1PL l MAC1 Cl u8- CAl1A Cn

1PL CuALl 1? Cl Ll lL lC8

CA8MLn1 WC8kL8S LMLC?Lu l n
l8LL 18AuL ZCnLS l n 1PL
uCMl nl CAn 8Lu8Ll C



1?LLA Sl MCnL 8l CPA8u
luL88l CP1 8LSLA8CP lLLLCW
AuCuS1 2014

llnal

2
1he Impact of Dk-CAI1A on the
ua||ty of L|fe for Garment Workers Lmp|oyed |n
Iree 1rade 2ones |n the Dom|n|can kepub||c

Abstract
lL ls ofLen argued LhaL low-sklll assembly [obs ln Lhe garmenL secLor are vehlcles of
modernlzaLlon for developlng economles and paLhways ouL of poverLy for lLs clLlzens. 1hls paper
examlnes Lhe lmpacL of Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc-CenLral Amerlcan lree 1rade AgreemenL on Lhe
garmenL secLor ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc and how Lhese pollcles have affecLed Lhe quallLy of
llfe for workers who fuel LhaL lndusLry. ln lnLervlews and focus groups, workers clLed decreased
purchaslng power, overwhelmlng levels of personal debL and lncreased pressure aL work as
some of Lhe largesL negaLlve changes experlenced ln Lhe lasL several years. Cn Lhe poslLlve slde,
workers appreclaLed Lhe relaLlvely sLable lncomes ln an lndusLry LhaL has seen a slgnlflcanL
decllne ln recenL years, as well as lmproved medlcal coverage. Powever, Lhe Lrends do noL
suggesL overwhelmlng advancemenLs ln workers' quallLy of llfe and are noL llkely Lo
fundamenLally lmprove ln Lhe fuLure wlLhouL LargeLed lnLervenLlon from governmenL and Lhe
prlvaLe secLor.


1hls ls noL an offlclal ueparLmenL of SLaLe publlcaLlon, and Lhe vlews and lnformaLlon presenLed
are my own and do noL represenL Lhe lulbrlghL rogram of Lhe u.S. ueparLmenL of SLaLe.



Author
1ylea Slmone 8lchard
lulbrlghL SLudenL 8esearch lellow
Lyleaslmone[gmall.com

Support rov|ded 8y:
lulbrlghL SLudenL 8esearch rogram
lundacln Laboral uomlnlcana

Acknow|edgments
Lourdes anLaleon & Leo valverde, La lundacln Laboral uomlnlcana
?anerls Conzalez, 1ranslaLlon
8lalse uellen, lnLerpreLaLlon
ur. 8lck 8aLLlsLonl, Academlc SupporL
rovldence College lulbrlghL CommlLLee




3
CCN1LN1S
Introduct|on & Summary ......................................................................................................... 6
Strategy and Methodo|ogy ...................................................................................................... 8
Lconom|c Context .................................................................................................................. 12
Lconom|c Landscape .......................................................................................................... 12
1he Lxport Sector & Iree 1rade 2ones ................................................................................ 13
uomlnlcan 8epubllc-CenLral Amerlcan lree 1rade AgreemenL ............................................ 16
1he Appare| & 1ext||e Sector .............................................................................................. 17
ua||ty of ||fe ......................................................................................................................... 23
Standard of L|v|ng .............................................................................................................. 26
Work Llfe ............................................................................................................................... 26
Pome Llfe .............................................................................................................................. 39
know|edge ......................................................................................................................... 4S
nea|th ................................................................................................................................ 48
napp|ness .......................................................................................................................... S2
Conc|us|ons ............................................................................................................................ SS
kecommendat|ons ................................................................................................................. S6
Append|ces ............................................................................................................................ S8
Appendlx l: uemographlc lnformaLlon .................................................................................. 38
Appendlx ll: locus Croup roLocol ........................................................................................ 39
Appendlx lll: lnLervlew CuesLlons ......................................................................................... 61
8|b||ography .......................................................................................................................... 63


