2005 Sweatshop Overnight Event Reflections

Note: This year's event is different from last year's event -
we will not be working throughout the night.

Overworked and underpaid: These two words alone describe what is happening to millions of people around the world in sweatshops. Once people hear these words, they immediately will talk of how anti-sweatshop they are. But if you can talk the talk, can you walk the walk? On February 25 and 26, Ursuline Academy and Moeller High School joined together to create an environment for a sweatshop simulation. We were all spilt into 12 different groups and were assigned one of the four products to make. Each product was given a quota and each group had to make a certain amount per hour. I was given the job of making bracelets, more specifically, weaving string in and out of the beads from 11 o’clock p.m. to 7 o’clock a.m. It was not an easy job. People yelled at you for no reason or made you redo things when it was fine in the first place. You couldn’t look at other people or even go to the bathroom. We all had to survive on an hour and forty-five minute nap and a half a banana with a little bit of pita bread. Even the bosses had to undergo pressure and work through the long hours. People say how awful these sweatshops are, but until you experience it, you don’t realize what these people go through everyday. This event has made me appreciate all the things in my life and made me feel so much stronger. It makes me want to go and take action about sweatshops because I now know how it feels. I have started to talk to my family about these issues and even my cousins in Kentucky and Texas. I hope I can influence them just as this sweatshop experience has done for me. Remember, just being against a sweatshop isn’t going help any. Take action.

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I thought the icebreakers we used really put everyone in the mood, with the references to sweatshops and the facts that were presented. The icebreakers also got us to become acquainted with each other, which I think was very important considering how long we would have to work with and relate to one another over the course of the hours ahead.

The speakers were wonderful. Jim and Leslie, I think, really captured our attention and shared with us their experience. The thing I liked best about them was that they provided us with information, but didn't tell us what to do. They simply made us aware that changes must be made to improve the lives of sweatshop workers and that we have the power to make those changes. They told us how those changes could be made and then put the rest in our hands. I respected the way they presented their information; it was not only educational and enlightening, but also captivating and interesting. The video, examples, slides, and speeches really got my attention and definitely stirred the pot. They found a way to get us interested, as well as angry, about what is going on in our world.

The simulation was much different than I expected. I knew it would be hard, but I came to find that it was extremely draining, both mentally and physically. Physically, by the end of each shift, I was exhausted from lack of sleep. Mentally, I was frustrated and angry from the continuous berating of the supervisors, from the extreme monotony and tediousness of performing the same exact task over and over and over again, and from the unbelievably annoying music that was being played constantly. I think that the simulation was well-planned, with it starting pretty late, so that we were already tired going into it, and then having each shift run about an hour. I also think the reflection time that we were given was very important because it let us release a lot of the stress and frustration we were all feeling. It gave us other people's perspectives and feelings on what we were going through.

I know a lot of work went into the preparations but a lot of work also came out of the actual overnight. We were able to use the time we had to actually be productive. The things we made during the simulation can actually be used and sold. The money we brought in came from both what can be sold from what we made during the simulation and what we were able to raise during the fundraising. I really liked the way the fundraising was set up, with the hourly wage, because it showed us how little money sweatshop workers make and how long they would have to work to actually make a living.

I think that this overnight really raised awareness in everyone who participated. It informed us and let us experience what the life of a sweatshop worker is like. I know that our simulation wasn't as bad as a real work day, but it made us aware. The lucky thing for us is that once the night was over, we actually had warm bed, basic necessities, and so much more to go home to, when sweatshop workers aren't so lucky. What the workers are paid is barely enough for them to survive, let alone make a living or support their families.

I have learned so much from this experience and I hope others have as well. Jim and Leslie inspired me to do something to help by sharing what they have done and are continuing to do. Using the knowledge and information I have gained, I would really like to continue fighting for rights for sweatshop workers. I would really like to get more involved in a Sweatshop Awareness program, or even Educating for Justice and other programs like it. I would like to be able to help get information out there and help reduce ignorance on this topic so that one day, sweatshop workers will be given actual rights and will be treated fairly.

Sweatshops were one of those things that I had always heard about in church, maybe in religion class, and I just said, “Oh isn’t that terrible,” and then never gave it a second thought. I began to really think about it seriously though when we had two women who worked in sweatshops come to speak at our school. It was kind of like it was right in front of you, so you couldn’t really ignore it. When the plans for the sweatshop overnight were announced, I really felt like it would be a great opportunity to educate myself more on the topic. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into at the time, but I figured it would be a good experience any way.

