Corporations have increasingly turned to voluntary, multi-stakeholder governance programs to monitor workers’ rights and standards in global supply chains. This article argues that the emphasis of these programs varies significantly depending on stakeholder involvement and issue areas under examination. Corporate-influenced programs are more likely to emphasize detection of violations of minimal standards in the areas of wages, hours, and occupational safety and health because focusing on these issues provides corporations with legitimacy and reduces the risks of uncertainty created by activist campaigns. In contrast, these programs are less likely to emphasize workers’ rights to form democratic and independent unions, bargain, and strike because these rights are perceived as lessening managerial control without providing firms with significant reputational value. This argument is explored by coding 805 factory audits of the Fair Labor Association between 2002 and 2010, followed by case studies of Russell Athletic in Honduras, Apple in China, and worker rights monitoring in Vietnam.

post

page

attachment

revision

nav_menu_item

custom_css

customize_changeset

oembed_cache

user_request

wp_block

wp_template

wp_template_part

wp_global_styles

wp_navigation

wp_font_family

wp_font_face

acf-taxonomy

acf-post-type

acf-field-group

acf-field

ai1ec_event

exactmetrics_note

National Hotline 2017 Virginia State Report
Graphics & InfographicsPublications

The data in this report represents signals and cases from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 and is accurate as of July 11, 2018. Cases of trafficking may be ongoing or new information may be revealed to the National Hotline over time. Conseq...Read More

Corporate Human Rights Benchmark – 2018 Key Findings
Publications

The 2018 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assesses 101 of the largest publicly traded companies in the world on a set of human rights indicators. The companies from 3 industries - Agricultural Products, Apparel, and Extractives - were chosen for the ...Read More

Ripe for Change: Ending Human Suffering in Supermarket Supply Chains report
Publications

Millions of people around the world who farm, fish, and process the food in our stores are working extremely long hours, toiling in unsafe conditions, and earning only poverty wages. The report and its accompanying methodology note launch Oxfam’...Read More

Without Rules: A Failed Approach to Corporate Accountability
Publications

Many global businesses are run with consideration for the well-being of the people whose lives they touch. But others—whether through incompetence or by design— seriously harm the communities around them, their workers, and even the governments...Read More