4
IIGUkLS
llgure 1: Cender of parLlclpanLs ln Lhls sLudy by locaLlon ............................................................ 10
llgure 2: Ma[or evenLs ln domlnlcan economlc hlsLory ................................................................ 12
llgure 3: lour chapLers ln Lhe developmenL of Lhe lree 1rade Zones ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc
(Ceara-PaLLon, eL al., 2003) ................................................................................................... 14
llgure 4: roducLlon acLlvlLles of Lhe companles ln Lhe lree 1rade Zones, 2012 (CnZlL, 2012) .. 14
llgure 3: ConLrlbuLlon of Lhe lree 1rade Zones Lo Lhe Cross domesLlc producL of Lhe domlnlcan
republlc, 1993-2012 (ln mllllones of 8u$, ln currenL values) (CnZlL, 2012) ......................... 13
llgure 6: Crlgln of lnvesLmenL of companles ln Lhe lree 1rade Zones (CnZlL, 2012) .................. 16
llgure 7: LxporLs from Lhe lree 1rade Zones (CnZlL, 2012) ........................................................ 18
llgure 8: CarmenL secLor as LoLal of companles ln Lhe lree 1rade Zones (CnZlL, 2012) ............. 18
llgure 9: !obs generaLed by lree 1rade Zones (CnZlL, 2012) ...................................................... 19
llgure 10: lndex of verLlcally lnLegraLed companles ln Lhe garmenL secLor ln Lhe domlnlcan
republlc, mexlco, and cenLral amerlca, 2003 (Ceara-PaLLon, eL al., 2003) ............................ 20
llgure 11: 1hree chapLers ln Lhe process of lnserLlon for companles and counLrles ln Lhe
lnLernaLlonal garmenL supply chaln (Ceara-PaLLon, eL al., 2003) .......................................... 21
llgure 12: Puman uevelopmenL lndex (Pul) measures ................................................................ 24
llgure 13: unu Puman uevelopmenL lndex, LaLln amerlca 2012 (unu, 2013) ........................ 24
llgure 14: uomlnlcan 8epubllc's Pul Lrends over Llme (unu, 2013) .......................................... 23
llgure 13: CuallLy of llfe lndex by zone of resldence, 2000-2011 (MlnlsLerlo de Lconomla,
lanlflcacln y uesarrollo, 2013) ........................................................................................... 23
llgure 16: 8elaLlve specLrum of worklng condlLlons as reporLed by focus groups parLlclpanLs ... 27
llgure 17: Labor producLlvlLy and real earnlngs, lndlces ln logarlLhm .......................................... 29
llgure 18: MonLhly real wages ln 13 of Lhe Lop 21 apparel exporLers Lo Lhe unlLed sLaLes (W8C,
2013) ..................................................................................................................................... 29
llgure 19: Average weekly salary (ln uSu) pald by garmenL companles ln Lhe lree 1rade Zones,
by lndusLrlal park, 2012 (CnZlL, 2012) ................................................................................. 30
llgure 20: Average monLhly salary of Lhls research sample, ln uSu (2013) .................................. 31
llgure 21: CuanLlLy of reporLs of workplace accldenLs, 2004-2012 (A8LSS, 2013) ....................... 36
3
llgure 22: ComplalnLs examlned by Lhe CommlLLee for Labor lreedom by caLegory of offense ln
Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc (1990-2008) (Sepulveda Malbrn, Schaplra-lelderhoff, & uelpech,
2009) ..................................................................................................................................... 38
llgure 23: Salarles and Lhe cosL of llvlng ln uomlnlcan esos ....................................................... 42
llgure 24: Comparlson of prevalllng versus llvlng wages (MonLhly) for Lop apparel exporLers Lo
Lhe us (W8C, 2013) ................................................................................................................ 42
llgure 23: ubllc spendlng as percenLage of Cu and of naLlonal budgeL (CnL, 2013) ............... 43
llgure 26: Average years of educaLlon of Lhe populaLlon over 13 years, 2011 (MlnlsLerlo de
Lconomla, lanlflcacln y uesarrollo, 2013) ......................................................................... 46
llgure 27: LducaLlon level of Lhe populaLlon by gender (Average 2010-2012) (nuu, 2013) ...... 46
llgure 28: Comparlson of ?ears of schoollng (unu, 2013) ......................................................... 47
llgure 29: LducaLlon level of parLlclpanLs ln Lhls sLudy ................................................................. 47
llgure 30: ubllc spendlng on healLh as percenLage of Cu ......................................................... 49
llgure 31: ubllc spendlng by healLh care provlder, percenLages, 2011 ....................................... 49
llgure 32: Llfe expecLancy accordlng Lo Lhe unlLed naLlonal human developmenL lndex (unu,
2013) ..................................................................................................................................... 49
1A8LLS
1able 1: oslLlon of prlmary educaLlon of Lhe u8-CAl1A counLrles, lncludlng anama, ln relaLlon
Lo all 134 counLrles and amongsL each oLher, 2007-2008 (nuu, 2010) .............................. 46





