Platform : Sweatshop Math: 50 Hours for $90

MARTHA RODRIGUEZ, 35, garment worker, Southgate

When the news says that people in sweatshops don’t make more than a $100 a week, a lot of people don’t believe this. They think that it’s not true. But we live that situation.

I’ve been working in the garment industry for 15 years and in those years I have worked in a lot of factories and seen almost everything--the worst conditions, not only for me but also all of my co-workers.

Among all the people who worked on piece rate there were few that would be able to make the minimum wage. The majority were making $10, $15 and the maximum was $20 a day. I would [be able to] make a little bit more because I had years of experience, but there were days that even I could not make minimum wage.

The people that made the $10 were doing floor work, cutting threads and so on, not working on the machines. The few people being paid by the hour would get $120 a week. They would work from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday would be in from 7 in the morning until 1 p.m.

It was very hard for me to survive on those wages. I have two children and most of my wages were going to the baby-sitter. I would be behind sometimes on my payments, even though my husband also works. What you have to do is deprive yourself of a lot of things. For instance, if I was sick I would not go to the doctor.

Finally, I saw too many violations and started talking to my co-workers. We went to the Department of Labor. After I called so many times, they finally came to investigate. But when the [investigators] got to my shop the employer started telling people that they were immigration officers. People left and never gave a statement.

After I called the Labor Department I was forced to go and look for another job and I was able to find something where the conditions were a little bit better.

There’s no such thing as job security in the garment industry. Right now I have a job but that doesn’t mean anything because tomorrow they could tell me that they don’t want me anymore.

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HUMBERTO CASTILLO, 25, former tortilla factory worker, East Los Angeles

I worked in a tortilleria for about six years. I counted the tortillas and packed them. They made us work a lot of hours and paid us very little. Monday through Thursday we would work from midnight till 10 a.m. and when things got busy on Friday and Saturday, we would begin at 4 p.m. and leave at 10 a.m. the next day.

When I came here from Mexico, some family members were working there and they took me over. They wanted to show me how the work was done. I needed the job. But eventually I left. I’ve been gone from there five months.

An average week would be 60 hours and for that we would get $250, but we got paid by the week regardless of how many hours we worked. The money was all under the table.

At first, I was living alone and it was fairly easy to get by, but three years ago I got married and it became more difficult because we had to buy furniture and food. It became even more difficult to keep up during a period where, for about six weeks, the guy would pay us on a different day. He used to pay us every Sunday. Then one Sunday he told us he he would pay us the next day. The next week he said he couldn’t pay us on Monday, and he paid us on Tuesday. I had to go sometimes nine days between paychecks.

I’m working at a clothing factory now. It’s better because you work during the day. They pay only minimum wage but you punch in on a time clock, you have a time card and everything’s regulated. I feel better about that. They pay me with a check and my Social Security is paid and all that.

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‘JOSEPHINA’ (not her real name) 47, garment worker, Los Angeles

I got the job because a friend I live with who works in the same place told me about it. Mostly what I do is cut material and put buttons on jackets. I work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. If there’s not that much to do, I leave at noon. I get paid for what I make--per piece. Sometimes I make between $60 and $90 a week--if there’s work. There are no benefits. I do get a break and I can take it when I want. And it’s not dangerous because there are not a lot of big machines and there aren’t too many people around.

I live with two of my daughters--one is 10 and the other one works as a nanny and housekeeper in Pasadena--and five other people in the apartment. Most of our [family] income comes from my daughter working seven days a week. She works all week in the house. But I also have to support my 10-year-old.

My goal is to work in a house like my daughter is doing now. She cares for two kids and she has to clean and cook. I’m not planning to stay in this job because what I’m doing right now pays nothing. I really want to work in a house.

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S. SANCHEZ, 28, garment worker, Central Los Angeles

I work at a machine [making] clothes. I came here about three years ago and I’ve been doing it since then. They treat me better than [the last place I worked] but it seems like everywhere it’s the same.

I make about $160 a week. I don’t get paid by the hour but by the piece. How much I get paid depends on how many pieces I make in a day or a week. There are a lot of factories out there where people [like us] work Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays 7 to 2.

Most pay less than the minimum wage. I’ve tried to talk to some of my co-workers about it, but the situation is the same [in all of these places.] A friend of mine worked in one of these places for a week and then the people said they didn’t have money to pay the week that he worked. The supervisors here don’t count all the pieces I do, and the owners believe the supervisors, not us.

The difference [between where I work now and where I used to work] is a very little one, but they treat me better and the machines they use are automatic, so you can make more pieces a day. It keeps going and going and you don’t have to use scissors or anything to cut the fabric. Still, sometimes it’s really hard to support the household. I haven’t gone out and bought any fake papers, like a green card, that they sell on the street.

Sometimes on Fridays I can’t take it anymore. My eyes feel sick, they get really tired, but I don’t go to the [county] hospital. I just go to the store and buy eyedrops. My legs are really tired and I feel like I’m going to pass out.

When I came to the United States, I thought that making clothes would make me a good life. Now I think it’s better for me to go back to Mexico because I feel like I’m a slave here.

Translation assistance provided by Christine Vasquez, Fatima Baxter and Kevin Baxter.