The documentary, Mickey Mouse Goes to Haiti, was a good portrayal of the conditions workers in other countries face to provide America with goods (National Labor Committee, 1996). The documentary speaks to the incredibly low wages given to Haitians. The workers were under paid, harassed, and kept from voicing concerns. The Disney Company, of course, would not speak to the National Labor Committee. The workers were fearful to even speak to the camera, in fear of losing their jobs. Their wages were so low; they had to live off of credit for their children to go to school. They were unable to provide food for their families. Families shared a one bedroom home for 8 people. However, the documentary only showed one family's living conditions. That could be a poor representation of the conditions of all Haitians working for Disney, but I imagine the rest are not doing much better. It is difficult to think of workers not being paid properly for their work as we have unions to prevent that injustice, but we need to take a stand for workers in other countries providing us with goods. Americans' already have a bad name around the world and not paying our workers properly is only adding to our bad reputation. It is very disappointing seeing that from a company we know and love like Disney. I wonder if the conditions have improved for these workers since this video was made.
National Labor Committee. (1996). Mickey Mouse Goes to Haiti. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_OXhtgHBxk&feature=player_embedded
It is very true that we should take a stand for mistreated workers in other countries, but the thing that is MOST important for American consumers to do is to not buy the goods produced in these countries. The practice of offshoring is rampant in corporate America. You would be shocked to know how much of what we consume is produced in countries outside the US. Before I resigned last year from the major insurance company I worked for, hundreds of American employees were laid off and their jobs sent to a new "service center" in India. The lame excuse was that "we need to process business around the clock and since India is in a different time zone, this is a good move for us." Are you KIDDING me? This company thinks we are so ignorant that we would believe this garbage? There is office space sitting empty at night and there are millions of unemployed - if your excuse was valid, don't you think those unemployed people would be willing to work at night? Offshoring gives manufacturers and major corporations the ability to line the pockets of their stockholders and still provide goods and services to US consumers at a price we are willing to pay. Disney is only one of them, and probably not the worst offender. It's a 90% chance, or better, that your TV was manufactured in Mexico, or China. Before we demand better conditions for offshore workers, we should be willing to pay higher prices for American produced goods, or stop buying offshore produced goods all together. Helping these workers is going to cost us, and people must be willing to be an active part of the solution.
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