This report is about 251 young Vietnamese women and men who left their homes in Vietnam to work for a garment manufacturer in a US territory, American Samoa. It describes how their labor was exploited, how they were abused and how they have been left on a small Pacific island several thousand miles from home without money, food, or means of support and with no way to get back home. This report describes the gap in American labor laws that allows anyone with money & connection to build sweatshop factories and exploit poor, young Asian women who are desperate for jobs. The author advocates immediate action to resolve the current situation of the Vietnamese workers stranded in American Samoa, changes in US labor policy as well as preventive labor measures.

Daewoosa Samoa, Ltd., is a textile manufacturer with a factory in Tafuna in American Samoa, US Territories. Mr. Kil Soo Lee, a Korean national, is the majority owner. Several prominent American Samoan government officials are closely associated with this company. One of Daewoosa’s directors is the wife of the Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa, Mr. Togiola Tulafon. The company’s previous legal counsel, Mr. Aitofele T. Sunia, is the brother of the governor of American Samoa. Daewoosa made clothes for two major US department stores: JC Penney & Sears under labels such as David Taylor, Karen Taylor, Stephanie Rogers, MV Sport, and AZ Sport. American department stores buy products from companies like Daewoosa because such products are not subject to import tariffs & because their labels “Made in American Samoa, USA” give the impression that their manufacturing is in compliance with US labor laws.

The Daewoosa factory employs approximately 250, mostly young Vietnamese women, 50 Samoans, and a few Chinese nationals.[1] In February 1999, Daewoosa Samoa began its garment operations. The company brought "guest workers" to American Samoa from Viet Nam via the Vietnamese export labor agency International Manpower Supply (IMS) and Tour Company 12 (C12). These workers paid fees from US $4,000-$8,000 to either IMS or C12 in Viet Nam to secure three-year contracts to work in Daewoosa's American Samoan plant. The workers are primarily from poor, rural areas of Vietnam; most of their families must mortgaged their home or borrowed heavily to pay for this fee. The workers hoped to pay off the fee after a year of working abroad and to save the rest of the money from the last two years of the contract.

The workers' employment contracts stated that the workers were to be paid a basic wage of US $390-$408 per month plus food and housing payable at the end of the month. This basic wage is for a regular 40 hour week and does not include any extra overtime pay. However, after a few months working at the Daewoosa factory, the workers discovered that their contract was being ignored; the Daewoosa Company, for its part, claims in court that "there is no contract."[2] The workers were paid according to the whim of the owner of the company, Mr. Kil-Soo Lee, in terms of amount as well as frequency. In addition, they were forced to work long hours under sweatshop conditions without any overtime pay for overtime work. Moreover, the Vietnamese workers have to live in crowded rooms in rat-infested barracks behind razor wire fences and under a curfew. They were not allowed visitors even their attorneys were stopped by Daewoosa security guards when trying to enter the compound.[3] Also their food was often substandard or just inedible. According to a DOL report (December 14, 2000), most workers suffered from conditions of malnutrition and overwork.

A few of the workers in late March 1999 started to protest and raised the issue of back wages to the Daewoosa Samoa management. These workers were immediately singled out by the company as "troublemakers" and subsequently abused. The company sought to physically isolate them, barring them from leaving the factory compound and denying them outside contact, withheld food from them, physically assaulted them, and threatened and attempted to imprison and deport them to Vietnam.

One of these women workers, Ms. Vu Thi Kim Dung, escaped from the company compound to seek assistance on March 28[4]. With the help of a Christian missionary center in Pago Pago, on March 31, 1999 the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington, D.C. was informed of Daewoosa's abuse of its Vietnamese workers. Three days later, on April 2, Viet Nam's Ambassador to the US, Assistant Minister Le Van Bang, wrote to Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (D), asking him to intervene in the situation.

The problems at the Daewoosa factory drew the attention of the Department of Labor and OSHA in June 1999. Since then, the two agencies have conducted several investigations into the labor conditions at the factory. DOL & OSHA investigations from mid-1999 to mid-2000 resulted in the assessment of $213,000 in civil penalties against Daewoosa for repeatedly violating federal minimum wage laws. These investigations have no force of laws behind them because there is no federal district court with jurisdiction over American Samoa. Without any effective means of enforcement, orders from DOL officials were often ignored by Mr. Kil-Soo Lee and Daewoosa’s management. Attempts to use the High Court of American Samoa were also thwarted by the lack of support from the executive branch of the American Samoa government. This has allowed Daewoosa to defy many court orders from the High Court of American Samoa.

