense atmosphere… pressured a lot to work faster, fired very easily;
! For making a mistake you can be suspended without pay for five days;
! Even on Saturdays, which are not part of the regular workweek, workers must be on standby
and keep their schedules clear just in case a shipment comes in. The bosses “think they are
who they are…the ones that control.”
! Advancement almost impossible;
! “Sometimes one feels like in jail.” “They would like for you to be a slave.”
! “We kill ourselves for nothing and they do not pay us very well.”
! Workers have no voice;
! To organize is not permitted - they would close the plant and fire everyone.
Worker “B” is an operator in the silk screening
department
“Many operators, including the seamstresses that stitch baseballs, have arms that are
dislocated, with tears…”
“I am a silk screener. It is a job where one does not sit down. It is a job where you enter at 7:00
a.m., turn on your machine, ask for your supplies—the paints, the fabrics, the orders—and work
until 5:30 p.m., at times it extends into 8:30 to 9:30 to 10:00 p.m., on your feet all day at work. “My hands are often burned and at times thinner splashes into my eyes-and at times I burn
myself with the iron. Today I burned myself with the silk screening iron-pretty normal.
“Lately they are very strict, it seems to me that they are letting workers stay less than three
months and they fire them—and they hire new people, it seems to me that that is what is
happening.
“…the person that is supervising pressures the workers too much…
“…it is very hot because there are ovens—there are no fans—and sometimes they do not give
permission to go out and get water.
“…it is very difficult for a worker to receive any attention in such a large place, in a company so
big, perhaps they will listen, but more likely, at times, it could be a problem for oneself because
there is no liberty of expression here.
“… [permission to use the bathroom] always depends on the supervisor’s mood, but say, four or
five times, no. Perhaps one or two times a day, or three at most…
27 of 60
“Rawlings is a place where there is a lot of money. And, well, basically they are the ones in
charge. Sure, workers have a “voice and a vote,” but who knows in what country.
“To work at the factory is very tough. It is something very tough, it is a lot of sacrifice and
poorly paid—poorly paid economically and from a human point of view as well. Socially,
the bosses…are people who do not know how to treat an employee. For them, they are
employees… while they use them all week, it is like a machine, they are unable to understand
that they get injured.”
(Full transcripts of the interviews with all these workers are at the end of the report.)
Worker “C” is a warehouse employee
“We go in at 7:00 a.m. and we leave at 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m., but in heavy times, we are there at
7:00 a.m., of one day, and leave at 1:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. the next day and one has to go in again
at 7:00 a.m.
“As they tell you, ‘If you do not want to do your work, there are 20 to 25 to 30 or 50 people
behind that are hoping for a wage, if you do not like the wage, well you know where you
came from’.
“…they fire people very easily.
“I made a mistake and they suspended me for five days without pay.
“…so the temperature there is high and we really sweat a lot while we work, one gets really
dehydrated.
“…our bosses have instilled in us that the higher up bosses do not like that one be speaking.
“And so what happens, perhaps because of the hours they have there and I cannot go because
they [the bathrooms] are locked for a certain period, so one has to be holding it…two hours
open, two hours closed.
“And so this happened at work, not even two days before completing three months—upon
completing three months I would acquire all the rights by law —and two days before [the
three months were up and he would become a legal employee with rights] they fired me,
and so it is dirty, and so they fired me… They give me a piece of garbage [as the reason] for
the firing and it wasn’t in two days that they call me in again, but on the same day they hire
me again. And so, one signs, one signs a personnel thing, I continue to work another three
months with the initial wage . . . and they do it to many people. [Kept as a temporary
worker with no rights, fired and rehired every three months.]
“Well, that [forming a union] would be the magic wand, let us say it like that, but those
people… You go to these people and you put in a union and fifteen days later they declare
bankruptcy and on that day we arrive to work and what is there in place of that plant? It
is a vacant lot, like what happened here in Guapiles, where everybody left and they came back to
work the next day and the machines were not there—everything had been collected in one of
those containers at dawn and there were not even newspapers on the ground, right, they took
everything. Like I tell you, that would be a problem.
“I’m studying here at the regional but by chance something happened to me with a fellow student
that really depresses you, it bothers you, because we had a biology exam and it was a
Saturday and you do not work Saturdays so the week prior we asked for permission, since
28 of 60
it has to be eight days before for a situation like that, and they told us no, that they could
not give us permission.
‘But why, if we do not work on Saturdays,’ we told them. ‘No because some type of cargo could
arrive late on Friday and it must get unloaded promptly Saturday.’ In other words, if the cargo
arrives you miss the exam, if the cargo does not arrive, well, I was going to take the exam.
Thank god that the cargo did not arrive and… I passed the biology exam.”
Worker “D” is a warehouse employee
“We do have lots of overtime hours, let us say that at times many shipments go late and we work
Saturdays, sometimes Sundays, and we work a lot at night…and depending on the shipments,
and depending on the demand, because there are weeks we enter at 7:00 a.m. and leave at 10:00
p.m. everyday…
“Yes, there is plenty of risk because, at least the fabric is stacked at double height, at triple
height, let us say, at some 50-65 feet of height and we have to scramble to lower the fabrics, or
unloading trucks and machines that come, for all of the machines, and one has to use lifts and we
have to be moving them with chains and at any moment one could fall and it would fall on a leg
and, yes, we have a lot of risk.
“ . . . it is too true—they easily replace you.”
“. . . at the warehouse there are lamps that are on all day, and it fires up the heat more and the
material is very packed so we do not have much ventilation.”
“What I do not like is the wage. We kill ourselves for nothing and they do not pay us very
well, let us say it like that.”
“I would [like a union]. A union that fights for the well-being of all of the employees
because in reality, there are no unions there—they are not permitted supposedly, but it is
needed because unfortunately the human resource boss does not help you in anything.”
Worker “E” is another warehouse employee
“… At least this week, eight containers had to arrive for unloading and they did not arrive, thank
god. But one arrives tomorrow and there are some that stay and others that do not…and
supposedly on Monday, since the rest arrive, which are larger, then we’ll all have to stay.”
“We do have overtime and they pay it at 5 ½, that is to say on the basis of the wages, that is to
say one earns more or less between 400 and 420 per hour ($.99 to $1.04).”
“…One does make contact [with thinner] because one has to distribute it because that is done at
the warehouse—one has to pour it in gallon jugs, take it to the departments, but, that is to say, it
is little—it is not like one is bathing in thinner.”
“They do lock the bathrooms…”
“At times it gets hot, but there are fans, but fans that trap all of the same heat inside.”
29 of 60
“…At times…things are done that are not just, that one sees are not just, like with the
permissions for absence, that is to say, at times perhaps, they have you spend the whole week
working until 10:00 p.m. and if you use Saturday to do some personal errand, they tell you
no because there are probabilities that a shipment will arrive, which perhaps may not
arrive and it is nothing fixed, but you have to put aside a day for work, and so there are
things that do not happen.”
“…There are days that one has to stay late, one has to sacrifice a lot at times. It is too small a
wage to earn [considering] what one does there. But really, if one goes ahead and tells them
that, and they do not accept it—because they give themselves the luxury that they are who
they are, they are the ones that control.”
“It [a union] would have to be something very large because here, at this company, it is
screwed up, that is to say, for me to be able to, that is to say because I go and right when I
am scarcely beginning and if I join [the union] they fire me. It [the union] would have to be
something that comes with weight, that already brings real consequences. Because the way it is
now, this idea of making a union, well, no, we’d leave on our tails.”
