CNN iReport

Not that many people care, but did you know we have a deficit right now?  Did you know this deficit is caused because of unfair trade?

Did you also know that many of these corporations you worship are leaving the United States not to save tax money, but so they can basically rape and pillage 3^rd world nations all in the name of profits?

Food for thought

Unocol: The Unocal case dates back to the early l990s, when the company, one of a consortium of partners, was considering building the pipeline and employing the Burmese military to provide security for the project. According to U Maung Maung, one of the plaintiffs' advocates, representatives for the villagers, who were not opposed to the pipeline at the time, met with Unocal to discuss concerns that construction without external monitoring would allow the military to conscript labor, a common practice in Burma. Maung Maung says Unocal ignored the villagers' concerns; Unocal spokesman Barry Lane says the company "has had constructive talks with a variety of groups." In any case, the pipeline was completed in 1998. By the mid-l990s, though, Thailand-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) had reported that refugees were fleeing Burma with stories of abuses committed in the Yadana region. In one report, the NGO Earth Rights International claimed villagers had been forced to porter in the pipeline region, watched fellow porters shot dead by the military for moving too slowly and even served as human minesweepers. "NGOs who had been talking to these villagers couldn't just stand by and watch," says Maung Maung. "We had to help them meet someone who could help them."

Nike: Nike is one of the largest, most popular, and most profitable shoe and clothing companies in the world. But the reality for many workers overseas making Nike shoes and clothing is far less rosy. Workers are paid wages insufficient to meet their basic needs, are not allowed to organize independent unions, and often face health and safety hazards.

Disney: Factory staff making some of Walt Disney’s most popular Christmas toys are working up to 18 hours a day for as little as 16p an hour, an investigation has found.

Workers at the factories in southern China also claim they have had to stay in cramped dormitories housing up to 16 people and that they are fined if they spend more than five minutes in the lavatory. At one factory they receive just one day off a month.

The factories make Minnie Mouse toys and soft toys based on the Tigger and Eeyore characters from Disney’s Winnie the Pooh films. Disney’s British stores sell Chinese-made toys of these characters for up to £60, but it is not known if this includes any toys produced at the two factories investigated.

John Hilary, director of policy at War on Want, said: “These toys have been produced as a result of the exploitation of some of the poorest people in the world.”

Walmart:  Bangladesh

Forced labor in violation of law, workers are routinely forced to work overtime, often 16-18 hours a day.

Minimum Wage Violations: Many workers are paid up to 30% below their country’s legal minimum wage.

Maternity Leave Violations: Most female workers are denied their legal maternity leave and their benefits.

Overtime Pay Violations: Workers are rarely, if ever, paid overtime. Although they often work more than twice the legal number of hours in a week, they are not paid more than their regular wages.

Health Care Violations: The health clinics that many countries require their factories to have often do not exist and workers are NOT provided with basic safety equipment, such as dust masks.

Right to Form Independent Unions denied more than 80% of Wal-Mart’s merchandise suppliers are in China, where workers do not have the right of freedom of association.

Bathroom Breaks Violations: In many of the factories, workers need a ticket and permission to use the bathroom. Their breaks are timed.

This is just a small list of corporations.

So where is this so called American ethics and humanity?  I don’t see any here.  The more you sit back and pretend that the current cut throat capitalistic society is Americas dream, the sooner some corporation will turn your dream into an American nightmare.  We cannot continue to allow these corporations to continue to exploit the poor citizens of 3^rd world countries, nor can we allow them to force us to compete with the low wages other countries have.  Today its your neighbors job, tomorrow, it will be yours.