In January 2000, Daewoosa took further actions against the workers. The company decided to deduct $5 per day from workers' pay for food and lodging despite having signed contracts with workers in which the company specifically agreed to provide food & lodging without charge. In May, the workers had $150 automatically deducted from their paychecks for food and lodging; in June, this amount increased to $200. As a result, the workers' pay diminished from month to month, leaving little net earnings for a month's work.

On November 26, 2000, the workers were given some partial wage payments for the August-October period. Realizing that they would never be paid correctly, many workers stopped working. Two days later, on November 28, there was a violent confrontation at the Daewoosa compound. According to the interviews with workers, security guards were ordered by the company to force the workers to go back to work. The security guards used physical force and violence broke out. Many young women were beaten up by security guards. One of them was blinded in one eye.

A civil class-action suit against Daewoosa Samoa was brought by the workers in December 1999. But after numerous delays, the case has started in the High Court of American Samoa on January 18, 2001. Daewoosa is still looking to delay the case further. At the urgent of the workers’ attorney and after repeated failures to comply with many court orders, on January 12, 2001, the High Court of Samoa put Daewoosa under receivership of Mr. Fones, a well-known local businessman with standing in the Samoan community. This order was issued to protect the company’s asset. This, however, apparently was too late. When the receivership took over the company, it found only $538 in Daewoosa’s bank accounts. There were a transfer of $60,000 just right before the takeover and several transfers totaled $100,000 several weeks before the receivership was in effective. On December 7, 2000 according to a DOL’s report (Dec 14, 2000), during a meeting with OSHA & DOL investigators, Mr. Lee “produced a paper bag of money and proceeded to spread stacks of bills across the front of his desk.” It is reasonable to believe that Mr. Kil-Soo Lee has transferred most liquid asset of the Daewoosa company as a defense against potential penalties from the workers lawsuit.

Without any money, the receivership shut down manufacturing operations. Security guards who took part in the violent incident on November 28 were fired along with various Daewoosa’s management staff. Without work and without any money, the Vietnamese workers are in a desperate situation. They cannot work elsewhere because of their “guest” worker status. They cannot go home because they cannot afford the airfare. Even if they won their case in court, the chance of collecting from Mr. Kil Soo Lee or from Daewoosa is slim. As of January 18, the workers only have several days of rice left. The telephone company was about to shut down phone lines into the Daewoosa’s compound leaving the workers without means to communicate to the outside.

There is an abundance of evidence to show that over a period of nearly two years Daewoosa Samoa has brazenly and consistently ignored and violated United States and American Samoan law and fundamental labor rights. These include laws assuring workers' rights to be paid for their work and to work in a safe environment. The American Samoan Government does not appear to want to seek a solution to this problem, despite having been clearly aware of Daewoosa's pattern of violations and abuse since March 1999. One women worker has suffered a serious injury at the hands of Daewoosa management, and there are numerous other workers who have been physically abused. Daewoosa's actions are not taking place in a foreign country; all of these things have happened on American soil, under cover of the "Made in USA" label[5]. It is essential, therefore, on both legal and moral grounds, that there be immediate accountability and consequences for Daewoosa's actions under the relevant US labor laws.

Recommendations

The working and living conditions for these Vietnamese women workers are getting worse. The workers are receiving no pay and currently do not have any means of support.

We need urgent action to resolve this matter and we need to have safeguard in our labor policy to prevent this situation from occurring again. Vietnam Labor Watch recommends the following actions.

We urge Congress to ask the American Samoa government to resolve this matter with Vietnamese export workers at the Daewoosa factory in an expeditious manner.
We urge Congress to examine labor policies concerning importing workers in American Samoa and to provide clear guidance on the use of “export” workers in US territories and to direct the Department of Labor to provide protection as well as safeguards against further recurrence of labor law violations similar to the American Samoa situation.
We urge the US Department of Justice to expedite its criminal investigation into the conduct of Mr. Kil Soo Lee, the Daewoosa Company and its management. Urgency is needed because many workers might be leaving for Vietnam leaving the department without crucial testimonies as well as witnesses. Mr. Kil-Soo Lee also might return to Korea where his extradition would be lengthy and difficult.
We urge the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to determine whether American Samoa should be stripped of its powers to enact its own immigration laws and whether American Samoa’s immigration law were broken on the import of the Vietnamese workers to work in the Daewoosa Company.
We also urge the Internal Revenue Service to investigate Daewoosa's failure to pay Social Security Tax withholding even though the company has taken FICA deduction from the workers’ paychecks.
We urge J.C Penney and Sears, the two US department stores that are the major contractors of the Daewoosa’s factory to put pressure on this company to resolve this matter immediately. We urge JC Penney and Sears who have benefited from the cheap labor of these Vietnamese workers to help them with temporary material needs while they are stranded in American Samoa. JC Penney and Sears should urge its contractor, the Daewoosa company to pay all wages that were owed to the workers according to per their contracts. The company should also pay airfare to send the workers home as per their contracts.