Slowly, information about the program began to trickle out. I learned we would have limited food, VERY limited sleep, and that we would be working virtually the entire night. I have to admit when I learned these things I became a little nervous. I started doubting whether or not I would be able to make it through the whole simulation.

Despite my doubts, the simulation came as planned. I could never have prepared myself for what I experienced during the workshop. I felt like a prisoner, a slave, almost sub-human. I couldn’t look around me, I couldn’t sleep, and I couldn’t even talk to the person next to me. All I could do was work, and work at a pace that was acceptable to the constantly patrolling supervisors.

When it was all said and done, I felt as if someone had ripped every bit of energy and life out of my body. I couldn’t even imagine doing that every day of my life. This simulation was hard, but above all else it showed you what it would be like. I find myself looking at a person’s clothing labels, and saying to them, “Hey did you know that was made in a sweatshop?” I feel outraged, and more motivated than ever to take a stand against this issue. Even if it’s just an e-mail to Phil Knight, or telling someone else about my experience, I know that a little bit from everyone could create one massive change.

What was most amazing to me about the sweatshop simulation was not how cold it was, how late we worked, or how scary it was when the people in charge yelled at you. It was the way that a group of normal high school kids we able to deal with all of this. We were used to having everything we wanted all the time. We had never been that cold or that hungry, but we didn't feel sorry for ourselves or wish we were at the MND mixer with our friends.

Its so hard looking back to even think that we actually did it. We actually spend a night experiencing what it is like to work nonstop through the night. Because its so hard to imagine this one night, its really impossible to imagine what it must be like for teenagers all over the world who do this every night. We thought were strong for getting through it once, but people are capable of so much more. I've seen first hand the willpower it takes to get through one night, but I can't imagine what it would take to get through night after night nonstop for months. It just shows how much more human beings are capable of then we give ourselves credit for.

If people are able to accomplish so much and put up with so much then I honestly think that people are capable of anything. We are lucky. We do not have to spend our lives sewing buttons nonstop for companies that don't care you exist. But if we put as much willpower into putting a stop to sweatshops as they put into working them, then there is no doubt in my mind that they will end. From this activity I learned that people can do absolutely anything they put their mind to, and I think that if America's youth put their minds to ending sweatshops, then we can do it.

When I first signed up for the Sweatshop Awareness Overnight, I did not expect to spend a whole night simulating sweatshop conditions. At first I was a little alarmed at the news that I would have to make my own products in similar conditions as the millions of young people are in everyday. I had never spent that much time in my life doing the same thing for so long. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I learned that I would be making little booklets that told people about the conditions in sweatshops. We had to keep a fast pace when making them, and it was not easy to keep up. After a few hours I was extremely tired and beginning to get a little careless. I thought about all the people around the world who had to do what was killing me at the moment everyday.

The thought of coming to work and going through these conditions everyday scared me, and I knew immediately that it was no way to live. I was disgusted by the fact that they had to go through this just so I could wear the clothes that I wanted to wear. I knew it was wrong, and I knew that something had to be done about it. If I couldn’t deal with these conditions for just one night, how must it feel to have to do this everyday! By the end of the night I was amazed that anyone could possibly live on so little sleep and virtually no free time. These were all comforts I had taken for granted my entire life. This experience really opened my eyes to some of the evils taking place around the globe. I left with a slight feeling of anger that some of the country’s most trusted companies were lying to us about the people that make our clothes. I could not let this go unnoticed forever. There were so many people who needed my help, and I could give it to them. They aren’t asking for much, nothing that I don’t have every day of my life. I knew then that I had the power to change their lives, and I will not waste that power.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect coming into this event, but I got more out of it than I ever thought I would. Everything about this even was inspiring to me. To see people like Leslie and Jim who have dedicated there whole lives to this cause just reminds me that there are people out there who care. Having students from so many different schools come together to support one cause was also very exciting. Young people have so much power in this country and it makes me hopeful to see so many of us working together. The actual event was a very unique experience.

The sweatshop simulation was eye-opening. It really gave me a sense of what its like, even though I know the real thing is so much worse. 130 Some of the hardest parts about the actual work for me was not making eye contact, especially since from the time I was little I have been taught to look at someone when they are speaking to me, lack of sleep, and the repetition of the work just got old fast. Sweatshops are just such an injustice to people. I think to me the scariest thing about sweatshops is that the people running them know exactly what they are doing, and they don’t care. Money has become the most important thing to these people, even more important than the lives of fellow human beings. I hope that by doing this event we have inspired others to become educated and to get involved in the fight against sweatshops.