Performind The Border

Performing the Borders

INTRO/BRIEF SUMMARY:

This documentary takes place in Juarez, Mexico. American companies have sweat shops there. The reason is for cheap labor. Mostly women worked there. They had to wake up at 4:30am just to go to work. Sometimes they had no fresh water that day.

Three women were activists to get a cafeteria at the plant in which they worked in. They were fired. According to the companies, they are allowed to form independent unions, but cannot because the Mexican government wont allow. It is worried about the companies taking their business elsewhere if that happens because then it will raise costs for the company, and the goal is to keep costs down.

Some girls start working at the plant when they are 13. They learn no skills, they the money. One woman was pregnant and could not find work. She crossed the border to the US and sold tax free cigarettes for the money.

Women can't find work without experience and that's why they turn to prostitution. Some prostitutes start from 13. Older women prostitutes have competition with younger ones for money. Younger ones get paid more and are more desirable than older prostitutes. Girls work in the plant for a steady income and prostitute on weekends.

EVIDENCE

In class, I saw a film called The New rulers of the World. It is about sweatshops. The workers have no choice but to work there because they don't have anywhere else to go. They need the money.

Sometimes, the company has inspectors to check how things are running and to see if the workers are happy. The overseers of the sweatshop instruct the workers to say that they are happy and that there is nothing wrong. If they say that there is something wrong, then they could get fired and can't find another job.

The workers do the same tiring task hour after hour. They work an average of 16 hours a day. They earn very little money. The boss walks around to make sure that they are always on their feet and working fast. They always have to look busy. They really want to keep the job. There are no benefits like health, dental or pension. Once someone can't work anymore, they are left to die on the streets.

Some questions were raised in class. One of them was "is the cost of living in