Organized Labor

Throughout human history, workers have attempted to improve their conditions by joining forces and garnering support to confront obstacles and to create change. In medieval times, guilds and associations of artisans and laborers streamlined systems of employment and the way goods were produced mainly for purposes of specialization and to improve output for profit and stability. Later, with the industrial revolution’s rise of mechanization, labor organizing became essential to confront conditions that had worsened dramatically. Today, the twenty-first century worker’s biggest obstacle is globalization. Then as now, the rise of organized labor is dependent on the workers themselves recognizing the importance of the commonality of their circumstance

Due to dangerous conditions, Rana Plaza, an eight-story building host to five clothing factories, completely collapsed, killing over 1,130 workers and injuring 2,500 others (International Labor Rights Forum 1). According to Brad Adams of Human Rights watch, “This tragedy was sadly predictable” because of the terrible and unsafe conditions continually overlooked by the factory owner (Human Rights Watch 2). This collapse was not the first tragedy to strike the garment industry workers of Bangladesh; in 2012 a fire in the Tazreen factory had occurred, killing at least 110 workers (Gapper 2), and this fire was preceded by several tragedies, including two other nearby factory collapses (Human Rights Watch 1). Each of these incidents led to more solidarity by the workers, greater attempts to organize and unionize and louder calls for change, yet led to no real reform. Ultimately, however, it was this event at Rana Plaza that marked the key turning point in the struggle of its garment factory workers, aiding them in gaining enough power to generate a significant change in law and policy in

The garment industry is the focus of the Bangladeshi economy, making up the majority of its exports and bringing in the majority of its wealth. Bangladeshi working standards are also more economically efficient for corporations than nearly any other country, with a minimum wage of $38 a month as of 2013 (Yardley 1), and labor laws that are much less restrictive than those in Europe and America (Stewart 2). Thus, Bangladesh became a popular source for Western investors, providing their companies with inexpensive clothes and the ability to satisfy their companies’ need to match the demand for fast goods (Al-Mahmood and Banjo 2). The cheaper it was to run these garment factories, the more Bangladeshi companies could profit from the system while remaining the top source for Western clothing companies. Because Bangladesh is so dependent on their garment exports, anything that threatens to slow down production is an immediate, grave issue (Yardley 2), to be dealt with even if it results in further exploitation of their workers. Because of these economic benefits and a lack of global pressure, or even acknowledgement of these injustices, the Bangladeshi government and corporations could continue to look for ways to maximize profit while paying no heed to the repercussions this had for