As if this were not bad enough, few labor safety regulations apply.
But such efforts can fail to uncover some dangers: At least two garment factories at Rana Plaza had passed international labor and safety standard audits under a European trade organization which addressed specific safety concerns at the factories but didn't assess the stability of the building that housed them.
WSJ: Bangladesh Factory Lacked Building Permits, Officials Say
Shahi carried out its own check, Mr. Giri said, which included ensuring compliance with labor laws and safety standards.
WSJ: Bangladesh Collapse: The Global Garment Trail: From Bangladesh to a Mall Near You
In March Chobani was cited by the Labor Department for alleged safety and health violations at its New York State plant.
WSJ: Chobani Spawned the Greek-Yogurt Craze, Starting With One Small New York Factory
It also engendered safety and child labor laws, after reformers documented the lives of the poor in a way painters never could.
Buchanan, says Hoffa, is good on globalization (meaning he's against it) but not so great on other labor issues (health and safety laws, for example).
CNN: Lance Morrow: Why Ralph and Pat should be in the debates
The deadly apparel-plant fires in Bangladesh last year and last month's building collapse, which killed more than 800 people, revealed safety hazards, labor-rights violations and unauthorized subcontracting of Western brands' orders.
The deadly apparel-plant fires in Bangladesh last year and last month's building collapse, which killed more than 700 people, revealed safety hazards, labor-rights violations and unauthorized subcontracting of Western brands' orders.
The firm also joined the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex), a web-based platform and registry where companies report on CSR-related initiatives around business and labor practices, health and safety, and the environment.
FORBES: Finding the Balance Between CSR and PR: Edelman Celebrates 60 Years
The recent spate of accidents in the garment trade, especially in Bangladesh, where in addition to the building collapse more than 100 have also died in factory fires over the past year has led labor unions and worker-safety groups to press Western retailers to tighten oversight of their supply chains.
Recently, the technology giant's own annual audits have found instances of underage labor, excessive working hours and inadequate safety.
And they can protect millions of other domestic workers who labor with precariously few guarantees for their safety and rights.
According to the National Safety Council (using Bureau of Labor Statistics data), in 1996 Regals accident incidence rate was 40% lower than the industry average.
This approach would ensure food safety but would be far less labor and time intensive for FDA personnel, and far less obstructive and punitive to an emerging industry.
Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, a Washington-based nonprofit monitoring group, said labor-rights groups' calls for better safety measures at Bangladesh factories had been met with "vague promises" from retailers.
High (and seemingly unending) personal and corporate tax rates are a major reason California gets a failing grade, but it also has to do with an overly-burdensome regulatory environment, which includes policies on health and safety, environmental, employment and labor.
FORBES: Is California's Fiscal Crisis Dooming Silicon Valley?
New attempts to restrict corporate pay, at least in some sectors, is a given--overlooking the unintended side effects of Bill Clinton's attempt to limit CEO pay packages back in 1993. (The deductibility of CEOs' salaries was capped, which led companies to use stock options as never before.) Protectionists are renewing calls for trade restrictions in the name of consumer safety and promoting "better" labor and environmental standards.
And for decades, it has improved worker safety and health and aggressively combated child labor at home and abroad.
Taken together, U.S.-level unemployment protections, retirement accounts, safety regulations, and other programs which benefit labor are more costly than that.
FORBES: Sadly, Bangladesh Simply Cannot Afford Rich World Safety And Working Standards
Not only would this approach ensure food safety, but it would be far less labor- and time-intensive for agency personnel.
Government officials, labor activists, manufacturers and retailers all called for improved safety standards after a November garment factory fire in the same suburb, when locked emergency exits trapped hundreds of workers inside and 112 people died.
Not all unions are supporting Mr. Grimm, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent whose labor backing comes largely from unions involved in construction and public safety.
Merced Farm Labor was fined and cited for failing to train its employees on heat safety two years ago.
Judy Gearhart, executive director of the International Labor Rights Forum, said workers need a system to allow them to report safety concerns without the fear of losing their jobs.
WSJ: Bangladesh Factory Lacked Building Permits, Officials Say
This eventually translated into a series of government programs, such as state-funded primary and secondary schooling, the adoption of a five-day, forty-hour workweek, elimination of child labor, introduction of welfare and unemployment services, senior income support, workplace safety regulations, environmental regulations, and eventually some form of universal healthcare.
FORBES: Let's 'Clean Sheet' Our Failed Approach To Entitlements
Calvin Scovel, Inspector General for the Department of Labor--charged with watching the watcher--agreed runways were a primary safety concern.
The Labor Department has said it would investigate both wage-and-hour violation claims and safety concerns, and the State Department said it would look at the nonprofit group to make sure it was monitoring working conditions.
The unexpected drop in the Conference Board's consumer confidence index to 53.1 in September, from 54.5 in August, provoked a "dollar-safety" play, but Chau believes the market is waiting for Friday's labor report to set the tone for the dollar's near-term future.
Companies like Boeing participate in groups like the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST), which comprises hundreds of representatives from airlines, manufacturers, labor and government.
FORBES: Here's Why I'm Grateful Microsoft Doesn't Build Airplanes
To use the Fair Trade label on their products, companies have to follow certain safety and wage standards that are based on established industry auditing groups, including the International Labor Organization.
应用推荐