Editorial: Saipan gives USA label a black eye

Every day shoppers walk into department stores and retail outlets hoping to buy a new shirt, pants or shoes. Some of these consumers even look for the "Made in the USA" label on the clothing before they decide to buy.

Many want to purchase the quality-made apparel as a show of support for their fellow Americans, while still others want to send a message that they will only buy goods made in a nation that assures safe working conditions and provides decent wages.

So imagine the surprise Americans felt as recent investigations disclosed that some of the clothing items that carry the "Made in the USA" label actually are produced in the U.S. territory of Saipan, a small island in the Northern Marianas that has some of the worst working conditions imaginable.

Two weeks ago three lawsuits were filed against some of the best-known U.S. retailers, seeking more than $1 billion on behalf of thousands of Asians who have been lured to Saipan. The lawsuits contend that some of these workers have been forced to live in squalid, rat-infested conditions. One of the attorneys representing the workers, William Lerach, said the sweatshops would "make medieval conditions look good."

As an example of the conditions they must endure, the lawsuit alleges that some employees live eight to a room in guarded barracks surrounded by barbwire. Others report sexual harassment and malnutrition.

Labor Department officials and other federal agencies last year uncovered some of these abuses, but reform efforts have been blocked by local officials and businessmen who essentially control the island, according to Lerach.

Retailers should be allowed -- within reason -- to get goods as cheaply as possible. But it is unconscionable that retailers are willing to pass off these goods as meeting the same tough standards that companies adhere to in this nation.

Congress should investigate this mess and pass legislation making it clear that only products made in the 50 states can carry the "Made in the USA" label. Anything less is a fraud on the American public.

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