6
ln18CuuC1lCn & SuMMA8?
ln 2009, popular [ournallsL nlcholas krlsLof wroLe ln Lhe new ?ork 1lmes: a [ob ln a sweaLshop
ls a cherlshed dream, an escalaLor ouL of poverLy, Lhe klnd of gauzy lf probably unreallsLlc
amblLlon LhaL parenLs everywhere ofLen have for Lhelr chlldren" (krlsLof, 2009). Pe argued LhaL
Lhese [obs, even wlLh Lhelr lnfamously long hours, low pay and dlfflculL condlLlons, were beLLer
Lhan subslsLence farmlng or worklng ln a dump or pulllng a rlckshaw, prlmarlly because Lhey
paved Lhe way for a rouLe ouL of poverLy. 1hls asserLlon, a common one among economlsLs llke
!effrey Sachs and aul krugman, resLs on Lhe bellef LhaL low-wage, low-sklll manufacLurlng has
served as a caLalysL for growLh and modernlzaLlon ln developlng counLrles around Lhe world,
and LhaL Lhese economlc achlevemenLs evenLually make Lhelr way Lo workers. Powever, Lhls ls a
Lheory LhaL sLlll remalns largely anecdoLal and unLesLed.
1hls paper ls an lnvesLlgaLlon of Lhe lmpacL of Lrade llberallzaLlon, parLlcularly Lhe uomlnlcan
8epubllc-CenLral Amerlcan lree 1rade AgreemenL (u8-CAl1A), on Lhe quallLy of llfe (CCL) for
workers employed ln Lhe garmenL secLor ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc. uo lnLernaLlonal pollcles
LhaL favor so-called sweaLshop" [ob creaLlon ln a very compeLlLlve, low-wage, and hlghly moblle
secLor ln a developlng counLry acLually faclllLaLe Lhe slow process of lmprovlng workers' llves? ln
Lhe years slnce u8-CAl1A's passage, analyses have prlmarlly Lracked changes ln economlc
lndlcaLors, buL CCL cannoL be measured by Lhe growLh of Cu, exporL volume, or lncome per
caplLa alone. 1hese numbers only serve as proxles for how macroeconomlc developmenLs moy
have affecLed Lhe people who fuel Lhls new lmporL/exporL economy. 1herefore, Lhls
lnvesLlgaLlve research adds Lhe volces of garmenL workers Lo Lhe conversaLlon abouL Lhe effecLs
of u8-CAl1A ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc, and more broadly Lo Lhe global debaLe abouL Lhe
relaLlonshlps beLween low-quallLy
1
sewlng [obs and poverLy allevlaLlon.
lor Lhe lasL 20 years, Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc's economy has remalned one of Lhe sLrongesL and
fasLesL growlng ln Lhe reglon. ln Lhe manufacLurlng secLor alone, labor producLlvlLy and exporLs
have conLlnued Lo cllmb desplLe lncreased compeLlLlon and flnanclal crlses. Powever, Lhese
growLh lndlcaLors have noL LranslaLed lnLo a reducLlon of poverLy for workers or for Lhe
populaLlon aL large: [obs conLlnue Lo be low-quallLy, real wages have decllned by more Lhan
20, and Lhe cosL of llvlng has lncreased dramaLlcally. WlLh Lhe excepLlon of workers from one
facLory ln vllla AlLagracla where employees were lnLenLlonally pald a llvlng wage salary, all
workers ln Lhls sLudy reporL LhaL Lhey and all of Lhelr colleagues regularly sollclL lnformal, hlgh-
lnLeresL loans Lo cover Lhe shorLfall beLween whaL Lhey were earnlng and whaL lL cosLs Lo
survlve. ln oLher words, Lhe workers Lhemselves may be subsldlzlng Lhe counLry's Cu growLh
and Lhelr employers' lncreased proflLs, whlle falllng deeper lnLo personal debL.
Accordlng Lo oLher non-lncome based lndlcaLors of CCL, workers' responses varled. Some
facLors, llke access Lo healLh care, have reporLedly lmproved, buL mosL workers flnd Lhemselves
endurlng worse healLh condlLlons wlLh llmlLed access Lo prescrlpLlon drugs. Workers also
reporLed fewer overLlme hours, buL hlgher producLlon quoLas and lncreased pressure Lo

1
Low quality jobs aie geneially uefineu as those with low wages anu pooi woiking conuitions
2
Inteiview questions weie answeieu via email
3
1he unlLed SLaLes flrsL occupled Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc from 1916 Lo 1924 reporLedly because of
7
produce. 8esponses abouL overall saLlsfacLlon wlLh llfe ranged from sadness Lo desperaLlon Lo
Lhankfulness for havlng a [ob Lo genulne conLenLmenL.
Many of Lhese Lrends pre-daLe u8-CAl1A, and Lhus Lhe Lrade agreemenL and lLs varlous pollcles
cannoL Lake all of Lhe blame for Lhese dlvergenL developmenLs. ln facL, governmenL researchers
argue LhaL Lhe lasL several years have been LumulLuous and unrepresenLaLlve, wlLh Lhe end of
Lhe MulLlflbre AgreemenL ln 2003 and Lhe flnanclal crlsls ln 2009, and should noL be Lhe base
from whlch Lo evaluaLe Lhe Lrue lmpacL of u8-CAl1A. Powever, Lhls reporL suggesLs LhaL Lhese
lnLernaLlonal evenLs should noL be vlewed separaLely, buL lnsLead as mechanlsms ln a larger
sysLem of Lrade llberallzaLlon LhaL have clear lmpacLs on workers' dally llves. lor example, Lhe
lncreaslng cosL of food sLaples and prescrlpLlon drugs are dlrecLly relaLed, aL leasL ln parL, Lo
parLlcular concesslons from Lhls free Lrade agreemenL.
1he reporLs from workers ln vllla AlLagracla conLrasL dramaLlcally wlLh Lhose of oLher workers,
and hlghllghL Lhe mosL lmporLanL flndlng from Lhls research: low-sklll sewlng [obs coolJ loJeeJ
be Lhe road ouL of poverLy, buL lL does noL happen as lf by maglc, Lhe mere exlsLence of Lhese
garmenL [obs does noL auLomaLlcally lmprove llvellhoods and CCL. ln Lhls case, Lhe company
had lnvesLed ln Lhls plan. Workers aL AlLagracla Apparel ln vllla AlLagracla were pald a wage LhaL
was calculaLed based on Lhe cosL of llvlng ln LhaL locaLlon, Lhey had unlon represenLaLlon and a
collecLlve bargalnlng agreemenL, and Lhe faclllLy was regularly monlLored by an lndependenL
non-proflL organlzaLlon. 1he goods Lhey produced were apLly markeLed ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes as
Llfe Changlng." 8uL Lhls Lype of LransformaLlon can come abouL only as a resulL of hlgh-level
sLraLeglc plannlng and lnnovaLlon, lf all sweaLshop [obs led auLomaLlcally Lo a mlddle class llfe
Lhe world would be a very dlfferenL place.
8eallsLlcally, workers do noL expecL Lo cllmb Lhe sweaLshop ladder and somehow become rlch or
even mlddle class. 1hey accepL Lhese poslLlons fully undersLandlng LhaL Lhe pay wlll be low and
Lhe condlLlons harsh, buL LhaL a presenL sacrlflce wlll creaLe opporLunlLles for Lhelr chlldren ln
Lhe fuLure. Powever, employees enLer lnLo Lhls lmpllclL soclal conLracL assumlng LhaL Lhe old
rules are sLlll aL play: hard work and producLlvlLy wlll be rewarded wlLh [ob securlLy and
lncreased wages. AfLer workers ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc have provlded decades of lncreased
producLlvlLy, Lhere are few slgns of lmprovemenL and many slgns of decllne. 1hls suggesLs LhaL
Lhe soclal conLracL beLween employees and employers has noL only shlfLed fundamenLally, buL
LhaL Lhe assumpLlons around Lhe role Lhese [obs play ln Lhe economlc developmenL process are
perhaps ouLdaLed as well.
1hls paper ls organlzed lnLo Lhree maln parLs. 1he flrsL provldes a hlsLorlcal vlew of Lhe
uomlnlcan economy, wlLh parLlcular aLLenLlon Lo Lhe exporL secLor and Lhe apparel and LexLlle
lndusLrles. 1he second secLlon examlnes CCL lndlcaLors for garmenL workers accordlng Lo Lhelr
own accounLs and ln comparlson Lo offlclal sLaLlsLlcs and oplnlons of governmenL and clvll
socleLy. llnally, Lhe lasL secLlon offers concluslons and recommendaLlons for boLh Lhe prlvaLe
and publlc secLor.


