Pentagon employing 'sweatshop' labor -- in Kansas! [View All]

[KamaAina]

Officially these worksites are known as "sheltered workshops" for people with developmental disabilities such as mental retardation or cerebral palsy.

But when Americans are working for 50 cents an hour or less -- perfectly legally! -- some disability advocates invoke the S-word:

http://www.ljworld.com/section/socialservices/story/160599

"It has become a sweatshop kind of thing," said Greg Jones of Parsons, director of advocacy for an independent living center. "We allow this stuff to happen right here under our very nose and we call it OK."...

One of the people for whom Jones is guardian and conservator in southeast Kansas has worked 40 hours for as little as $20.

The minimum wage in Kansas, for typical people, at any rate, is $2.65 an hour, the lowest in the country.

And wait 'til you see who's taking advantage of these "Made in the U.S.A." sweatshops:

In Lawrence, such services are provided by Cottonwood Inc., a nonprofit organization that has a thriving work program including a 45,000-square-foot work center where employees with developmental disabilities work on numerous contracts. At Cottonwood, the jobs include a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to assemble military cargo tie-down straps. Work done under the five-year contract has won an award for excellence from the federal government.

Oh-kay, let me see if I've got this straight: $87 billion for this insane war effort, including $20 billion straight into the bulging pockets of Halliburton, while the people making the cargo tie-down straps are working for less than the lowest minimum wage in the country?!

Oh well, at least the Pentagon isn't charging them for their meals -- yet...