Detailed Findings

This report was compiled from interviews conducted with Vietnamese workers in Tafuna, American Samoa from November 8, 2000 through Jan 16, 2001. Interviews were conducted with 80+ workers at random, in groups ranging from 5 to 12 in numbers. Payment schedules were constructed from workers hand-written records.

How Vietnamese workers get to American Samoa

Workers at Daewoosa obtained their contracts through either International Manpower System or Tour Company 12, two export labor agencies in Vietnam. There are 251 Vietnamese workers at Daewoosa Samoa, 22 men and 229 women. Workers came in 4 groups via IMS; the others in 9 groups with the Tour Company 12 (C12), and 6 more via independent arrangement with Vietnam Airline. The ultimate motivation for these workers for coming to American Samoa is the comparatively much higher wage of American Samoa of $2.25 per hour than that in Vietnam where the minimum wage is $40 per month. With food & housing already pay for as per their contract, these workers assumed that they will be able to send the bulk of their future earning to their family in Vietnam.

To obtain an employment contract, the workers paid a substantial sum of money to the two agencies mentioned above and the agencies’ brokers. Amount paid to agencies’ brokers varies from $500 to $4500, with $1500 to $2000 being the norm. Direct payment to International Manpower System (IMS) is $5000, and to Tour Company 12 is $4000. IMS later modified its contract and returned $2000 to signed-up workers. Because these workers often come from poor areas of Vietnam, they obtained the money to pay for these fees by mortgaging their homes or by borrowing from local lenders who charged a very high interest. Under such arrangement, if the loan is not paid in full at a pre-set time or interest payment is not met for a time period, their houses or household possessions will be repossessed. As such, it is of paramount importance that they receive timely wages in order to send back home for payment. At the time of this report, a number of workers have reported that they have lost their houses in Vietnam as well as their possessions. They are also very concerned that when they go back to Vietnam, they would never be able to pay back these loans.

Living Conditions

Workers live in a gated and fenced compound. When there’s work, they work from 7:30 to 4:30 every day. On working days, the gate opens at 6:00 PM and closes at 9:00 P.M. Workers returning to the compound after 9:00 PM were slapped. This applies to both women and men. Christian missionaries who went to help the workers observed beatings in public of at least three Vietnamese woman workers. Starting with the court order allowing free movement, the curfew has stopped.

Workers were allowed to keep only a minimal number of personal items within the compound. Those who bought pots and pans for their own supplementary cooking have had their wares routinely taken. Those who borrowed or bought their own sewing machines for doing sewing jobs on the side have had their sewing machines confiscated by the company.

There are 8 rooms all together in the compound, 1 for men, 7 for women.[6] The women room contains 36 bunk beds. Before the OSHA visit, there are only 8 shower stands and 4 toilets for about 35 women. After OSHA visit, the men’s room and one of the women’s rooms were fixed to have 32 beds, 4 shower stands, 2 faucets for laundry & 2 toilets. Workers also complained about infestation of cockroaches and rats in their living quarter.

Three meals are provided daily without cost in 1999. Between Jan and April 2000, $5 a day was deducted for room and board. Thereafter, $200 was deducted monthly for room and board. The food provided are report to be inedible and often under foul conditions. Many workers often cannot eat the food provided by Daewoosa.

There’s no medical or dental coverage as well as medical facilities in the factory for the workers in case of emergency. Other than a bed, tap water for drinking, electricity, and a kitchen, nothing else is provided. The workers are also charged for electricity which is often shut-off by the company to retaliate against the workers for going on strike or for refusing to work without pay.

Sexual Harassment & Invasion of Privacy

The alleged sexual harassment by Daewoosa management has never been recorded in fear of retributions. However, workers have complained under anonymity to interviewers that Mr. Lee was alleged to have seen groping and touching women workers at will. As early as March 30, per Kim Dung’s statement, he was alleged to have peeped into women’s showers and watching them disrobed. The workers also reported that he used his position to proposition an unknown number of women he asked to come to his office after hours. One woman was propositioned 3 times in return for a transfer to an easier “office job,” and was both ashamed and petrified.

The Department of Labor in its report on Dec 14, 2000 stated that the Daewoosa Company “has exhibited a pattern of abuse to women, including assault and invasion of privacy.” The report also stated that “female employees allege that the owner of the company routinely enters their barracks to watch them shower and dress.”