8
S18A1LC? Anu ML1PCuCLCC?
1hls reporL was conducLed wlLh Lhe flnanclal supporL of Lhe lulbrlghL Commlsslon and Lhe
research supporL of Lhe lundacln Laboral uomlnlcana (lLu). uaLa was prlmarlly collecLed
Lhrough focus groups and lnLervlews wlLh garmenL workers, uLlllzlng a framework adapLed from
Lhe unu's Puman uevelopmenL lndex. Workers were asked a serles of quesLlons relaLed Lo
Lhelr sLandard of llvlng (work and home llfe), healLh, knowledge, and happlness. lleld experLs
were also asked Lo share Lhelr professlonal oplnlons on Lhe lmpacL of u8-CAl1A on Lhe lree
1rade Zones, Lhe LexLlle secLor, and Lhelr percepLlons of workers' quallLy of llfe.
A llLeraLure revlew (lebruary-March 2013) preceded Lhe fleld research, whlch was conducLed
from Aprll Lhrough CcLober 2013. Analysls of Lhe resulLs occurred ln CcLober and Lhe flnal reporL
was wrlLLen beLween november 2013 and AugusL 2014.

uLSlCn Cl SAMLL
Workers were recrulLed uslng Lhe convenlenL sampllng meLhod, uLlllzlng currenL conLacLs and
quallfled referrals. Cnly Lhose who quallfled and showed lnLeresL were consldered. ALLempLs
were made Lo selecL a sample LhaL reflecLs Lhe broader gender dlsLrlbuLlon among employees ln
Lhe lree 1rade Zones (l1Zs) as well Lo recrulL lndlvlduals worklng ln dlfferenL geographlc areas,
lndusLrlal parks and companles.
SCu8CLS Cl lnlC8MA1lCn
uaLa was collecLed wlLh parLlclpaLlon from 33 workers ln flve focus groups ln 8ayaguana, 8onao,
CuanamlnLhe (PalLl), La vega, SanLlago, and Len one-on-one lnLervlews ln vllla AlLagracla.
9
All of Lhe workers from CuanamlnLhe were PalLlan, and Lhe sample was lncluded ln Lhls
research because Lhe facLory ls slLuaLed near Lhe uomlnlcan border, employs uomlnlcan
workers (mosLly as supervlsors), ls locaLed ln a l1Z LhaL ls 100 owned by a uomlnlcan company
(Crupo M), and assembled goods LhaL were cuL and ofLen flnlshed aL a planL ln SanLlago,
uomlnlcan 8epubllc. lurLhermore, all of Lhe garmenL facLorles produclng lnslde of Lhls l1Z ln
PalLl en[oy speclal Lrade preferences Lo encourage co-producLlon beLween PalLlan and
uomlnlcan flrms. lor example, accordlng Lo u8-CAl1A, u.S. fabrlc can be cuL lnLo componenLs ln
PalLl and Lhen assembled ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc buL sLlll be consldered Made ln PalLl" and
ellglble for preferenLlal LreaLmenL under Lhe Carlbbean 8asln lnlLlaLlve (Pouse of
8epresenLaLlves, 2003). So alLhough Lhls sample of workers was sllghLly ouLslde of Lhe lnlLlal
scope, lL was an essenLlal plece Lo undersLandlng Lhe lmpacL of free Lrade on Lhe uomlnlcan
8epubllc.


