El Monte Thai garment slavery case

On August 2, 1995, 72 Thai nationals were found working in conditions of slavery in a makeshift garment factory consisting of a row of residential duplexes in El Monte, California, just east of Los Angeles.White, George. "Works Held in Near Slavery, Officials Say", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, 3 August 1995. Retrieved on 5 May 2015. This case is considered the first recognized case of modern-day slavery in the United States since the abolition of slavery.Martorell, Chanchanit and Beatrice "Tippe" Morlan (2011). Thais in Los Angeles, p. 25. Arcadia Publishing, Los Angeles. . It would serve as a wake-up call for the world to the global phenomenon of human trafficking and modern-day slavery and would begin the anti-trafficking movement in the United States with the Thai Community Development Center as its pioneer.Liebhold, Peter and Harry Rubenstein. “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A History of American Sweatshops, 1820 – Present”, “History Matters”, July 1998. Retrieved on 5 May 2015. The case would also lead to the passage of California laws to reform the garment industry and end sweatshop abuses through independent monitoring and a code of conductFoo, Lora Jo. “Asian American Women: Issues, Concerns, and Responsive Human and Civil Rights Advocacy” Ford Foundation Los Angeles, 2002. Retrieved 6 May 2015 and then eventually to the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) passed by the United States Congress (later known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA).Watanabe, Teresa. “Home of the Freed” “Los Angeles Times” Los Angeles, 14 August 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2015

The Beginning As early as 1988, recruiters in Thailand were canvassing rural villages in the provincial parts of Thailand for garment workers.Rodriguez, Junius, ed (2011). “Slavery in the Modern World: A History of Political, Social and Economic Oppression”, p. 250, ABC-CLO INC, Santa Barbara. Many of the garment workers came from impoverished farming families and were eager to take any opportunity to better their life circumstances. Rotchana, one of the 72 workers discovered in the sweatshop, said she wanted to go to America so she could have a better life for herself and her children.Monroe, Julie and Kent Wong (eds). “Sweatshop Slaves: Asian Americans in the Garment Industry”, P. 93, UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, Los Angeles. She said the recruiter was kind and generous promising her a legitimate job that would enable her to quickly pay off the $4,800 loan she secured from the recruiter to pay for the plane ticket and processing fee to the United States.

Elsewhere in Thailand, many others were hearing the same story. They were taken to the airport and given expensive jewelry to wear so that they would appear to be wealthy tourists. Having passed the Immigration Control, the recruiters took the jewelry, their passports and their money. They transported the workers to the El Monte complex—a row of two story buildings with boarded up windows and a fence surrounding the entire compound topped with barbed wire and spikes facing inward.Monroe, Julie and Kent Wong (eds). “Sweatshop Slaves: Asian Americans in the Garment Industry”, P. 93, UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, Los Angeles. Two guards armed with guns, knives and baseball bats patrolled the building twenty-four hours a day.

Once at the El Monte complex, the Thai nationals were forced to sew clothing seventeen to twenty-two hours a day.Diaz, David and Marta López-Garza (eds) (2002). “Asian and Latino Immigrants in a Restructuring Economy: The Metamorphosis of Southern California” p. 27 Stanford University Press, Los Angeles, They were not allowed any contact with the outside world and their letters home were censored, opened and read to insure no news of their captivity would reach home.Becker, Maki and Patrick J. McDonald. “7 Plead Guilty in Sweatshop Slavery Case” “Los Angeles Times”, Los Angeles, 10 February 1996. Retrieved 5 May 2015. They were not allowed breaks even when sickMonroe, Julie and Kent Wong (eds)(2006). “Sweatshop Slaves: Asian Americans in the Garment Industry”, P. 94, UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, Los Angeles. or any social interactions with each other.Diaz, David and Marta López-Garza (eds) (2002). “Asian and Latino Immigrants in a Restructuring Economy: The Metamorphosis of Southern California” p. 27 Stanford University Press, Los Angeles, They were under 24/7 surveillance by armed guards.Monroe, Julie and Kent Wong (eds)(2006). “Sweatshop Slaves: Asian Americans in the Garment Industry”, P. 94, UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, Los Angeles. Some were held against their will for as long as seven years.Diaz, David and Marta López-Garza (eds) (2002). “Asian and Latino Immigrants in a Restructuring Economy: The Metamorphosis of Southern California” p. 21 Stanford University Press, Los Angeles,

The workers were virtually not paid as they had to work off their debt to their traffickers/employers.Monroe, Julie and Kent Wong (eds). “Sweatshop Slaves: Asian Americans in the Garment Industry”, P. 48, UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, Los Angeles. In essence, they became indentured servants. However, they were forced to buy food and personal supplies such as toothpaste and shampoo at inflated prices from the employers residing at the complex who operated sundries in the garages.Diaz, David and Marta López-Garza (eds) (2002). “Asian and Latino Immigrants in a Restructuring Economy: The Metamorphosis of Southern California” p. 27 Stanford University Press, Los Angeles, Having no money to make their purchases, these amounts for the rent and personal items would just be tacked on to their debts. Therefore, their debt just kept growing with no end in sight.