Retaliation & Physical Abuse

Two most common intimidation and retaliation tactics employed by Mr. Lee have been threats of deportation and refusal to assign work to the individual resulting in no payment despite the abundance of work. This is a clear violation of the employment contract which guaranteed the worker a basic wage even when there’s no work to be done. Corporal punishment such as hitting on top the head, slapping the face, striking the shoulders or behind, are often used by the management of the Daewoosa factory.

The group of workers who first started work stoppages in demand for payment of due wages and who received checks issued by Dept of Labor were singled out for retaliation & deportation. Another Daewoosa’ favorite target are those who speak some English, participate in Court proceedings, or join in work stoppages. They are often harassed by the security guards and forced to do menial labors in the compound. Group leaders who took part in work stoppages were immediately demoted after work resumes and were not pay the promised bonus pay for group leaders.

A Christian missionary[7] to whom Ms. Kim Dung came for help on March 28, 1999 witnessed the abuse at Daewoosa first-hand: "Upon arriving at Daewoosa, we observed three or four girls sitting immediately inside the security gate. The Korean guards began kicking and hitting the girls. About five minutes later, approximately thirty Vietnamese girls came to the gate crying and begging for help. Many of the young women were scratched, bruised, and bloody. When I asked what was going on, the guards started hitting the girls again."

Due to the immigration status of these workers which restrict their freedom and movement in American Samoa and combined with the fact that none of the workers is fluent in English, Daewoosa can always rely on the local police to enforce some of its intimidation tactics. Local police has detained and put workers in jail if they were identified as “troublemakers” by Daewoosa’s management. In January 5, 2000, the police even detained one of the workers’ attorneys for ‘trespassing’ while she was trying to meet the workers in their living quarter.

Cut in electricity often coincided with incidents inside the compound or displeasure to Mr. Kil-Soo Lee. Without electricity, workers cannot run their electrical fans. With the heat and humidity of the tropic, the conditions inside the living quarter of these workers became miserable. In March 1999, four workers were sent to the emergency room for heat strokes. [8] The combination of malnutrition, hard work and heat can be very dangerous. It is clear that Daewoosa knew how to use all possible methods to break the will of these Vietnamese workers.

The most significant incident of physical abuse and retaliation happened on November 28, 2000. According by most workers’ account, this incident was staged and sanctioned by Daewoosa management in which Mr. Kil Soo Lee took an active part in it. Many workers believe that Mr. Lee told Mr. N’uuli to “beat up any worker who would not listen” and “if anyone dies, he (Kil-Soo Lee) will be responsible”. This beating incident happened inside the Daewoosa factory during working hour; in which a single female worker was singled out and physically assaulted by Daewoosa staff including men and woman using wooden clubs. The woman worker was dragged out of her working area, got beaten and intentionally held up by a man and a different woman poked her in the eye with a wooden club. As a result, her left eye was so damaged that it has to be surgically removed.[9]

The Role of the Government of American Samoa

Besides the Daewoosa Company itself, Vietnam Labor Watch believes that the Government of American Samoa (ASG) plays the major role in the exploitation and abuse of the 251 Vietnamese export workers. Judging from the actions of the American Samoan Government in this case, it is hard for us not to assume that the rule of law is very weak in that part of the United States.

According to many published statements, the Government of American Samoa has never been on the side of the Vietnamese export workers. The governor of American Samoa has even insulted the worker, Ms Duyen, who was blinded after the November 28 incident in a statement to the press. It is clear to Vietnam Labor Watch that the ASG plays an active role in Daewoosa's efforts to intimidate workers by detaining and deporting those who complained about labor abuses, even though complaining about one’s labor conditions is a federally guaranteed civil right. Three workers who went to the Christian missionary camp asking for help was deported by the American Samoa government.[10] Another nine workers who were trying to seek legal help were also deported with apparent complicity from the American Samoa Government. On January 10 2000, the court issued a restraint order prohibiting Daewoosa to send any more workers back to Vietnam without due process of law or court approval.[11] Without the ASG being an enforcer of Daewoosa’s labor policy, we believe that Daewoosa would not be able to force so many workers to work for so long under such harsh conditions without pay.

The above active role is a significant contrast to the non-action and foot-dragging that the ASG has taken when other authorities stepped in to protect the Vietnamese export workers. Despite two investigations by the US Department of Labor within the past two years, the government of American Samoa has not attempted to enforce or investigate for possible violations of labor laws. For example, the American Samoa Government did not enforce its own worker compensation laws against Daewoosa. For a period of six months in the year 2000, Daewoosa was without workers compensation insurance. The insurance was only renewed in early December of 2000, approximately a week after the November 28 incident.