arLlclpanLs ln Lhls sLudy were 64 male and 36 female, whlch ls noL represenLaLlve of Lhe
LexLlle secLor's 33 female and 43 male composlLlon (CnZlL, 2012). Powever, experLs have
noLed an lncreaslng number of males enLerlng Lhe secLor LhaL used Lo be overwhelmlngly
female. 1hls ls due, ln parL, Lo Lhe lncreaslng number of LexLlle producLlon planLs LhaL uLlllze
large, heavy machlnery and employ men almosL excluslvely (such as ln 8ayaguana and 8onao).
ln conLrasL, more LradlLlonal cuL-and-sew faclllLles (such as ln SanLlago and La vega) sLlll employ
mosLly women workers. Accordlng Lo a recenL newspaper arLlcle, Lhe planL ln CuanamlnLhe was
34 female (AcosLa, 2013) alLhough accordlng Lo workers, many of Lhe planLs were currenLly
only recrulLlng male workers.

A|ta Grac|a Appare|

WlLhln Lhe garmenL lndusLry ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc, Lhere ls a small facLory an hour
norLhwesL of SanLo uomlngo LhaL ls quleLly reshaplng Lhe way Lhe global garmenL lndusLry
operaLes. AL Lhe Llme of Lhls wrlLlng, AlLa Cracla Apparel was Lhe only facLory ln Lhe world
locaLed ln a lree 1rade Zone where unlonlzed workers earned llvlng wages LhaL were
calculaLed based on lnLernaLlonal Labor CrganlzaLlon (lLC) sLandards and regularly verlfled
by an lndependenL lnspecLor.

1hls small faclllLy, a producer of colleglaLe apparel, was esLabllshed ln 2009 by uS-based
knlghLs Apparel. Slnce Lhen, Lhe facLory has faced some challenges buL lL has also capLured
Lhe lmaglnaLlon of sLudenLs and acLlvlsLs who see lL as a model for more labor-frlendly
apparel manufacLurlng. As such, Lhe facLory presenLed a unlque opporLunlLy Lo research Lhe
relaLlonshlp beLween pay and quallLy of llfe ln an lndusLry where such comparlsons are
Lyplcally lmposslble. 1en workers from Lhe AlLa Cracla Apparel facLory were lncluded ln Lhls
research.
10
llCu8L 1: CLnuL8 Cl A81lClAn1S ln 1PlS S1uu? 8? LCCA1lCn


ln addlLlon Lo facLory workers, lnLervlews were conducLed wlLh Lwo naLlonal unlon leaders
(?gnaclo Pernandez Plclano of Lhe lederaLlon of lree 1rade Zone Workers and Lulogla lamllla,
vlce resldenL of Lhe naLlonal ConfederaLlon of 1rade unlon unlLy), Lwo economlsLs (ur. Mlguel
Caera PaLLon, former head of Lhe un Puman uevelopmenL rogramme offlce ln Lhe uomlnlcan
8epubllc and ur. avel lsa ConLreras, a professor aL Lhe 1echnologlcal lnsLlLuLe of SanLo
uomlngo and researcher aL Lhe uomlnlcan CbservaLory for lnLernaLlonal Commerce), one
represenLaLlve of Lhe local governmenL body LhaL oversees Lhe lree 1rade Zones (Lbell de
CasLro, Manager of Lhe Lconomlc Analysls and CompeLlLlveness ulvlslon from Lhe naLlonal
Councll for lree 1rade LxporL Zones), and one lndlvldual from Lhe Lrade organlzaLlon LhaL
represenLs companles operaLlng ln l1Zs (PecLor 8afael Conzlez from Adozonas
2
). llnally,
observaLlons were conducLed aL Lwo faclllLles (ln vllla AlLagracla and an undlsclosed facLory ln
Lhe SouLh.
uA1A CCLLLC1lCn & 8C1LC1lCn
Lvery parLlclpanL was presenLed wlLh a consenL form, whlch Lhe prlnclpal lnvesLlgaLor also
revlewed orally ln case LhaL Lhe parLlclpanL was noL able Lo read. 1he prlnclpal lnvesLlgaLor was
aLLenLlve Lo parLlclpanL concerns and provlded answers Lo quesLlons regardlng Lhe sLudy. WlLh
Lhe consenL of parLlclpanLs, lnLervlews and focus groups were recorded ln mp3 formaL, and no
phoLos or vldeos were Laken. names and oLher ldenLlLy/ldenLlflable daLa were noL sLored nor
shared, and anonymlLy was malnLalned for Lhe enLlreLy of Lhe sLudy. lnformaLlon collecLed wlll
be sLored anonymously afLer Lhe presenLaLlon of Lhe research maLerlals.

