New York is known for its garment industry.
It’s been called the “new textile capital of the world,” the “jewel of the metropolis,” and the “breadbasket of the nation.”
But the city is also known for the way that it treats its garment workers, which has long been a topic of discussion.
While many of these workers are largely unionized, they are often subjected to abuse, unsafe working conditions, and poor pay.
According to a new report by the Campaign for a Fair Wage, New York garment factories have been found to employ workers in unsanitary conditions and without adequate health care.
They have also been found using unsafe and dangerous machinery.
The Campaign for an Fair Wage reports that garment workers have a higher incidence of illness, respiratory ailments, and even death in factories than the general workforce, and that the workers in these factories are subject to physical and sexual abuse at the hands of factory managers.
And while the number of garment workers employed by the garment industry has grown in recent years, the report finds that they have also suffered at the hand of management.
In fact, the number and number of injuries and deaths from working in garment factories in New York in the past five years is the same as in New Jersey, New Jersey and Pennsylvania combined.
As workers who have been directly affected by the factories conditions, we’re calling on the city of New York to immediately suspend its certification of the JCPenney Handheld and Sized Steamer as an unsafe working garment for the purpose of further investigation and mandatory safety training for all of its garment-related workers.
As of January 1, 2020, JCPensney had been certified for more than 1.4 million garment workers in the United States.
While the company maintains that its production processes are safe, the vast majority of garment factories, including the ones in New England, have not undergone this rigorous inspection.
We are calling on JCP to suspend its New York certification of JCPENNEY, and we’re asking the City of New Jersey to take swift action to enforce its regulations.
For more information about this issue, contact: The Campaign to End Slavery, Inc. New York, New Jersey, and New York State, 212-749-3121, email [email protected]