“…sometimes one does not have time [to study] because one has to stay late, but since it is not
consistent, so it is also difficult.”
“…it becomes difficult for me to advance, that is to say, much of it is luck—a lot of obstacles
and praying to god.”
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Employee “F” is an office worker in the
Administrative Department
“When I arrived, the production was very behind, there was a lot of work—too much work—and
I worked Saturdays and worked during the weekdays until late—and we worked until 10:00 p.m.
at night…”
“Sometimes there is a lot of tension because they ask too much—sometimes more than the others
can give…”
“I would ask that they let you work in peace—that they allow you to be yourself because, there,
sometimes one feels like in jail. You cannot receive one phone call, one cannot make a phone
call—I cannot use my cell.”
“If lunch is from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m., if I leave before 12 someone might report me to
human resources. They could report me, and they suspend me. …It is just that I would go down
before 12 p.m. from the office to punch out at 12 p.m. on the dot…They sent me a little note
there, by email, that the office schedule is this, and that if it is not met they reprimand you.”
“Not that either [speaking during work hours].”
“…but they imprison you. They would like for you to be a slave and no, one has a family.
And so, one cannot be a slave, they only want one to stay every day until 10:00 p.m.
working, so no. They know that one wants to work and I want a salary, but I also have my
children, my home, my husband and all.”
31 of 60
What should be done
•
•
•
•
•
Major League Baseball should immediately adopt internationally recognized
worker rights standards and effective enforcement mechanisms, as a core condition
governing all of its product sourcing and licensing agreements.
The Major League Players Association should do the same.
The Players Association and the Major League owners should work together with
Rawlings to address at least the following issues:
- ASPEROLA* a highly-respected Costa Rican non-governmental organization and
expert on Central American labor issues, should be asked to conduct an
independent occupational health and safety review to assess current factory
baseball sewing practices for potential repetitive motion hazards, and to outline
whatever appropriate corrective steps should be taken. Of course, repetitive
motion injuries should be treated as work related and compensated accordingly.
- Bathrooms should be immediately unlocked. Workers should have free access to
the bathrooms and drinking water. Also, Rawlings should address excessive heat
and noise levels.
- Overtime must be voluntary, and the unreasonable practice of requiring workers
to seek management’s permission to attend school, take an exam, or go on a
family outing on Saturday –which is a day off – must be ended.
- Rawlings should end the growing practice of hiring workers on a temporary basis
and firing them before three months have elapsed – which means the workers
never gain their legal rights or benefits – only to rehire many of them again, to
repeat the same process.
- Representatives of the Players Association, especially, should work with
Rawlings’ management to guarantee that the baseball workers are fully aware that
they in fact have the legal rights to freedom of association, to organize an
independent union, and to bargain collectively without fear of firings or facing
any other form of reprisal. A first positive step in this direction should be to
invite ASEPROLA into the factory to conduct several popular assemblies with the
workers to acquaint them with their legal rights.
Of course, Rawlings must respect the workers’ right to organize.
If Major League Baseball owners and the Players’ Association want to regain the
confidence of the American people that their products are not being made under
sweatshop conditions violating basic human and worker rights standards, they should
publicly disclose the names and addresses of the factories they use around the world to
make the goods we buy. That would be one simple concrete step the owners and players
could take to assure the American people that they have nothing to hide.
*ASEPROLA: Asociasion Servicios de Promocion Laboral
(Labor Advocacy Services Association)
32 of 60
Rawlings forms a “Solidarista Association”
The employers present “Solidarista Associations” as a new way, as a “direct agreement” between
management and workers to regulate their relations without the interference of outside, or third
parties, such as unions.
In 1992, Rawlings established a Solidarista
Association at their plant. At the time, top-level
There are 188 maquila, or export managers, even including the General Manager of the
assembly, factories in Costa Rica, factory, could be on the Board of Directors of the
Association. That is no longer permitted, but the
yet there is not one single union
board is still chosen by management.
in any of these factories.
Solidarista Associations create the image that workers
are receiving matching benefits from the company. In
Costa Rica, as is the case in other Central American countries, all companies are required by law
to set aside a severance fund, a “Cesantia Laboral”. The fund must have on hand at least a
portion of the severance pay owed the workers, should there be mass layoffs, or the plant closes.
So while the workers are contributing three to six percent of their own wages to the Solidarista
Association, the so-called “matching contribution” is not what it appears, since the company is
drawing from this severance fund, which is really the workers’ money. The company is not
contributing any new money out of its pocket.
33 of 60
(Solidarista Association Law # 6070; Article # 18: “The monthly fee from the employer in favor
of the affiliated workers will be determined by common agreement accordant to the Solidarista
principles . . . The amount collected in this concept, will be considered as part of the fund for
severance pay in benefit of the workers.”)
Solidarista Associations do in fact help workers save money, and this is perhaps their most
important function. Members also receive certain subsidies, such as a free lunch coupons at
Rawlings cafeteria worth 37 cents. The Association makes soft loans easily and quickly
available, and allows members to purchase goods, like TVs, at the Association’s store on credit.
However, products purchased through the Association tend to cost at least 10 percent more than
those available in the local stores. What Solidarista Associations do not deal with is the
following:
-
Production goals / piece rates / wages;
Contracts / hiring and firing / grievances;
Overtime;
Health and safety;
Social security / social benefits / sick days / maternity issues / accidents.
In December 1988, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) placed
a denunciation against the Government of Costa Rica before the International Labor
Rights Organization (ILO), stating that Solidarista Associations interfere with activities
which are strictly within the proper scope of unions. Solidarista Associations, which
clearly are not under the control of the workers, are also violating the principles of
autonomy and independence of worker organizations which are guaranteed under ILO
Conventions 87 and 98.
In 1991, the ILO recommended to the Government of Costa Rica that it do more to protect the
workers’ fundamental right to freedom of association, especially in providing legal protection to
union leaders and organizers to prevent discrimination and reprisals by management.
However, as we have seen, the Costa Rican government has not
been very effective – as there is still not one single union in any
of the country’s 188 maquila factories.
‘
At the Rawlings plant the workers were very clear. If they ever attempted to organize a union,
they would be illegally fired on the spot. And if they were ever somehow successful, Rawlings
would shut the plant down and move to a place like China.
To date, the Rawlings workers have no voice. Only Rawlings management gets to speak.
34 of 60
Contact:
Allan H. “Bud” Selig
Major League Baseball Commissioner
245 Park Ave.
New York, NY 10167
Ph: 212 931 7800
Fax: 212 949 8636
Richard J Heckman
Chairman of the Board and CEO
K2 Inc.
4900 South Eastern Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90040
Phone: (323) 724-2800
Fax: (323) 724-0470
Donald Fehr
Executive Director
Major League Baseball Players Association
12 E. 49th St., 24th Fl.
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212-826-0808
Fax: 212-752-4378
35 of 60
U.S. Customs data shows
Diamond Baseballs made
in China shipped to Los
Angeles arriving with a
landed customs value of
just 88 cents each.
This 88 cents would
represent the total
production cost of the
baseball—all materials,
direct and indirect labor.
Shipping, and profit to the
factory in China.