2
Inteiview questions weie answeieu via email
u%
1u%
2u%
Su%
4u%
Su%
6u%
7u%
8u%
9u%
1uu%
Nale
Female
11
arLlclpanLs were lnformed LhaL Lhls sLudy was for academlc research purposes only and would
noL be used for any oLher purposes. 1hey were ensured LhaL Lhey were able Lo sLop Lhe
lnLervlew aL any Llme, could chose noL Lo answer any quesLlons wlLhouL penalLy, and were glven
Lhe conLacL lnformaLlon for Lhe prlnclpal lnvesLlgaLor and Lhe afflllaLe organlzaLlon ln case of
oLher unforeseen consequences.
All of Lhe focus groups and lnLervlews were conducLed ln Spanlsh wlLh Lhe excepLlon of Lhe
group ln CuanamlnLhe, whlch was conducLed enLlrely ln PalLlan Creole (by a professlonal
lnLerpreLer) and laLer Lranscrlbed and Lhen LranslaLed lnLo Spanlsh. A second professlonal
LranslaLed Lhe remalnder of Lhe LexL from Spanlsh Lo Lngllsh, wlLh conLrlbuLlons from Lhe
prlmary researcher.
lurLher focus group proLocol avallable ln Lhe Appendlx secLlon.
LlMl1A1lCnS
1here were several llmlLaLlons LhaL should be Laken lnLo accounL when lnLerpreLlng Lhe resulLs
of Lhls sLudy. MosL noLably, Lhls research was deslgned as a quallLaLlve exploraLlon wlLh a small
sample noL large enough Lo be represenLaLlve of Lhe secLor as a whole. ln addlLlon, workers
were recrulLed uslng Lhe help of local nCCs, communlLy organlzers, and labor unlons. 8andom
selecLlon was noL posslble, as enLerlng ln or near work seLLlngs Lo speak wlLh workers was
consldered a poLenLlal rlsk Lo Lhelr [obs. 1herefore, Lhe sample reflecLs only Lhe reallLy of Lhe
respondenLs. unforLunaLely, no facLory managers LhaL were conLacLed were wllllng Lo
parLlclpaLe ln Lhls research, whlch would have enrlched Lhese flndlngs. WlLh Lhe help of unlon
and governmenL represenLaLlves, aLLempLs were made Lo lnclude company managers ln
lnLervlews buL Lhey were ulLlmaLely unsuccessful. noneLheless, Lhe Lhemes uncovered by
workers wlLh decades of experlence worklng ln Lhe garmenL secLor suggesL Lhe lmporLance of
examlnlng Lhese lssues wlLh a larger and more represenLaLlve sample ln Lhe fuLure.

12
LCCnCMlC CCn1Lx1
LCCnCMlC LAnuSCAL
1he uomlnlcan 8epubllc ls locaLed on Lhe LasLern porLlon of Lhe lsland of Plspanlola ln Lhe
Carlbbean. As of !uly 2012, Lhe populaLlon was esLlmaLed aL [usL over 10 mllllon, wlLh
approxlmaLely 1 mllllon resldenLs ln Lhe caplLal clLy of SanLo uomlngo. Consldered a mlddle
lncome naLlon" by Lhe World 8ank, Lhe Cu ln 2012 reached uS$100.4 bllllon (8anco Mundlal,
2012).

ln LaLln Amerlca and Lhe Carlbbean, Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc ls Lhe second largesL
economy and one of Lhe rlchesL, wlLh levels of Cu per caplLa [usL behlnd Lhose of CosLa 8lca
and anama (Cl1, 2013). ln recenL decades, Lhe economy has grown aL one of Lhe hlghesL raLes,
noL only ln Lhe Carlbbean buL also LhroughouL LaLln Amerlca.
llCu8L 2: MA!C8 LvLn1S ln uCMlnlCAn LCCnCMlC PlS1C8?

