• When People Say Dov Charney Is Exploitative, They're Not Talking About Immigration

  Posted Wednesday, September 30, 2009 5:15 PM | By Kerry Howley
  
  
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  There was always something transparently cynical about Obama’s lofty promise to “go after employers” instead of undocumented workers themselves, as if making it impossible for immigrants to find decent jobs were something other than persecution. But why, in the search for someone of whom to make an example, would the Obama administration decide on American Apparel? If you’re trying to convince us that you’re “protecting immigrants from exploitation,” wouldn’t it be more intelligent to go after a place that doesn’t specifically market itself as a socially conscious “anti-sweatshop”? A place that doesn’t provide healthcare benefits and pay well over minimum wage? Or offer free English classes? Why not, I don't know, find a factory that doesn't provide its workers with free bikes and on-site bike mechanics? There are plenty of sketchy, example-ready slaughterhouses here in the Midwest, and you can bet they don’t provide their undocumented workers with in-factory massages....(Read more in DoubleX.)
  Filed under: immigration, dov charney, american apparel, illegal immigration
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