36 of 60
Page 1
AMS Bill of Lading Detail
9/17/2003
Source: AMS Database
Shipper
UTIMATE FREIGHT MANAGEMENT S/C NO
O/B SEA TOP SHIPPING LTD
Consignee
ALL WORLD LOCISTICS
11200 SOUTH HINDRY AVENUE,UNIT D LO
S ANGELES, CA 90045TEL:310-337-3191
Notify Party
SAME AS CONSIGNEE
NOT AVAILABLE
Packaging Information
Weight:
Measurements:
Quantity:
TEU's:
Shipment Detail
Carrier: KHSP - KIEN HUNG SHIPPING
Vessel: FREEDOM CONTAINER
Voyage: 204E
B/L:
KHSPHKLB20938
Pre Carrier:
HONG KONG
Lloyd's Code:
9143104
Inbond Code:
Estimated Value: $ 252,327.00
Country of Origin:
Coastal Region:
US Port: 2709
For Port: 58201
US Dest:
For Dest:
Mode of Transport:
Arrival Date:
38587 K
226 CM
1755 CTN
4.00
PEOPLES REP OF CHINA
WEST
LONG BEACH
HONG KONG
10
11/18/2002
AMS Commodities
Container
CLHU4196275
Qty
900
Description
1755 CTNS ORDER NO.A-US I
(O1BE1A) 17550DZ
BASEBALLS
ORDER NO.11BA3 BB 400 DZ BAS
EBALLS
ORDER NO.A-US II 6000 DZ BAS
EBALLS
"NO SOLID WOOD PACKING MATER
IALS PACKAGING USED"
"MERCHANT AGREES, IN CONSIDE
RING THE LABOR
DISRUPTION AND ITS CONSEQUEN
CE ON THE U.S.
WEST COAST, GOODS MAY BE DIS
CHARGED AT ANY
PORT OR PLACE, FOR WHICH THE
CARRIER MAY DEEM
CONVIENT, AT MERCHANT'S COST
AND RISK AND THE
CARRY DEEMS TO BE TERMINATED
AT SUCH PORT OR
PLACE."
Note: Bills of lading that contain multiple commodities will list the total weight and TEU's for the entire bill of lading
37 of 60
This listing contains information which is the property of the Journal of Commerce. It is provided for the exclusive use of our clients in accordance with our purchase agreement. It may
not be sold or released for the benefit of a third party. Journal of Commerce Two World Trade Center 27th Floor New York, NY 10048
Page 2
AMS Bill of Lading Detail
9/17/2003
Source: AMS Database
TTNU9729769
855
TTNU9729769 40'JM
40' JUMBO INSUBSITUTION OF 4
0'GP
1755 CTNS ORDER NO.A-US I
(O1BE1A) 17550DZ
BASEBALLS
ORDER NO.11BA3 BB 400 DZ BAS
EBALLS
ORDER NO.A-US II 6000 DZ BAS
EBALLS
"NO SOLID WOOD PACKING MATER
IALS PACKAGING USED"
"MERCHANT AGREES, IN CONSIDE
RING THE LABOR
Marks & Numbers
Container
CLHU4196275
Marks & Numbers
DIAMOND
LOS ANGELES
C NO.
1-855,4356-5255
,
1-200,1-600
MADE IN CHINA
NO MARKS
NO MARKS
NO MARKS
1-200,1-600
MADE IN CHINA
NO MARKS
NO MARKS
NO MARKS
PIERS Commodities
Qty
1755
Units
CTN
Commodity Description
BASEBALLS
Harm Code
950669
JOC Code
735200C
Note: Bills of lading that contain multiple commodities will list the total weight and TEU's for the entire bill of lading
38 of 60
This listing contains information which is the property of the Journal of Commerce. It is provided for the exclusive use of our clients in accordance with our purchase agreement. It may
not be sold or released for the benefit of a third party. Journal of Commerce Two World Trade Center 27th Floor New York, NY 10048
ASEPROLA
Asociasion Servicios de Promocion Laboral
Mission Statement
ASEPROLA is a Central American institution providing services in the realm of labor issues.
Founded in 1985, it has as its goal capacity building of salaried workers in the formal sector and
-- along with the organizations that represent them-- to defend and promote the full exercise of
their rights in the social sphere, particularly those related to work.
We develop and strengthen the capacities of salaried workers through research, training,
advising and communications; from the vantage point of development accompanied by
social and gender justice. The fostering of alliances with like minded organizations and
institutions, generation of diversified funding and the decentralized execution of our
efforts, are the principal elements of the strategy for consolidating the institution and
giving force to our efforts.
Focus on Social and Gender Justice
At the core of the work undertaken by ASEPROLA through the years has been the
concept of social justice.
Social justice is expressed as access, control and enjoyment of social goods which are
essential to a dignified life, including capital, property, education, health, and work -- in
an equal and equitable manner for the women and men who make up our society. We
define justice as the act of giving to each that which s/he deserves and that which pertains
to them.
ASEPROLA wants to contribute to the eradication of inequalities experienced by men
and women in the sphere of work. To this end, it utilizes the knowledge accumulated
institutionally in the salaried sector, trade unions, NGOs and organizations focused on
development issues.
The focus on gender permits the recognition of the differing situations of women and
men of varying ages, ethnic groups and nationalities and their organizations in the
workplace, sharpening the ability to carry out diagnoses and develop adequate strategies.
The focus on social justice centers our efforts on the pursuit of human rights, especially
those related to work, enabling workers capacity to organize.
The participation of women and men in the world of work should offer them rights and
obligations as well as equitable access to the wealth which they produce; which is firstly
expressed in the right to a salary which permits them to satisfy their needs and maintain
or improve the quality of their lives and of those of their families.
The possibility of achieving a dignified quality of life for all persons is possible to the
extent that we build a development model based on justice, equity, cooperation and a
harmonious relationship with nature. Work in Central America is conditioned by social,
39 of 60
political and economic tendencies. Substantial modifications in the work sphere impose
requirements in other arenas. For this reason, we understand that our work should be
articulated with those who wager on a development model so conceived, in other spheres
of action.
ASEPROLA: Asociasion Servicios de Promocion Laboral
(Labor Advocacy Services Association)
Apartado Postal 583 Guadalupe
Guadalupe, El Alto, 100m este de la clinica Jerusalem
San Jose, Costa Rica
Phone: (506) 285-1344
Fax: (506) 285-2196
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.aseprola.org/
Omar Salazar Alvarado, Director
40 of 60
Major League Baseball Company Profile
245 Park Ave.
New York, NY 10167
Ph: 212 931 7800
Fax: 212 949 8636
Each of the 30 professional teams operates as a separate business but is regulated and governed
by MLB. The league sets official rules, regulates team ownership, and collects licensing fees for
merchandise. It also sells national broadcasting rights and distributes fees to the teams. (Regional
broadcasting rights are held by each franchise).
In 2000, MLB signed a six-year broadcasting deal with Fox for 2.5 billion dollars. That same
year, they also signed a six-year deal with ESPN for 800 million dollars.