PlsLorlcally, Lhe uomlnlcan economy was fueled by Lhe exporL of agrlculLural producLs, prlmarlly
sugar, coffee and Lobacco. ln Lhe 1990s, Lhe counLry responded Lo decreased lnLernaLlonal
demand for Lhelr agrlculLural producLs by creaLlng an lnfrasLrucLure for Lourlsm and
manufacLurlng ln l1Zs. Mlnlng and agrlculLure remalned Lhe counLry's hlghesL exporL earners,
buL Lhe growLh of Lhe new secLors conLrlbuLed Lo Lhe economy's 6-8 annual growLh raLe
durlng Lhls decade (SLorrs, 2004).
uesplLe Lhe rapld growLh of Lhe economy ln Lhe 1990s, Lhe counLry was soon meL wlLh a barrage
of challenges ln Lhe flrsL decade of Lhe 21sL cenLury. ln 2003, Lhe counLry's Lhlrd largesL bank,
8anco lnLerconLlnenLal (8anlnLer), collapsed afLer defraudlng deposlLors and Lhe uomlnlcan
governmenL of uS$2.2 bllllon worLh of accounL holdlngs-an amounL equal Lo almosL 67 of Lhe
198us
- Economy of
agiicultuial
expoits:
- Sugai cane
- Tobaco
- Coffee
199us
- Economy
shifts to:
- Touiism
- Fiee Tiaue
Zones
199S
- BR }oins
Woilu Tiaue
0iganization
2uu2
- Financial
ciisis - BR
2uu4
- BR-CAFTA
signeu
2uuS
- Enu of Nulti-
Fibie
Agieement
2uu9
- Financial
ciisis -
global
2u1u
- Expoits:
- Call
centeis
- Neuical
uevices
- Appaiel &
textiles
13
counLry's annual budgeL. resldenL Me[la broke moneLary pollcy Lo ball ouL 8anlnLer, along wlLh
Lwo oLher commerclal banks, resulLlng ln approxlmaLely $700 mllllon ln losses Lo Lhe uomlnlcan
CenLral 8ank (SLorrs, 2004).
As a resulL, Lhe counLry experlenced a rapld and deep economlc decllne. 8y 2004, Lhere had
been a 30 lncrease ln Lhe proporLlon of uomlnlcans wlLh lncomes lnsufflclenL Lo saLlsfy Lhelr
baslc needs, lnflaLlon had reached 42, unemploymenL sLood aL 16.3, and Lhe peso had losL
more Lhan half lLs value (Cmez Carrasco, 2007, SLorrs, 2004). ln 2003, Lhe lnLernaLlonal
MoneLary lund esLabllshed a uSu$663 arrangemenL wlLh Lhe uomlnlcan governmenL Lo supporL
Lhe counLry's flscal resLrucLurlng ln Lhe wake of Lhe crlsls (lMl, 2003).
Meanwhlle, ln AugusL 2003 Lhe unlLed SLaLes governmenL announced plans Lo lnclude Lhe
uomlnlcan 8epubllc ln a free Lrade agreemenL wlLh CenLral Amerlcan counLrles. negoLlaLlons
wlLh Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc were compleLed ln March 2004 and wenL lnLo effecL ln March of
2007. 1he uomlnlcan 8epubllc-CenLral Amerlcan lree 1rade AgreemenL was deslgned, aL leasL ln
parL, Lo counLeracL Lhe effecLs of Lhe lmpendlng dlssoluLlon of Lhe MulLlflbre AgreemenL (MlA)
seL Lo explre on !anuary 1, 2003. 1he MlA had prevlously malnLalned quoLas on global LexLlle
lmporLs Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes, mosL noLably puLLlng a cap on Chlnese goods. WlLh Lhe end of
Lhese llmlLs, Lhe local lndusLry hoped LhaL a lree 1rade AgreemenL ln Lhe reglon could help
medlaLe some of Lhe lmpacL of Lhe predlcLed loss of markeL share Lo Chlnese apparel and LexLlle
manufacLurers.
1he counLry was ln Lhe process of recovery when, ln 2009, Lhe world was shaken by Lhe effecLs
of Lhe flnanclal crlsls ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes. Powever, desplLe u8's heavy dependence on Lhe
unlLed SLaLes (as Lrade parLner as well as a slgnlflcanL source of famlly remlLLances), Lhe
economlc crlsls of laLe 2000s dld noL affecL Lhe u8 or LaLln Amerlca as much as lL dld Lhe unlLed
SLaLes, Lhe Luropean unlon, or !apan (Morgan, Lsplnal, & Sellgson, 2010). 1he Cu growLh raLe
reached a low of 3.3 ln 2009, buL recovered rapldly ln 2010 (Cl1, 2013).
AlLhough Lhe counLry was noL Lerrlbly affecLed by Lhe economlc crlsls, aL Lhe level of naLlonal
employmenL, one of Lhe mosL affecLed secLors [was] Lhe lree 1rade Zones," and parLlcularly
Lhose flrms dedlcaLed Lo low-value added assembly (Morgan, Lsplnal, & Sellgson, 2010).
1PL LxC81 SLC1C8 & l8LL 18AuL ZCnLS
1he flrsL lree 1rade Zone was esLabllshed ln La 8omana, ln Lhe souLheasLern reglon of Lhe lsland
ln 1969, a few years afLer Lhe end of Lhe second Amerlcan mlllLary occupaLlon.
3
1he flrsL

3
1he unlLed SLaLes flrsL occupled Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc from 1916 Lo 1924 reporLedly because of
LhreaLs LhaL Lhe counLry would defaulL on lLs debL paymenLs. uurlng Lhls Llme, a young soldler named
8afael 1ru[lllo Lralned wlLh Lhe uS Marlnes and evenLually rose Lhrough Lhe ranks of Lhe uomlnlcan
mlllLary. ln 1930, 1ru[lllo became presldenL and soon esLabllshed one of Lhe bloodlesL auLhorlLarlan
dlcLaLorshlps ln Lhe hlsLory of LaLln Amerlca. AlLhough supporL waned over Llme, Lhe uS lnlLlally favored
Lhe dlcLaLor for hls economlc reforms and hls sLrong anLl-communlsL sLance. ulssldenLs murdered 1ru[lllo
ln 1961 and Lhe counLry enLered a perlod of pollLlcal lnsLablllLy. AmldsL fears LhaL a communlsL revoluLlon
could Lake place ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc as ln nearby Cuba, Lhe uS occupled Lhe lsland agaln from 1963
Lo 1966.
14
company Lo seL up shop Lhere was Lhe uelLa 8rush ManufacLurlng CorporaLlon-uomlnlcan
ulvlslon, whlch ls sLlll ln operaLlon Loday (CnZlL, 2012). 1he lree 1rade Zones began Lo expand
rapldly ln Lhe early 1980s and found relaLlve sLablllLy ln Lhe 1990s. 8y Lhe year 2000, however,
lncreaslng compeLlLlon from Mexlco and CenLral Amerlca as well as lncreased wages aL home
were already slowlng Lhe growLh of Lhe secLor slgnlflcanLly (Ceara-PaLLon, eL al., 2003).
llCu8L 3: lCu8 CPA1L8S ln 1PL uLvLLCMLn1 Cl 1PL l8LL 18AuL ZCnLS ln 1PL
uCMlnlCAn 8Lu8LlC (CLA8A-PA11Cn, L1 AL., 2003)

ln 2012, Lhere were 33 lree 1rade Zone parks ln operaLlon houslng 384 companles whose
prlnclpal acLlvlLles were ln Lhe servlce secLor, producLlon of apparel and LexLlles, Lobacco,
agrlbuslness, and commerclallzaLlon (CnZlL, 2012).
llCu8L 4: 8CuuC1lCn AC1lvl1lLS Cl 1PL CCMAnlLS ln 1PL l8LL 18AuL ZCnLS,
2012 (CnZlL, 2012)