They sewed clothing for many well-known brands such as Anchor Blue, B.U.M., High Sierra, CLEO and Tomato Inc.Monroe, Julie and Kent Wong (eds)(2006). “Sweatshop Slaves: Asian Americans in the Garment Industry”, P. 94, UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, Los Angeles. The workers were forced to wake up at six every morning and worked under the watchful eyes of their Thai national employers who included Suni Manasurangkun and her four sons and two daughters-in-law.

The workers were warned if they dared escape, both they and their families back home would be physically harmed.Monroe, Julie and Kent Wong (eds)(2006). “Sweatshop Slaves: Asian Americans in the Garment Industry”, P. 94, UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, Los Angeles. They were also threatened that they will be caught by United States authorities who will shave their heads and deport them back to Thailand. The threat of retaliation was constant and relentless. The guards even showed them a picture of the last man who had tried to escape—he had been beaten.

Discovery and Freedom The barbed wire, Rotchana and the others later discovered, had been installed after one victim escaped from a second story window.Leads, Jeff. “https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-05-me-42377-story.html “Freed Thais Offer Thanks During Labor Day Rally : Workers: Sweatshop was 'like coming to hell,' one says. Union, state officials urge tougher enforcement of laws in garment industry.” Los Angeles Times 5 September 1995. Retrieved 7 May 2015 Too scared to contact the police, the woman told her story only to her boyfriend years later during her freedom.Liebhold, Peter and Harry Rubenstein. “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A History of American Sweatshops, 1820 – Present”, “History Matters”, July 1998. Retrieved on 5 May 2015. But eventually the story was repeated by her co-worker and reached the ears of State of California Deputy Labor Commissioner TK Kim who was inspecting the garment factory where she, her boyfriend, and the co-worker were working.

On August 1, 1995, Deputy Labor Commissioner TK Kim came to the office of the Thai Community Development Center (Thai CDC) and met with its Executive Director, Chanchanit Martorell, and requested the Thai Community Development Center’s participation in a multi-governmental agency raid on the El Monte compound.Gonzalez, Hector (2010). “Once-Enslaved Garment Workers Continue Fight.” Pasadena Star News 2 August 2010. These agencies participating in the raid included the State of California Department of Industrial Relations - Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (California Labor Commission or DLSE), the United States Department of Labor - Wage and Hour Division, the State of California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the State of California Employment Development Department, the El Monte Police, and the Thai Community Development Center.Diaz, David and Marta López-Garza (eds) (2002). “Asian and Latino Immigrants in a Restructuring Economy: The Metamorphosis of Southern California” p. 27 Stanford University Press, Los Angeles, At the pre-dawn hour of 5 am on August 2, 1995, the raid occurred on the El Monte slavery compound.Monroe, Julie and Kent Wong (eds)(2006). “Sweatshop Slaves: Asian Americans in the Garment Industry”, P. 95, UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, Los Angeles. The law enforcement authorities which included the El Monte Police and Sworn California Peace Officers from DLSE secured the site first in the raid of the El Monte compound and the rest of the agencies including Thai CDC followed in to find the workers and separate them from the employers.Gonzalez, Hector (2010). “Once-Enslaved Garment Workers Continue Fight.” Pasadena Star News 2 August 2010. Chanchanit Martorell, the Executive Director of the Thai CDC, participated in that raid and once on the scene, started speaking to the frightened workers in their native tongue calming their fears and reassuring them that they were now liberated and no harm will come to them. She explained who Thai CDC was and the role it will play in bringing them relief and helping them pursue justice.White, George. "Works Held in Near Slavery, Officials Say", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, 3 August 1995. Retrieved on 5 May 2015.

From the El Monte compound, instead of being turned over to Thai CDC to be sheltered and cared for as promised, the workers were transported to the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) detention where the workers were detained and held captive again but this time in the hands of the United States government for another nine days.Gonzalez, Hector (2010). “Once-Enslaved Garment Workers Continue Fight.” Pasadena Star News 2 August 2010. Thai CDC and its ally, the Korean Immigrant Worker Advocates immediately formed a broad coalition of civil, immigrant, workers’ rights organizations that included the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Korean Immigrant Worker Advocates (KIWA - known today as the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance), Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC – known today as the Asian Americans Advancing Justice), and the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) to fight for the release of the workers from detention.Diaz, David and Marta López-Garza (eds) (2002). “Asian and Latino Immigrants in a Restructuring Economy: The Metamorphosis of Southern California” p. 28 Stanford University Press, Los Angeles, During those nine days, the coalition visited the detention center demanding access to the El Monte workers, held press conferences and sit-ins, and pressed for their immediate release into the care of Thai CDC.