Similar pattern of inaction by the American Samoan government can be found in the lack of enforcement of court orders from the High Court of American Samoa to protect the Vietnamese workers. Many court orders were issued but none of them were enforced by the executive branch of the American Samoan government. On December 7, 2000, the court required the company to repatriate to Viet Nam those workers who wish to return home.[12] This order was ignored by the company. The American Samoa government also ignored the order as well. On January 4, 2001 the High Court issued yet another injunction against Daewoosa after the company on New Year's Eve had one of the workers' attorneys arrested for trespassing when she came to meet her clients.[13] This injunction was once again ignored by Daewoosa without any repercussion from the American Samoa government.

The lack of enforcement of the rule of law by the executive branch of the American Samoan government allowed the Daewoosa Company management to disobey many court orders. After repeated & willfully ignoring the rule of laws in the United States, the owner, Mr. Kil-Soo Lee apparently has felt that he is untouchable by our legal system and became brazen enough to order his security guard to attack the Vietnamese workers to retaliate against work stoppage.

Action or inaction taken by the government of American Samoan is not surprising considering that various high-level officials of the government have had close ties with the company. Such close ties might have helped the company’s ability to obtain exemptions from immigration-related regulations to expedite the import of these workers even when it knew that the that the company has violated many US labor laws as cited by the US Department of Labor. Even after the incident on November 28, 2000 where young women were beat up by security guards and one woman was blinded in one eye, the government of American Samoa has not file any criminal charge.

From the beginning, we believe that the American Samoan’s government has helped the Daewoosa Company bypass several immigration laws of the American Samoa. One of the requirements for sponsoring an “import” worker is that the sponsor must put up a bond in the amount of the return airfare to the home country of the “import” worker. In the case of Daewoosa, the government of American Samoa has waived the bond for bringing in 250 foreign workers. Instead, the government of American Samoa only required Daewoosa to put up a “surety bond” of $10,000 for the 5 Chinese ‘guest workers’. The “surety bond” was signed by Ms. Mary Tulafono, who at the time was a director of the Daewoosa Company. Ms. Tulafono is the wife of the Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa. Labor problems at Daewoosa was published in local newspaper since March of 1999 – yet the government as late as May 2000 allowed the company to import more workers without putting up a bond for the return airfare as required by American Samoan law. If the American Samoan’s government has enforced its own law, there would be enough money to fly these “export” workers back to Vietnam.

We believe that the American Samoan government continued to allow the Daewoosa company the exemption of the “returned airfare” bond while knowing that the Daewoosa company is in financial trouble. Daewoosa has and continues to be in arrears (approximately $140,000) on its lease payments to the ASG. Daewoosa also has not file taxes for 1998, 1999, and 2000. Daewoosa has also not pay any Social Security (FICA) tax withholding to the Social Security Administration for the 251 Vietnamese workers, yet, the company took out Social Security tax from the workers' paychecks whenever paychecks were issued.

In response to the Vietnamese Ambassador in Washington, the American Samoa Government (ASG) began its own investigation in April 1999. This official investigation from the beginning has been characterized by complicated relations between Daewoosa's legal representatives and the American Samoan Government and the appearance of conflicts of interest. Ms. Mary Tulafono, the wife of the Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa, Togiola Tulafono, is a director and a board member of the company Daewoosa. The Lieutenant Governor, himself, was one of the three people who incorporated Daewoosa according to the company’s articles of incorporation. American Samoan House Speaker Aina Saoluaga T. Nua consulted with Representative Malaetasi Mauga Togafau, who at the time was serving as an attorney for Daewoosa Samoa.[14] Daewoosa's previous attorney was Lieutenant Governor Togiola Tulafono [15]. Daewoosa then retained another lawyer, Mr. Aitofele T. Sunia, the brother of Governor of American Samoa Tauese Sunia. When public scrutiny was brought to this case, Ms. Tulafono resigned from the board. The brother of the Governor of American Samoa has also resigned as attorney for the Daewoosa Company.

The ASG investigation began on April 8, 1999 when the Governor's Office asked Lieutenant Governor Togiola Tulafono to direct an official inquiry (as noted above, before becoming Lieutenant Governor he served as Daewoosa's attorney). At a House Rules Committee (HRC) hearing on April 14, 1999, Daewoosa's then-attorney (and HRC Member) Malaetasi Mauga Togafau and Mr. Kil-soo Lee, the owner of Daewoosa, denied the allegations of mistreatment, saying there were no witnesses, the Vietnamese workers being unable to appear themselves to make their case.

The ASG investigation did not result in the filing of charges against Daewoosa or owner Kil-soo Lee; operations continued at Daewoosa Samoa, and the situation in the factory dropped temporarily from public view. In an attempt to calm the situation down, Daewoosa management sent many of the workers home to Viet Nam, mostly those who had spoken out against the abuses they were experiencing.

