The Archdiocese of Newark

In 1997, New Jersey State labor officials reported that approximately 300 sweatshops existed in New Jersey, many with a workforce of illegal immigrants paid below minimum wage and receiving no overtime compensation. Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, then Archbishop of Newark (now of Washington, D.C.), decided it was necessary to bring local attention to the issue and to create public opposition to the injustice. "Catholic social teaching has always stressed the dignity of every human being," Archbishop McCarrick said. "We believe that everyone has the right to have the basic human needs for food, clothing, health care and housing met through just wages and safe working conditions." He later added, "You know that this is not what God wants for these people."

In a press conference in October 1997, Archbishop McCarrick, joined by US Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman, UNITE (a garment workers' union) Executive Vice President Bruce Raynor, and Fred Lopez, Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey State Department of Labor, launched the Sweatshop Initiative, beginning a twofold campaign. One objective of the campaign was the gathering of information regarding the uniform suppliers and the manufacturers used by the suppliers. The manufacturers were then checked by the federal and state department of labor for compliance with fair labor, safety, and health regulations. The second objective was the creation of a learning module supplied to the Archdiocesan schools to teach students in grades seven through 12 about labor issues and the injustice of sweatshops.

Along with school uniforms, the Sweatshop Initiative policy covers all school athletic clothing; all apparel suppliers must certify that they and their subcontractors are in compliance with federal labor laws. Since the implementation of the Sweatshop Initiative, the archdiocese has met yearly with the clothing vendors in an effort to ensure that the Catholic school uniforms and athletic gear are not made in sweatshops or by child labor. The diocese, with 185 schools, claims it is the first in the U.S. to institute such a policy. For more information about the Archdiocese, visit their Web site.