Executives
Commissioner: Allan H. “Bud” Selig
President and COO: Robert A. Dupuy
EVP Administration: John McHale
EVP Baseball Operations: Sandy Alderson
EVP Business: Timothy J. Brosnan
EVP Labor and Human Resources: Rob Manfred
SVP International Business Operations: Paul Archey
VP Domestic Apparel Licensing, Headwear, and Sporting Goods: Steve Armus
MLB Revenues
2001 Sales were 3.5 billion dollars
Individual Teams: Payrolls for 2003 Season
Team Payrolls
1. NY Yankees
$164 million
2. NY Mets
$120 million
3. Los AngelesDodgers
$100 million
3. Texas Rangers
$100 million
5. Boston Red Sox
$97 million
6. Arizona D'backs
$94 million
7. Atlanta Braves
$93 million
8. Seattle Mariners
$92 million
9. San Francisco Giants
$80 million
9. St. Louis Cardinals
$80 million
41 of 60
11. Anaheim Angels
$76 million
12. Chicago Cubs
$75 million
13. Philadelphia Phillies
$73 million
14. Houston Astros
$65 million
15. Colorado Rockies
$60 million
16. Minnesota Twins
$56 million
17. Detroit Tigers
$56 million
18. Cincinnati Reds
$55 million
19. Chicago White Sox
$54 million
20. Toronto Blue Jays
$53 million
21. Pittsburgh Pirates
$52 million
22. Cleveland Indians
$51 million
23. Oakland A's
$50 million
24. Baltimore Orioles
$ 49 million
25. Florida Marlins
$48 million
26. San Diego Padres
$ 43 million
26. Milwaukee Brewers
$ 43 million
28. Montreal Expos
$42 million
29. Kansas City Royals
$ 42 million
30. Tampa Bay Devil Rays $ 28.5 million
Total MLB Player Payroll:
Average Annual Salary of a MLB player:
Average per game salary for a MLB player:
$1,881,500,000
$2.57 million
$15,864.19
Highest paid players (2003)
Alex RodriguezCarlos Delgado –
Manny Ramirez
Mo Vaughn
Sammy Sosa
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays:
Boston Red Sox
NY Mets
Chicago Cubs
$22 Million
$18.7 million
17.2 million
$17.2 million
$16.9 million
Team Valuations (From Forbes Magazine)
1. NY Yankees
849 Million
Principal Owner: George Steinbrenner
2. NY Mets
498 Million
Principal Owner: Fred Wilpon
42 of 60
3. Boston Red Sox
488 Million
Principal Owner: John Henry and Tom
Werner
4. LA Dodgers
449 Million
Owner: New Corp. (Rupert Murdoch)
5. Atlanta Braves
423 Million
Owner: AOL-Time Warner
6. Seattle Mariners
385 Million
Owner: Hiroshi Yamauchi
7. SF Giants
382 Million
Owners Peter Magowan and Harmon Burns
8. Chicago Cubs
335 Million
Owner: Tribune Company
9. Texas Rangers
332 Million
Owner: Thomas Hicks
10. Cleveland Indians
331 Million
Owner: Lawrence Dolan
11. Houston Astros
327 Million
Owner: Robert McLane Jr.
12. Baltimore Orioles
310 Million
Owner Peter Angelos (Former Labor
Lawyer)
13. St. Louis Cardinals
308 Million
Owner William DeWitt Jr
14. Colorado Rockies
304 Million
Owner: Jerry McMorris and Charlie
Monfort
15. Arizona Diamondbacks 269 million
Owner: Jerry Colangelo
16. Philadelphia Phillies
239 Million
Owner: Bill Giles and David Montgomery
17. Detroit Tigers
237 Million
Owner: Michael Illitch
18. Chicago White Sox
233 Million
Owner: Jerry Reinsdorf
19. San Diego Padres
226 Million
Owner: John Moores
20. Anaheim Angels
225 Million
Owner: Arturo Moreno
21. Pittsburgh Pirates
224 Million
Owner: Kevin McClatchy
22. Cincinnati Reds
223 Million
Owner: Carl Lindner
23. Milwaukee Brewers
206 Million
Owner: Allan Selig Trust
24. Oakland Athletics
172 Million
Owner: Steve Schott and Ken Hoffman
25. Toronto Blue Jays
166 Million
Owner: Rogers Communications
26. KC Royals
153 Million
Owner David Glass (former Wal-Mart CEO)
27. Minnesota Twins
148 Million
Owner: Carl Pohlad
28. Tampa Bay Devil Rays 145 Million
Owner: Vincent Naimoli
29. Florida Marlins
136 Million
Owner: Jeffrey Loria
30. Montreal Expos
113 Million
Owner: Major League Baseball
Combined Value of MLB teams:
Average Value of a MLB team.
$8,942,000,000
$298 Million
43 of 60
Page 1 of 2
Sporting Goods Business
June, 2002
Fake Out
By Matthew Herek
In the shadowy world of counterfeiting, imitation that is neither sincere nor flattering is costing the
industry dollars and credibility.
Every year, the pirates' season lasts 12 months. Not Pittsburgh's baseball team, but the criminals who
operate counterfeiting rings and steal business from you. Some are sophisticated, intelligent rogues who
use the latest, fastest computers and technology to administer multinational conglomerates. Others run
crude operations from the backs of cargo vans or rundown apartments.
Without a doubt, counterfeiting is a nationwide problem. The United States Customs Service calculates
that counterfeit apparel makes up about 25 percent of its seizures, and the agency estimates that
counterfeit products have cost the U.S. economy more than 750,000 jobs in the past decade.
Companies lose more than customers to counterfeiters; they lose credibility when the legitimate
manufacturers and retail businesses that follow strict standards ensuring the durability and quality of
their products are called into question. Misspelled names and shoddy workmanship are just two
examples of the ways counterfeiters can damage consumers' perception of legitimate businesses.
Many agencies, public and private, are devoted to protecting vendors, trademark holders, retail
businesses and consumers from falling prey to counterfeiters. One of the most visible organizations is
CAPS, the Coalition to Advance the Protection of Sports logos. Founded in 1992, CAPS is an
affiliation of the Collegiate Licensing Company, Major League Baseball Properties, NBA Properties,
NFL Properties and NHL Enterprises, which are devoted to working together with law enforcement
agencies to protect member rights against counterfeiters.
Bruce Siegal, SVP, general counsel for the CLC and founding member of CAPS, says that in 2001
CAPS participated in 136 collective enforcement actions in 12 states which led to 531 arrests and
seizures of more than 250,000 items of product. Working in conjunction with local law enforcement,
CAPS officials conducted a major seizure at the 2002 Rose Bowl. In addition to the 5,000-plus pieces
of product seized, Siegal says officials discovered a large production facility in South Central Los
Angeles where equipment, including screen printing presses and heaters for drying, was confiscated. In
addition to pirating hot market Rose Bowl product, this factory, Siegal says, was also producing
counterfeit merchandise for the professional leagues.
But counterfeiters pilfer much more than the licensed product of the sports leagues. According to
44 of 60
Page 2 of 2
Michael Kessler, president of Kessler International, a forensic accounting and investigative consulting
firm in New York, counterfeiters target market items with the highest demand. "Some of these people
are sophisticated enough to operate on a seasonal basis just like retail stores," Kessler says. "They'll
have coats for winter and golf clubs for the warmer months."
Kessler notes that the most sophisticated counterfeiters are highly versatile and operate across myriad
industries. "Guys doing fragrances today might be doing pharmaceuticals tomorrow and T-shirts the
next day," he says. Other advanced counterfeiters beguile the market by becoming specialists in
specific labels and brands or particular fabrics like denim or fleece.
Up and down the manufacturing and supply chain, the sporting goods industry is susceptible to
counterfeiting, but possibly the most vulnerable area is in overseas, outsourced manufacturing.