Ineffective Department of Labor

At the time of this report, the U.S Department of Labor has imposed two sanctions against Daewoosa in the last two years. The US DOL also has stopped Daewoosa from selling goods to the U.S mainland. In June 2000, DOL has fined Daewoosa $213,000.00 in penalties with various violations of Federal labor laws. In May 1999, DOL has also fined the company $24,140 for similar labor law violations.[16] On December 8, 2000, after an investigation on Daewoosa’s employment practices, the US DOL has embargoed all products manufactured by Daewoosa as “hot goods” for violations of minimum wage and overtime pay requirements during the period of Jan 1, 2000 to Dec 8, 2000. This action prevented the company from selling its products to any person or firm in the United States.

According to a DOL report on Dec 14, 2000, there has been 28 “alleged serious, willful, repeat and failure to abate violations in the following areas: sanitation hazards, electrical hazards, fall hazards, fire protection hazards, machine guarding hazards, workplace violence, substandard food and withholding of food.” DOL considered Daewoosa an “employer who has not been persuaded by DOL enforcement nor the orders of the Samoan High court to comply with basic minimum standards of safety and heath and payment of wages”[17]. Mr. Lee was also found to have “exhibited a pattern of abuse to women, including assault and invasion of privacy.”

DOL & OSHA investigations and actions from mid-1999 to mid-2000 resulted in the assessment of $213,000 in civil penalties against Daewoosa for repeatedly violating federal minimum wage laws. These investigations, however, are often plagued by language differences among workers (Vietnamese & Chinese), employer (Korean) & the investigators (English), by the distance between the US mainland and American Samoa, by the lack of a US district court with jurisdiction over American Samoa and the lack of enforcement of orders from the High Court of American Samoa. For example, in December 1999, DOL ordered the company to pay $367,000 in back wages to 213 employees.[18] Most workers went back home to Vietnam after receiving back wage payments of $1000-$2000. Some workers, however, decided to stay. Most of the remained workers reported that they were force to give their back wage payments to Mr. Kil-Soo Lee and Daewoosa so that they would be allowed to remain employed there.

Without any effective means to enforce its orders, officials from DOL & OSHA are often helpless in protecting workers at Daewoosa factory. Mr. Kil Soo Lee and Daewoosa management often ignored orders from DOL. Mr. Kil Soo Lee, as reported by a DOL investigator, even attempted to bribe DOL & OSHA officials.

The Role of the Government of Vietnam (SRV)

The Embassy of Vietnam in Washington responded quickly to the initial appeals for help from the workers; three days after a telegram from Ms. V.T.K.D. to the embassy in March
1999, Ambassador Le Van Bang contacted Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (D), American Samoa's elected representative in the US Congress. Ambassador Bang's letter to the Congressman stated that "the women have been working for two months without pay. They were starved from March 27th until now. Five of the women fainted and went into a coma as a result of the abuse. Per request from the management, the local police surrounded the place where the workers live and took away three of them. 50 women are severely abused, frightened and starving."[19]

More recently the embassy has raised its concern for Vietnamese workers in American Samoa and the crisis they are facing directly with relevant US government agencies, particularly after the attack on the workers of November 28, 2000[20].

But beyond the general mandate to assist all Vietnamese nationals residing on US territory, the embassy does not appear to have formal responsibility for overseeing and protecting Vietnamese workers on US soil. Indeed, no competent Vietnamese government ministry or office has been charged with this task -- only the companies themselves which organize and arrange for Vietnamese to work abroad. This means that once they have left Viet Nam workers like those in American Samoa have no informed and effective advocate to represent their interests and concerns to the employer and to local and federal governments. Companies like Tour Company 12 and IMS, like other commercial enterprises operated by Vietnamese government ministries, exist primarily as revenue-generating enterprises; in this
instance this has resulted in the short-sighted view that the problems of workers at Daewoosa Samoa should be played down in the interest of maximizing revenue from labor
exports.

More importantly, there is an serious conflict of interest implicit in charging labor export companies with the protection of their workers overseas: for employers like Daewoosa, advocacy and interventions on behalf of workers by Vietnamese agencies like Tour Company 12 serve as a direct disincentive to the continued use of their services. With
Viet Nam's emphasis on expanding labor exports, there are ample opportunities for exploitative companies like Daewoosa to seek other Vietnamese agencies who will do even less for their workers.

The lack of a central entity tasked by the Vietnamese government to oversee and protect Vietnamese workers employed abroad -- which in a best-case scenario results in a "hands off" stance towards the fate of its workers -- resulted in this case in a situation which degenerated over time from exploitation and abuse to the doing of severe physical harm to the workers. In the short term this lack of regulation might be viewed by foreign employers and even Viet Nam itself as good for the growth of labor exports (albeit at the expense of the workers themselves) but, as the experience in American Samoa shows, it is an entirely
unsustainable framework.

