Sweatshops

     Sweatshops around the world today owe their existence to an economic system that demands lower costs and higher profits while encouraging globalization.  As industry becomes more global, and more companies continue to outsource work to other countries, the prevalence of sweatshops continues to grow.  Corporations increase their profits by contracting work to foreign manufacturers.  The contractors produce goods cheaply by making laborers work long hours under poor and unsafe conditions for inadequate pay and few or no benefits while suffering various abuses at the hands of their employers.  Essentially, this is the exploitation of people who work in such shops out of necessity, for most people would not work under such conditions if they had a choice.  In many sweatshops, laborers are children and victims of dire poverty, people who desperately need the income and are forced by this need to accept what work they can find.  Many companies claim that outsourcing work to developing countries does the consumer a great service by keeping prices low.  Sadly, while companies reap higher profits and consumers enjoy cheaper prices, farmers, workers, families, and the environment suffer.

     The disparity is high between the pay rates of corporate executives and those of the shop workers.  According to Sweatshop Watch, workers in the garment industry make approximately one percent of the garment's sale price, and many workers earn wages significantly below minimum wage.  Those in Pakistan, for example, average twenty-three cents per hour, while those in Mexico earn one dollar and seventy-five cents.  Most of the money consumers pay for garments ends up feeding the corporations' advertising and executive payroll budgets.  Workers at a prominent blue jean factory in Saipan (a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific) were receiving three dollars and five cents per hour while the CEO of the company made almost 4000 times that amount.  

     Some supporters argue that sweatshop work is better than no work at all.  In reality, the manufacturer is taking advantage of these people, and the money they receive does little to improve their economic situation.  Children often work in sweatshops alongside their parents because there is nowhere else for them to go.  They gain no education and have no means to secure training for a better-paying job elsewhere.  The cycle of poverty and exploitive labor continues.  Sweatshops can be stopped, however.  Courts have become involved, as lawsuits have been filed against sweatshops that abuse their labor force.  Many consumers have expressed disdain for sweatshops and are willing to pay more for goods they know were not made in sweatshops.  By boycotting goods of manufacturers that utilize sweatshops and pressuring companies to change, consumers can help stop the mistreatment of workers.  

33.  Which of the following best states the author's purpose?

     A.  to inform the reader about outsourcing

     B.  to explain how some major corporations exploit workers

     C.  to describe how harmful large corporations are to workers

     D.  to inform the reader about the history of sweatshops

34.  Which of the following would the most logical conclusion drawn from the second paragraph?

     A.  If companies discontinued the use of sweatshops, the problem would be solved.

     B.  If companies reduced executive salaries and reduced the number of sweat shop employees, they would realize greater profits.

     C.  If companies discontinued their outsourcing policies and used only American labor, the problem of sweatshop labor would dissipate.

     D.  If companies reduced advertising and executive payroll budgets, they could increase workers' wages and still make a profit.

35.  Which of the following best describes the reason for the second paragraph?

     A.  It shows how much money brand labels can cost consumers.

     B.  It demonstrates the pay discrepancy between laborers in foreign countries.

     C.  It highlights the low wages of sweatshop workers in comparison to those of executives.

     D.  It describes the excessive pay of sweatshop laborers in comparison to executives' pay.

36.  According to the passage, which statement is most accurate?

     A.  Sweatshops are necessary to keep prices low in the U.S.

     B.  Consumers cannot control or help curb the actions of corporations.

     C.  Sweatshop laborers endure physical, emotional, and mental abuses.

     D.  Consumers do not care about the victimization of foreign laborers.

37.  As used in the passage, the word boycotting most nearly means

     A.  destroying.

     B.  refusing.

     C.  purchasing.

     D.  supporting.

38.  According to the passage, which statement is false?

     A.  Sweatshops are used to cut costs for manufacturers.

     B.  Sweatshops often employ children as laborers.

     C.  Sweatshops are the result of greed and negligence.

     D.  Sweatshops are only found in third world countries.