Life’s Worth
A topic covered in Commerce 101 a while back involved the issue of ethics. During the time of that lecture, the Sauder Frosh scandal was a prevalent issue, and even though that was horrible for Sauder’s image, businesses engage in even more appalling actions. Del Monte Fresh Produce will be paying $1.2 million to compensate Thai workers over a federal lawsuit stating that the workers were lied to, denied pay, forced to live in horrible conditions, and had their passports confiscated. Roughly 150 Thai workers will receive and distribute the settlement money which was attained by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of the workers (Dobuzinskis, Reuters).
Businesses often look for ways to improve its bottom line and a common method is engaging in offshoring manufacturing or using cheap/forced labour to produce products. In this lawsuit, Del Monte Fresh Produce, Global Horizons, and Maui Pineapple Farms are all involved in this discrimination case because of similar practices of confiscating passports and not paying wages. Del Monte Fresh Produce recruited workers in 2003 and again in 2005 with promises of $9.25 an hour, yet Del Monte Fresh Produce broke the law by not paying their workers and also forcing them to work and live In “substandard living quarters” (Dobuzinskis, Reuters). It is common knowledge that every corporation wants to maximize benefits and reduce costs, but the desire for reducing costs can never cross the ethical and legal line.
References:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/19/us-usa-labor-hawaii-idUSBRE9AI03H20131119