Although Viet Nam sent hundreds of thousands of workers to the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries in the 1970s and 1980s, the government-to-government nature of those arrangements and their basis in centrally-subsidized economies are of little relevance to Viet Nam's present labor export challenges. The global demand for Vietnamese labor is first and foremost commercial, driven by profits, not politics; the owners, investors, and operators of a foreign manufacturing facility may span a half-dozen countries, with no single clear and conspicuous accountability for the conditions in which foreign laborers are forced to work. In this complicated environment, it is essential that the Vietnamese government quickly establish a mechanism to actively assert primary responsibility for the working and living conditions of their citizens gone abroad as foreign workers.

Linkages between the government of Vietnam and the Tour Company 12 barely exist. Tour Company 12 is not an official agency of the SRV government As part of the government’s effort to privatize and localize, many companies were allowed to operate in the business of exporting workers to foreign countries. Most companies, like Tour Company 12, are allowed to operate as a semi-private or state-owned enterprise with some official capacities due to its affiliations with various government agencies, the Ministry of Trade as well as the Ministry of Tourism. Companies in the “labor export” industry operate without much audit & supervision from Hanoi. They often have complex financial ties with the same foreign companies who employ the workers. The goals of companies involved in the ‘labor export” industry is to make a profit and therefore have little incentives to protect the workers. Export workers from Vietnam are often not prepared, have little training on how to deal with problems that might arise from working for a foreign employer in a foreign land.

Appendix A. Press Release from Vietnam Embassy

1233 20th St. NW, Suite 400 - Washington, DC 20036
tel. 202.861.0737 - fax 202.861.0917

Embassy requests safety protection for Vietnamese workers

12/06/2000

Dec. 5 --Viet Nam's Embassy in the United States has requested relevant offices of the U.S. Government to take emergency measures to protect the rights and safety of Vietnamese workers. The request was brought after local workers turned on Vietnamese employees at a Korean-owned garment company, Daewoosa, on the South Pacific island of American Samoa, causing serious injury to many Vietnamese workers.

Viet Nam's embassy had made direct contact with and proposals to the Department of State, the Department of Labor and the Governor of American Samoa and some U.S. Congressmen and that the U.S. departments concerned are conducting a join investigation of the case.

The American Samoan court on Dec. 5 began hearing the case brought by Vietnamese workers against their employer, who is accused of allowing local employees to beat them following a labour dispute on Nov. 28.

The conflict erupted mainly over wage arrears, which was contrary to labour contracts. The representatives of Viet Nam's concerned offices, including the Department for Management of Vietnamese Labour in Foreign Countries, are cooperating with relevant parties to handle the case.