"When there is a factor of risk that a product may be susceptible to counterfeiters, multiply that factor
tenfold when you take outsourcing into account," Kessler says. "When a factory employee making $8 a
week can get a $50,000 score if he steals a dye or a mold and has it back by the next morning, what do
you expect him to do?"
Counterfeit manufacturers often do not work alone. Kessler says he has worked cases where buyers
who are on the take will "salt " product, mixing counterfeit items with legitimate merchandise. For
example, unscrupulous buyers may buy complete sets of name brand golf clubs as well as complete sets
of counterfeit clubs, mix them together ("salt"), and get them to retail shelves.
"The smart criminals are always a step ahead of the manufacturers and law enforcement," Kessler
observes. "There is a lot of money in counterfeiting and where there is this much money, there is brains
and power."
In order to combat these sophisticated criminals, Kessler says law enforcement personnel must be made
to perceive counterfeiting as a major problem. Too often, counterfeiting is perceived as a victimless
crime that only harms large, faceless corporations and as a result, law enforcement is unwilling to
police the problem. Consequently, Kessler encourages manufacturers and retailers to form alliances that
press for new legislation as well as encourage law enforcement to be more proactive enforcing laws
already on the books.
The lobbying efforts are making some gains. According to Siegal, lobbying by CAPS and the IACC has
helped put felony counterfeiting penalties on the books in 30 states. Prior to 1992, there was not a
single felony anti-counterfeiting law in effect. (Apparel)
45 of 60
.
Full Worker Transcripts
Worker ‘B’ is an operator in the silk screening
department
What is your position at Rawlings?
I am an operator, I am a silk screener - this consists of imprinting on fabrics the numbers,
or the letters . . . the logos that are to be stitched on textiles.
How much time do you spend on the job?
Ten hours, sometimes 14 depending on the order. If the order is small and we succeed in
getting it out so it can be exported now, then one works the 10 hours, but if not, one has
to work overtime.
Do you feel tired? Is the work difficult?
Yes, of course, because it is a job where one does not sit down. It is a job where you
enter at 7 am, turn on your machine, ask for your supplies - the paint, the fabrics, the
orders and work until 5:30, at times it extends into 8:30 – 9:00 – 10:00 – on you feet all
day at work.
You arrive home tired?
Very tired.
Do you have anytime to rest?
During the night, maybe, because when I get home my little girl is there, maybe from 11
pm to 5 a.m. it could be.
What is the real salary that you get there?
I earn seventeen-thousand (US$ 42.02) net - they take off a little more than one thousand
for insurance, so I get 18 (US$ 44.49).
Do you think that today people can get overwhelmed after a certain amount of time of
work?
Many operators, including the seamstresses that stitch baseballs, have arms that are
dislocated, with tears, so they change their job, they move them to another department –
they send them to textiles or keep them standing to employ other workers more easily or
less tired for them.
According to what you have just said, how long does a worker last? A month? Days?
Years?
Lately they are very strict, it seems to me that they are letting workers stay less than
three months and they fire them – and they hire new people, it seems to me that that
is what is happening.
46 of 60
Is there a risk of being injured with the machine that you use? Cuts on the fingers?
Well, I use a lot of thinner – on my hands, you can see that my finger nails are black,
blue, and at times yellow because the paint seeps in and I have to keep using a lot of
thinner. My hands are often burned and at times thinner splashes into my eyes – and
at times I burn myself with the iron. Today I burned myself with the silk screening
iron - pretty normal.
Do you have to use any type of protection?
We, the printers, do not. Only the people in the silk screening department that is called
“cleaning the frames.” It is called the dark room where they develop the frames, the
images that go on the shirts - there they use protective gear. We use neither gloves, nor
goggles, nor coats. Coats have not been given to us, but I, from my past job, have mine.
But I still get too dirty, that is, all of my clothing – my pants, my face because paint
stains.
In your opinion, is the atmosphere at the factory tense or relaxed?
It is tense.
And you, do you feel safe or do you feel like you could lose your job or do you feel like
you will stay there permanently?
Well, I already believe that there is no job where one can stay permanently, there is
always insecurity because the person that is supervising pressures the workers too much
and there is always the saying that first, before they cut off his head, he will cut everyone
else’s so that he will not get fired – everyone leaves except for him.
The temperature in which you work . . .
It is hot. The silk screening department is very small because it is a warehouse where
they store the fabrics on movable platforms. There are many movable platforms and the
printing machines are against the wall and there are like two printing machines, two
operators, plus those that bring the paints and all the rest, and it is very hot because there
are ovens – there are no fans in there.
And you, while you work . . .
Yes, yes, of course and sometimes they do not give permission to go out and get water.
If you wanted some improvements in the factory, what would you ask for?
Really nothing because it is very difficult for a worker to receive any attention in such a
large place, in a company so big, perhaps they will listen, but more likely, at times, it
could be a problem for oneself because there is no liberty of expression here.
And you, can you speak with your co-workers while you work?
No, you cannot. Yes, I do it and it is done, but you cannot speak.
Can you go to the bathroom as often as necessary?
Yes, the woman, let us say, when we have our situation, really the period, but it always
depends on the supervisor’s mood, but say, four or five times, no. Perhaps one or two
47 of 60
times a day, or three at most, because there are breaks, but they are 15 minutes in the
morning, 15 minutes in the afternoon, and 30 minutes during lunch and it is too little – in
reality you cannot arrive late, it is very strict, it is with a card that gets marked.
According to what I have heard, if one becomes takes sick leave there are some
consequences at the work place.
I have hurt my arm often, not dislocated it, but swollen from so much assembling and I
have never taken sick leave, but people do suffer from problems – and they get fired for
it.
And you, do you thing the wage is just, that is, the wage that you receive is actually just?
Well, no because for all I work I believe that 17 thousand colones (US$ 42.02) is very
low to support a family.
If you could connect with a union and have your rights . . .
Well, in truth, yes – you feel everything, but no. A union – I do not really understand
what that is, but I think it cannot do anything against so much money and it is a private
business. Rawlings is a place where there is a lot of money. And, well, basically they are
the ones in charge. Sure, workers have a “voice and a vote”, but who knows in what
country.
Does the factory schedule allow you to study at present?
No, I do not do it, but I think that they would not permit it – there are no chances because
there is no time.
Any final comments that you would like to say with respect to the time you have worked
at the factory?
Well, to work at the factory is very tough. It is something very tough, it is a lot of
sacrifice and poorly paid - poorly paid economically and from a human point of
view as well. Socially, the bosses are people who, if they had studied human resources they do not have, they do not have it. They are people that do not know how to treat an
employee. For them, they are employees, an operator that earns 17-18-20 (thousand
colones), while they use them all week, it is like a machine, they are unable to understand
that they get injured. Some people also do it, but out of 100 percent, maybe 40% of the
bosses. That is my thinking in reality, I do not know what the others think – that is what I
feel.
Worker ‘C’ is a warehouse employee:
What is the function that you carry out right now, what is your current position at
Rawlings?
I currently work at the warehouse, in the warehouse area.
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How much time do you spend at the factory per week or daily?
We go in at 7:00 a.m. and we leave at 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. but in heavy times, we are
there at 7:00 a.m. of one day and leave at 1:30 – 2:00 a.m. the next day and one has to go
in again at 7:00 a.m.
What is your current salary?
It is like 20,000 (US$ 49.44) approximately, gross right, with deductions.
