Employers of illegals are the real culprits

Sunday, March 25, 2007 Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Workplace raids ("Illegal workers taken to Devens," Telegram & Gazette, March 7) do nothing to stop sweatshop conditions.

In fact, these raids allow sweatshops to thrive by driving workers further underground and making workers more vulnerable to exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous employers.

Instead of cracking down on vulnerable workers, the government should be focusing on the real culprits — employers and multinational corporations that profit from sweatshop conditions and the exploitation of workers.

This is an opportunity for us to call on Gov. Deval L. Patrick to end sweatshop conditions by enacting stronger labor law enforcement (not immigration enforcement) as an effective means to combat sweatshop conditions and protect all workers.

LIANA FOXVOG
Florence

Massachusetts Sweatfree Campaign