LABOR: Lessons From Bangladesh

Abstract: 

Labor organizer Garret Brown discusses what Latin American manufacturing can learn from the Bangladesh Accord for Fire and Building Safety.

On April 24, 2013, the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed, killing 1,138 workers and injuring 2,500 more. While not the first disaster in the history of Bangladesh’s garment industry, the Rana Plaza death toll drew international attention and provoked outrage about the unsafe conditions in apparel manufacturing a century after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Under pressure, nearly 200 international brands signed the Bangladesh Accord for Fire and Building Safety to ensure inspections and better working conditions in their Bangladeshi suppliers.

Author: 
Seth Leibson
Publication date: 
January 13, 2015
Publication type: 
Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies Article