20,000 per week?
Yes, per week.
Does this job include the minimum wage, overtime, incentives, subsidies, production
bonuses?
The extras are separate, so let us say 20 easily, from then forward we start with overtime.
Do you use any toxic materials there?
Dissolving thinner, right now we are emptying, taking out some type of leather, the ball
covers, from some containers and sometimes it contains some type of ajax and it affects
the eyes, and the nose, it irritates but it is not like that, well, up until now I think it has not
brought us harm.
They do not require that you use some mask, some protection?
Yes, but on the back, some belts that there are for exerting effort.
Do you use them?
I do not use them because, in addition the belt - it is true, the back is protected - but I was
speaking with a person and they told me that those belts squeeze you so much that what
they do inside the stomach, it just aggravates everything, it squeezes in such a manner
and if you use that 4 hours a day you will get to the point where that will harm you, and
no, it aggravates and all that, it squeezes you.
With regard to the factory atmosphere, do you think that it is tense – relaxed? Do you
feel secure? Do you feel that you could be easily replaced?
Yes, in any case I consider that there we are a number because here I lived, studied. As
they tell you, “If you do not want to do your work there are 20 – 25 –30 or 50 people
behind that are hoping for a wage, if you do not like the wage, well, you know where
you came from.” And there, at Rawlings, they do not tell you that up front, but they let
you know.
There they receive applications all the time, right?
Yes, sure, they have like a bank of applications. At any moment, nothing more than
having to increase production, they call up people. If they have to reduce it, they fire
people very easily.
And do you feel like you could be removed?
Yes, sure, they would remove me.
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How do you feel working? Do you feel like you are treated justly and with respect?
No, I would say that, no, because, say that one is like an employee of a level, say a social
level. Some have certain rights to certain things, others have rights to more thing and you
have to be part of a loop, right, and if you are not in the loop, daddy you better wake up
because if you do something that is not, “pow . . .”
And how does the loop have to be?
Yes, at least until a little while ago, 4 or 5 months. I made a mistake and they
suspended me for 5 days without pay. Other people do worse things, but since they are
inside the loop, right, protected by the cupola of that loop, protected by someone or by
some that are at the top.
With regard to the temperature, is it high at the place you work? Do you have fans?
There are fans in many zones, but in our area, more specifically, at the warehouse no
because they are not going to turn on some fans 10-12 hours daily, blowing air on the
boxes. We are not staying where those boxes are, but, let us say, we work in the whole
warehouse area. We do not have a defined spot to say that, “Here we work, put in fans
for us here.” And so the temperature there is high and we really sweat a lot while we
work, one gets really dehydrated - I drink a huge amount of water.
Can you speak with your co-workers while you work? Can you keep up communication
with them?
In some cases yes, other times even talking with the bosses themselves, the higher up
bosses look at you. That is, our bosses have instilled in us that the higher up bosses do no
like that one be speaking. For example, I could be talking with my boss about a matter
sitting down at a desk, perhaps, about how to do the inventory and the boss passes and
turns around and looks at me again, and because I am sitting down, perhaps they do not
like it. But if they come closer to the table, they’d see that you are working, trying to
figure out an inventory, to see how to begin, how to work in the best way. But, perhaps,
they view us negatively and do not understand that we are working even though we are
sitting for a while, so a little tension develops.
Can you go to the bathroom when necessary or do they regulate visits to the bathroom?
Yes, perhaps there I identify with that because there is a certain schedule and not all of us
have a body, let us say, with a schedule.
Yes, I was suffering from a urinary infection and they told me, the doctor told me, “How
often do you go to the bathroom?” And I told her, “so – so – and so . . .”
“Well, you have to do all that is possible to drink more water and go more often to the
bathroom. Because apparently some, I do not know what, calcium, was is coming the
urine, which is what happens before gall bladder stones.” And so what happens, perhaps
because of the hours they have there and I cannot go because they are locked for a certain
period, so one has to be holding it, and it provokes those off beats, let us say it like that.
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From what hour are they open and at what time are they closed?
For example, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:25 a.m. they are locked, and they open, they close at
9:00 a.m., so this is where I am going, if I get out at 9:00 a.m. to have a coffee, what do I
have to do? Leave what I am doing to leave before 9:00 a.m. to go do what is necessary
– I will explain myself. So, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:10 a.m., let us say, so from 10:10 to
11:10 it is open and from 11:10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. they close, that is to say every two
hours, two hours yes, two hours open, two hours closed.
With regard to wages, do you receive increases according to inflation or are you losing
something. Do they make the increases in accord with the law, in January and July, or
wage increases?
Well, until now, this, I have seen it and I would say that the increases are skimpy in truth
– they have made one very rich, perhaps had I been a higher-up at Rawlings, but no, it
just so happens that you, with these questions, have hit – have placed the finger on a
wound as it is said. “And so this happened at work, not even two days before
completing three months—upon completing three months I would acquire all the
rights by law —and two days before [the three months were up and he would
become a legal employee with rights] they fired me, and so it is dirty, and so they
fired me, very rich. They give me a piece of garbage [as the reason] for the firing
and it wasn’t in two days that they call me in again, but on the same day they hire
me again. And so, one signs, one signs a personnel thing, I continue to work another
three months with the initial wage and, great. You are the one that goes, let us say, by the
collar, now another three months working and upon completing those I had to speak with
my boss. I do not know if it was because of the work situation but, he put me to work
another fourth of a month, when I needed, on the third month, a raise, that they raise my
wage and at the very least have recognized that month that I worked, the month before, or
a way of promoting me there and nevertheless, they did not do it.
So you are working fixed period contracts, let us say?
No, but they do the first trimester like that and they do it to many people, let us say,
“periodically,” in quotes. Really.
If you have sick leave because of illness does it have some consequence? Do they fire
you? Don’t they pay the days?
Well, they pay it if you are given sick leave through INSS, but if you wake up with a
problem, and you did not go to a hospital, but you did not go to work, the next day they
ask you why you didn’t you bring the voucher. And it happened to me, they suspended
me two days and they did not pay them.
Tell me one thing, with regard to worker organizations, because of all that you tell me,
would you be inclined to associate yourself with some union, or that the company had a
union where all those things were addressed?
Well, that would be the magic wand, let us say it like that, but those people, since
they have Costa Rica working for them, but in addition have 20 countries working for
them, or no, 20 or 25 perhaps, 15 countries or perhaps more because those people come
from Haiti. These people also have [people working for them] in Guatemala and a little
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while ago materials were being sent there to be sewn, what we call textiles. And so what
happens? You go to these people and you put in a union and 15 days later they
declare bankruptcy and on that day we arrive to work and what is there in place of
that plant? It is a vacant lot, like what happened here in Guapiles, where everybody left
and they came back to work the next day and the machines were not there – everything
had been collected in one of those containers at dawn and there were not even
newspapers on the ground, right, they took everything. Like I tell you, that would be a
problem.
Do you have a Solidarista Association, are you associated with the association?
No, I am not associated because I have seen how that association works and I do not
agree. For example, now, during Holy Week we needed some things for food and I
arrived, perhaps to test it out, and I arrived and asked for a bag of food, to say something,
and perhaps there, in that association it cost 850 per bag and here, close by, at a
supermarket, say Diboyte, it cost 735. Now, if they buy at supermarkets wholesale and
that supermarket gives them low prices for being an association – why do they have to
add an excessive mark-up to the product? And if I am not a member it is fine, but all of
the members buy there, the majority – because if it is for themselves, let us say, how can
they tell them firmly of the bonds, that it does not leave them with any benefits, in certain
things like that for example.
