Object Details
Description
These negatives illustrate the inhumane working and living conditions of people that worked in sweatshops
On August 2, 1995, police officers raided a fenced seven-unit apartment complex in El Monte, California. They arrested eight operators of a clandestine garment sweatshop and freed 72 workers who were being forced to sew garments in virtual captivity. Smuggled from Thailand into the United States, the laborers’ plight brought a national spotlight to domestic sweatshop production and resulted in increased enforcement by federal and state labor agencies. The publicity of the El Monte raid also put added pressure on the apparel industry to reform its labor and business practices domestically and internationally.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
State of California. Department of Industrial Relations. Division of Labor Standards Enforcement
Date Made
1995
ID Number
1996.0292.43.4.1
catalog number
1996.0292.43.4.1
accession number
1996.0292
Object Name
negative
photograph
Physical Description
plastic; gelatin (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 3.5 cm x 15 cm; 1 3/8 in x 5 29/32 in
See more items in
Work and Industry: Manufacturing
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_1930056