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Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (4715)	4/13/2005 8:09:51 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

Chinese immigrant workers protest loss of jobs to China TERENCE CHEA Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO - Chinese immigrant workers marched through the streets of downtown San Francisco on Tuesday, shouting slogans and waving signs to protest the loss of garment jobs they say are being outsourced to China. Former employees of San Francisco-based apparel maker Nova Knits Inc. claim they were laid off last month without prior notice, severance pay or benefits in violation of state labor laws. And the workers - mostly middle-aged Chinese women who speak little English - believe their jobs are being shipped to China, the world's largest clothing manufacturer. "We believe they continue to have business, but they plan to outsource it overseas," said protest organizer Leon Chow, who heads the Chinese Progressive Association. "All the workers ask for is a little respect." Nova Knits officials did not respond to multiple calls seeking comment. Analysts say the end of textile quotas worldwide Jan. 1 accelerated the loss of garment jobs in the United States and other countries, as apparel makers shift more production to low-wage China, which already exports more than $60 billion in textiles and clothing each year. "There's simply not an economic rationale to keep your sewing in the United States," said Pietra Rivoli, a business professor at Georgetown University and author of "Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy." "The job loss has been accelerating over the last five years, and I expect it will accelerate even more in the next five years." For more than three decades, industrialized nations maintained textile import quotas to protect their domestic industries from foreign competition. But starting in 1995, the World Trade Organization started phasing out those quotas, eliminating them altogether this year. The United States, which once had 2.5 million garment workers, now only has about 500,000, mostly in California, New York and the South, Rivoli said. She expects the number of jobs to drop even further now that American retailers can purchase almost all their clothing and textiles from China. While consumers benefit from lower prices, domestic producers complain that unfair competition has forced them to lay off thousands of workers. Poor countries like Bangladesh and Morocco, which rely on textile quotas to bolster their struggling economies, are expected to be hit even harder as their jobs migrate to China, which already has the largest share of the $350 billion global market. Mark Levinson, chief economist for the labor union UNITE HERE, said the lifting of quotas is bad news for the world's garment workers who must now compete with Chinese workers, who work long hours for low wages and are barred from forming independent unions. "Chinese workers are terribly, terribly exploited," Levinson said. "It creates a race to the bottom in terms of wages and working conditions, as well as job loss." In the first 90 days of this year, 17,200 American textile workers have lost their jobs, despite the improving U.S. economy, Levinson said. Industry officials say 14 U.S. textile plants were shut down in the first quarter. Among the unfortunate workers are more than 120 former Nova Knits employees, who say they were terminated without explanation. On Tuesday, dozens of the immigrant workers rallied in San Francisco's Union Square before conducting noisy protests in front of retail stores they say buy Nova Knit clothing. The protesters said they want severance pay, continued medical coverage and job training. "We want to fight for our rights," said Min Lin, a Nova employee of 13 years who immigrated to the United States in 1992 from Guangdong province, the thriving region of southern China that's become one of the world's largest clothing manufacturers. mercurynews.com