Don’t you have time to rest, when it is the season? How often are there seasons of those
types?
It is relative. I consider there in warehouse, we consider ourselves firefighters, because
there are fires at any moment and one has to tough it out. In fact, there have been floods
and we are inside the factory and we are the ones who deal with the emergency when
some areas were being flooded. We at the warehouse are like a system of firefighters,
and we do not receive one dime more for providing a service, but they call us so we do it.
Do you currently feel that the schedule that the factory gives you permits study or no?
Yes, it is just that it is a regular, normal schedule on paper. But also, how would you say
it, unstable, unstable because, how do I say, at any moment an emergency might presents
itself and what do you do?
I am studying here at the regional but by chance something happened to me with a fellow
student that really depresses you, it bothers you, because we had a biology exam and
it was a Saturday and you do not work Saturdays so the week prior we asked for
permission, since it has to be 8 days before for a situation like that, and they told us
no, that they could not give us permission.
“But why, if we do not work on Saturdays,” we told them. “No because some type of
cargo could arrive late on Friday and it must get unloaded promptly Saturday.” In other
words, if the cargo arrives you miss the exam, if the cargo does not arrive, well, I was
going to take the exam. Thank god that the cargo did not arrive and I went to the exam,
but unfortunately I stopped studying and, well, I passed the biology exam.
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Worker ‘D’ is a warehouse employee:
What is your current position at the factory?
I work at the textile warehouse.
What do you know about the company? What is the approximate number of employees?
Well, right now, in textiles – I calculate that there could be approximately some 600
employees.
How many are men? How many are women?
I do not know because since it is mixed, and so we are varied, almost like half and half.
Does the wage include the minimum wage, overtime, and incentives?
That is right, exactly, well, just overtime – incentives no. We do have lots of overtime
hours, let us say that at times many shipments go late and we work Saturdays, sometimes
Sundays and we work a lot at night.
Are there production bonuses?
No, production bonuses no because it is a service department, nothing more.
How much time do you spend weekly in the factory or daily?
It is variable, it is very variable, but suppose, and depending on the shipments, and
depending on the demand because there are weeks that we enter at 7:00 a.m. and leave at
10:00 p.m. every day, or at noon at the least. But there are weeks that we work no more
than the 48 hours, it is very varied and normally it is 48 hours.
When you work from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. do they pay it overtime?
As overtime.
In textiles, what is it, what is the function?
Deliver the material to everyone, let us say, to the whole cutting department, so there they
cut the fabrics, to those that prepare the materials, all the labels, also all the accessories
for garments, I also deliver in the textile areas – besides that in the office they ask us for
papers and other things, one has to deliver everything, we practically deliver everything
the office will use – I am practically like a delivery man within the office, without a
proper title still.
Do you have any risks on the job?
Yes, there is plenty of risk because, at least the fabric is stacked at double height, at triple
height, let us say, at some 50-65 feet of height and we have to scramble to lower the
fabrics, or unloading trucks and machines that come, for all of the machines, and one has
to use lifts and we have to be moving them with chains and at any moment we could fall
and it could fall on a leg and, yes, we have a lot of risk.
Do you handle any toxic materials?
The thinner, dyes and glues, all of that.
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Do you use some type of protection?
When we have to touch what we are handling yes, masks, gloves.
With regard to the factory atmosphere, for you, is it tense, is it relaxed? Do you feel
secure? Do you feel like you could be easily replaced?
Well, me, personally, they, it is too true - they easily replace you. I have a big advantage,
that I believe that I know about this, you can imagine, they hardly bring someone in to
the other sections to get to know the place really well, but they can get rid of them at
whatever moment without it being that important.
The temperature in the part where you work?
It is difficult. At the warehouse there are lamps that are on all day, and it fires up the heat
more and the material is very packed so we do not have much ventilation. I use a small
fan, a personal one.
Do you feel good working there - that is, do you feel that you are treated with respect?
Of the work, let us say, one is at ease there. What I do not like is the wage. We kill
ourselves for nothing and they do not pay us very well, let us say it like that.
If they offered you some improvement, what would you ask for as a Christmas present?
Wage is the first thing I would ask for.
Can you go to the bathroom as often as necessary?
When it is necessary, as long as we report to the department supervisor that we are going
to go to the facilities.
With regard to worker’s organization, would you have a desire to be organized in a
union?
I would [like a union]. A union that fights for the well being of all of the employees
because in reality there are no unions there – they are not permitted supposedly, but
it is needed because unfortunately the human resource boss does not help you in
anything.
Do you [the factory] have a Solidarista Association?
Yes.
Are you affiliated?
No, for me that is something else.
Do you feel good about the association?
I was a member before, but it did not give me [anything].
Is the doctor in the 24 hours of the day?
No, he comes in for are like from 2 to 3 hours per day, in the afternoon, that is to say that
we have to make appointments in advance.
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Does the schedule permit you to study?
At times depending, if shipment is coming at night, one also has to stay.
Worker ‘E’ is another warehouse employee:
Well then, you are currently a warehouse operator, and the wage is then how much?
From 85,000 – 90,000 colones per month, without overtime. ($210.11 to $222.47)
How much time do you spend at your job, daily, or weekly?
48 hours without overtime.
How often do you get overtime?
Depends, at least this week, eight containers had to arrive for unloading and they did not
arrive, thank god. But one arrives tomorrow and there are some that stay and others that
do not, tomorrow one co-worker is left, that is to say he has another shift. And
supposedly on Monday, since the rest arrive, which are larger, then we’ll all have to stay.
How is overtime paid?
We do have overtime and they pay it at 5 ½ , that is to say on the basis of the wages, that
is to say one earns more or less between 400 and 420 per hour ($.99 to $1.04). I cannot
remember exactly if they pay it at 5 ½ an hour, that is to say the overtime hour. That is to
say, right now, we almost do not have any, to say it like this, half the group does have it
and the other half no because it depends, at times, when there is a shipment, yes, if the
shipment is large we all stay.
Currently, among the materials that you use, among the materials that you transport at
the warehouse, do you use any material that is toxic?
Yes, that is the thinner.
Do you have contact with it?
No because it is handled in barrels, that is to say one does make contact because one has
to distribute it because that is done at the warehouse – one has to pour it in gallon jugs,
take it to the departments, but, that is to say, it is little – it is not like one is bathing in
thinner.
Do they lock the bathrooms?
Yes, but at least – they do lock the bathrooms, but there are bathroom keys, that is to
say, being part of a department, we can go ahead and ask for the keys more easily – we
do not have to go and ask the boss for permission so much.
Is the temperature high, or low, is it cold?
At times it gets hot, but there are fans, but fans that trap all of the same heat inside.
Do you feel like you are treated justly, with respect?
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Sometimes, at times, because things are done that are not just, that one sees are not just,
like with the permissions for absence, that is to say, at times perhaps, they have you
spend the whole week working until 10:00 p.m. and if you use Saturday to do some
personal errand, they tell you no because there are probabilities that a shipment will
arrive, which perhaps may not arrive and it is nothing fixed, but you have to put
aside a day for work, and so there are things that do not happen.
Do you think what you earn per month is just if the baseball players earn a million
dollars per year?