Appendix B. Chronology of Significant Events

3 April 1997	Construction begins on Daewoosa garment factory compound in Tafuna
8 Feb 1999	Group of 29 Vietnamese export workers via IMS arrived to work for Daewoosa. A month later, 35 more workers arrived.
12 Mar 1999	After working for a month, the workers asked for due wages. They were informed that each would only receive pay of $100 each for the month and, as apprentices, no pay for their first three weeks of work. Workers protested by writing a letter all asking for the next two days off.
27 Mar – 18 Apr 1999	New contracts drawn up between Vietnam’s Ministry of Trade, Daewoosa lawyer and IMS deputy director. Twenty signed. Thirty did not. These thirty workers were subsequently sent back to Vietnam in May – June.
27 Mar 1999	Food quality deteriorated. Workers complained. Some just could not eat and started crying. Daewoosa stopped feeding the workers. After a full day without food. Vietnamese working outside of Daewoosa helped, and the women went out to beg for food & seek refuge at the a Christian Missionary Center. Daewoosa subsequently admitted to DOL that they withhold meals from employees as a form of punishment when workers complain about food.
29 Mar 1999	Police was called in, detained and jailed 3 woman workers: Thu, Thuy, and Nga. Workers are now confined and not permitted to freely move in and out of the compound. They are now allowed 5-minute walk outside in group of 5 and one guard. After one group returned, another group was sent out.
31 Mar 1999	Vu Thi Kim Dung decided to jump the fence and escaped. She went to a Christian missionary and asked for help.
1 Apr 1999	The three jailed workers were deported, subsequently turned back to American Samoa by Western Samoa custom at Apia airport. They were placed in jail where they were assigned attorney Barry Rose as their lawyer. The lawyer intervened on their behalf. The workers were released and stayed at women shelter. Barry Rosen later represented many of the workers in their case against Daewoosa.
May – June 1999	30 workers were sent back to Vietnam without payment
14 May 1999	Approximately 30 workers arrive from IMS
29 June 1999	OSHA inspection of Daewoosa factory. The inspector cited 9 violations and assessed $10,150 in penalties.
15 July 1999	Tour Company 12 brings 203 more workers from Vietnam. Over 250 workers are now living in barracks.
19 July – Dec 31, 1999	Workers received no pay for work during this period
27 Sept 1999	Twenty remaining from IMS Group 1 and Group 2 workers were called in to receive DOL-issued checks ($2274). Mr. Kil Soo Lee demanded the money from these check should be given to him. Mr Lee made clear that those who refuse would not receive work. Four returned DOL checks in return for work assignments. Sixteen refused. Despite abundance of work, no work was assigned to these 16 until December. On December 17, nine were returned to Vietnam after the company discovered that they were trying to get legal help. On December 19, seven were offered work assignment in return for $150 monthly deduction for ten months.
19 Dec 1999	Lee called in the IMS group 7 and tell them that they can go back to work if they allow deduction of $150/month for 10 months. Lee told the employees that the amount in DOL check consists of the $1500 “immigration deposit” + $774 of overtime back pay. He promised not to deduct room & board for the time period in which they were idle. Six agreed to the terms. One worker, Nga, refused.
28 Jan 2000	Jakor & New Star rented the facilities on a temporary basis from Daewoosa to manufacture their own textile products. Jakor & New Star paid remaining back wages and paid workers fairly during this period.
8 June 2000	Workers are now once again under Daewoosa’s management. Operations resumed under full management of Kil-Soo Lee. Problems with pay, food as well harassment resumed.
15 August 2000	Daewoosa attempted to deport 38 striking workers, who “are also causing conflicts within the compounds”
4 September 2000	Payment paid for June and July. Lee withheld $400 in payment, saying that he owes them due to insufficient fund. Later in court, he stated that the deduction was for R&B.
28 Nov 2000	Security guard was called in to intimidate workers result in a fight between workers and security guard. One worker lost an eye and another lost hearing from one ear during the incident. After this incident workers were too fearful to go back to work.
7 December 2000	“During a meeting with OSHA & Wage & Hour investigators, the employer produced a paper bag of money and proceeded to spread stacks of bills across the front of his desk. The employer said he had $60,000 and that he was willing to use this money to ‘pay the workers’. The OSHA compliance officer has opined that this may have been left-handed attempt to bribe.” (DOL Report, Dec 14 2000)
31 Dec	Christa Lin, an attorney for the workers, arrested for trespassing by local police.
Jan 5, 2001	Workers ordered back to work. Six returned to the line. The rest was ordered to return to the line before they would get paid. Workers’s pay was between $49 and $389, averaging $150-190. In direct contempt of the High Court in American Samoa, workers were not permitted to leave the compound.

Appendix C. List of Names

Tauese Sunia	American Samoa Governor
Togiola Tulafono	American Samoa Lt. Governor
Eni Faleomavaega	American Samoam Congressman in D.C.
Togiola Tulafono	1^st Daewoosa’s lawyer (inactive)
Malaetasi Mauga Togafau	2^nd Daewoosa ‘s lawyer (inactive) Administrative law judge
Aitofele T. Sunia	3^rd Daewoosa’s lawyer (active)
Toetagata Albert Mailo	Attorney General
Tuilefano M. Vaelaa………	Senator & Chairman of the Immigration Board
Lyle Richmond	Associate Justice
Le Van Bang	Vietnam’s Ambassador to the U.S.
Barry Rosen	Attorney for the three Vietnamese women (1999)
Virginia Sudbury and	Attorney for the Vietnamese Workers (2000)
Christa Lin	Attorney for the Vietnamese Workers (2000)
Hoang Thi Ngoc Mai	Tourism Company 12
Kil-Soo Lee	President/Owner of Daewoosa
Dan Mooney	Department of Labor (OSHA)
David Moon	Department of Labor (OSHA)
Astor Bruheira of Phoenix, AZ	DOL’s Wage and Hour Division
Karen Clark of Portland, OR	DOL’s Wage and Hour Division
Truong thi Quyen	Vietnamese workers lost one eye
Nu’uuli Ioane	Assistant production manager
Dr. Heather Margaret	LBJ Hospital
Dr. Fred Whitehurst	LBJ Hospital
Captain Rob and Sandra Stip	Pago Pago Seafarers’ Center
Bishop Quinn	Dioceses of Samoa-Catholic Church

Appendix D. Pictures of the Daewoosa’s dormitory

Pictures 1 & 2: Daewoosa workers live in barracks with small bunk beds without any space for personal belongings.