No, how could you believe that, without having done anything for it because at times,
one, how can I tell you – there are days that one has to stay late, one has to sacrifice a lot
at times. It is too small a wage to earn [considering] what one does there. But really,
if one goes ahead and tells them that, and they do not accept it - because I think they
give themselves the luxury that they are who they are, they are the ones that control.
Do you have any desire, that is to say, if they tell you that you have the opportunity to
organize in a union, would you become affiliated? What a union does is fight for the
rights and responsibilities of the employer with the worker.
It would have to be something very large because here, at this company, it is
screwed up, that is to say, for me to be able to, that is to say because I go and right
when I am scarcely beginning and if I join they fire me. It would have to be
something that comes with weight, that it already brings real consequences.
What do you all feel, that you feel secure that it will bring a benefit?
Because the way it is now, this idea of making a union, well, no, we’d leave on our
tails.
If you wanted an improvement in the factory what would you ask for?
The wage, for sure.
Does the factory schedule permit you to study?
It all depends on the boss sometimes.
Are you currently studying?
In the UNE, conversational English and high school.
Do they make it easy to study?
It is just that, that is to say easy more or less because sometimes one does not have time
because one has to stay late, but since it is not consistent, so it is also difficult. What
happens is that when one leaves, one arrives at home tired - like to arrive to sit and study
is very difficult, even if you leave a little earlier, but the weariness of the day does not
help you to say it like this, to like arrive to study tired, no, it does not work.
With regard to the clinic system – Is the service good or bad?
From what I understand, at times, to be able to see a doctor one has to make a
memorandum, so that they can see you. It is not that I simply go, right.
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Are you affiliated with the Solidarista Association?
No.
Are you not interested in becoming affiliated?
No, I am affiliated, but not right now.
And so you never asked for credit from the association? It is just that, from my
understanding, they give credit in the Solidarista Association.
Yes, they give credit. What happens is, at the time, in the same store there, one buys
there and they deduct it from one’s account, they reduce it, but like this, like a loan no.
Okay, currently, according to what you have said right, who pays for that? The workers
or the employer, the cafeteria service?
Well, whatever it is that you buy, you pay for it.
What possibilities do you have of becoming an inspector, that is to say to go on to earn?
Very little, yes, basically.
Are there people contracted, people that have been there for years of service?
It is that there it’s rare. It is just that, from what I do know, new people enter in the area
of inspection, understand? They do not take the operators themselves. There are older
people that are good, that know the system, but they always bring in new people. So it
becomes difficult for one to advance, that is to say, much of it is luck – a lot of obstacles
and praying to god.
Employee ‘F’ is an office worker in the
Administration Department:
What is your current salary?
175,000 colones (US$ 435.58 month). I was told when I began that it would be 850
colones (US$ 2.10) per hour.
Does that include the minimum wage, overtime?
No, the extra hours are not included.
And you do work overtime?
Sometimes.
That depends on the production?
Yes, that depends on the production. When I arrived, the production was very behind,
there was a lot of work - too much work - and I worked Saturdays and worked during the
weekdays until late – and we worked until 10 at night and that they pay overtime – and
from 7:00 a.m.
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And when do they pay overtime?
After 5:30 p.m. exactly.
How long do you spend at the factory?
10 hours.
Do you have time to rest?
No.
And for family activities with your children?
Almost none.
Does the factory schedule allow you to study?
Well, if it is a university program there is no time because one leaves at 5:30 p.m. and
classes begin at 6:00 p.m., one would have to always arrive late, there is not much
prosperity.
With regard to the atmosphere, is it tense or relaxed for you?
More or less, sometimes there is a lot of tension because they ask too much – sometimes
more than the others can give, they ask of you, but sometimes it’s just normal.
If you have to take sick leave due to illness are there consequences at work?
If it is too long they fire you. I knew of a woman that was out on leave for like two
months and when she returned they fired her.
If you wanted improvements what would you ask for?
I would ask that they let you work in peace – that they allow you to be yourself because,
there, sometimes one feels like in a jail. You cannot receive one phone call, one cannot
make a phone call – I cannot use my cell.
If lunch is from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m., if I leave before 12 someone might report me
to human resources. They could report me, and they suspend me.
Is that when you leave the office, from 12 p.m.?
At 12 p.m., no. I have to go punch out – it is just that I would go down before 12 p.m.
from the office to punch out at 12 p.m. on the dot – and so that could give me a chance to
go by bicycle, but no more. They sent me a little note there, by mail, that the office
schedule is this, and that if it is not met they reprimand you. You cannot even have lunch
peacefully at home.
Can you have a conversation with your co-workers while working?
Not that either.
Any comments with respect to the work at the factory?
Many opportunities, but they imprison you. They would like for you to be a slave
and no, one has a family. And so, one cannot be a slave, they only want one to stay
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every day until 10 p.m. working, so no. They know that one wants to work and I want
a salary, but I also have my children, my home, my husband and all.
Another injured sewer . . . out for more than a
season – actually for good.
What got me screwed up were my tendons, that is to say they swelled up, my
tendons swelled up. It was from sewing – since it is all day long, right there.
Tell me something, when you made balls, was it tiring for you, that is to say the
movements in making the balls?
Oh yes, that is certain, it was tiring because of the stretching and tugging of the thread –
tugging all day long, practically from 7:00 a.m., well, now until 5:40 p.m. you work.
Well then, do you feel like you burned out after a certain amount of years making balls?
Yes, well, before, just to say it like this, when I began in the first three months, that is to
say one exceeded production, that is to say one gave good quality and quantity. After a
while one gets to a level that one does not pass from there – one maintains the minimum,
just to say it like this, just enough so that you do not get fired. If one does less than the
minimum and it is too continuous, then they harass you, they harass you until they
fire you.
When you made balls, was there the risk of stabbing fingers with the needles, and how
often, that is to say daily?
No, that depends on practice, that is to say it was all of the time at the beginning, yet later
on gets used to it and one does not stab oneself so much.
Any other risks that you had during the time you made the balls, back pain?
Yes, for sitting, it is just that it also depends on the caballito [grip to hold the ball in
place, controlled by foot peddle], as they call them, that is to say if you are on an
uncomfortable caballito one works bad and always has pains.
What was the atmosphere like in the factory?
It was tense. There, all day is tense, more in stitching because one does not have one
boss, that is to say you have a group supervisor, you have a plant boss, of those, if you
come out badly in quality you have the quality boss, understand? This is to say many
quality controls.
And did you feel like you could be easily replaced? Could you be easily replaced?
In stitching yes because there new people enter with drive and for one, already old, it is
difficult. Perhaps one no longer gives the same quantity that they want, from that side
yes.
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Could you go to the bathroom as often as necessary?
In stitching no, in stitching no because there they lock the bathrooms. If you get up,
you have to go say that you are going to the bathroom and if it is closed you cannot go
and have to hold it, to say it like this, so they can get you keys or something like that, that
is to say in stitching it is more, more annoying.
Have you worked at sewing balls some time?
Yes, I worked there in sewing, making the balls, exactly, and…worked like a donkey—it
really affects the back, arms, shoulders, neck, and wrists.
Did you have some injury during the time you worked with balls?
It just so happens that I have a problem in a shoulder that if I make some movement, let
us say, to say it like this, when combing, I move it backwards [and] my shoulder cracks.
It is a debility that is left there.
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