Incubation
(197u-198S)
Boom
(198S-1991)
Consoliuation
(1991-1998)
Teimination oi
Reinvention
(1998 -
piesent)
Seivices
21%
Clothing anu
Textiles
19%
Tobacco anu
Beiivatives
11%
Agiicultuial
Piouucts
9%
Wholesaleis
anu
Bistiibutois
8%
Neuical anu
Phaimaceutical
Piouucts
4%
Shoes anu
Components
4%
Caiuboaiu
anu Papei
4%
Electionics
S%
}eweliy
S%
0thei
14%
13
ln recenL years, lree 1rade Zones have conLlnued Lo be an lmporLanL, buL decllnlng, conLrlbuLor
Lo Lhe uomlnlcan Cu. ln addlLlon, Lhe lree 1rade Zones were also supplylng fewer of Lhe
counLry's overall exporLs. Accordlng Lo Lhe uomlnlcan governmenL, ln Lhe year 2000, Lhe
exporLs from Lhe l1Zs represenLed 83 of Lhe counLry's LoLal exporLs, amounLlng Lo almosL
uS$4,300 mllllon. lor Lhe year 2010, LhaL percenLage was reduced Lo 62 of Lhe LoLal, and
lowered also ln dollar Lerms Lo uS$4,080 mllllon" (Alemany lsaac, 2011).
llCu8L 3: CCn18l8u1lCn Cl 1PL l8LL 18AuL ZCnLS 1C 1PL C8CSS uCMLS1lC
8CuuC1 Cl 1PL uCMlnlCAn 8Lu8LlC, 1993-2012 (ln MlLLlCnLS Cl 8u$, ln
Cu88Ln1 vALuLS) (CnZlL, 2012)

1he lree 1rade Zones have always been sLrongly Lled Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes, boLh ln Lerms of Lhe
orlgln of caplLal as well as Lhe flnal desLlnaLlon of Lhe goods produced, alLhough Lhls has also
been decllnlng. 8y 2010, Lhe percenL of exporLs Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes decllned 39 from flve
years prlor. noneLheless, lL conLlnued belng Lhe prlnclpal desLlnaLlon of uomlnlcan exporLs
(Alemany lsaac, 2011). Powever, exporLs Lo PalLl and oLher CenLral Amerlcan counLrles have
been lncreaslng, as has Lhe quanLlLy of uomlnlcan companles worklng ln Lhe secLor.
u
2
4
6
8
Contiibution (%)
16
llCu8L 6: C8lCln Cl lnvLS1MLn1 Cl CCMAnlLS ln 1PL l8LL 18AuL ZCnLS (CnZlL,
2012)

ln addlLlon Lo Lhe Carlbbean 8asln lnlLlaLlve and Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc-CenLral Amerlcan lree
1rade AgreemenL wlLh Lhe uS, Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc has been slgnaLory Lo Lhe uruguay
8ounds AgreemenL Lhrough Lhe World 1rade CrganlzaLlon (W1C), Lhe free Lrade agreemenL
wlLh CA8lCCM (Carlbbean CommunlLy and Common MarkeL), and was an acLlve parLlclpanL ln
Lhe negoLlaLlons for Lhe lree 1rade Zone of Lhe Amerlcas. 1he u8 ls also Lhe beneflclary of
varlous unllaLeral preferenLlal agreemenLs awarded by developed counLrles, ln parLlcular Lhe
unlLed SLaLes and Lhe Luropean unlon, wlLh !apan, Canada, AusLralla, 8ulgarla, new Zealand,
norway, SwlLzerland and 8ussla (Abreu, lamllla, & 8aLlsLa, 2008).
uCMlnlCAn 8Lu8LlC-CLn18AL AML8lCAn l8LL 18AuL AC8LLMLn1
Slgned ln 2004 and enacLed ln 2007, u8-CAl1A allows many lmporLs Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes from
reglonal counLrles Lo recelve duLy-free LreaLmenL. Whlle mosL uomlnlcan producLs already
enLered Lhe uS duLy-free under Lhe Carlbbean 8asln lnlLlaLlve, Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc [olned
CAl1A wlLh Lhe hope of malnLalnlng preferenLlal LreaLmenL wlLh Lhe unlLed SLaLes and
prevenLlng oLher CenLral Amerlcan counLrles from galnlng a compeLlLlve advanLage ln Lhe
reglon.
AlLhough local acLlvlsLs and academlcs reslsLed Lhe agreemenL when lL was proposed, Lhe
companles ln Lhe lree 1rade Zones pushed Lhe negoLlaLlons forward (Caera PaLLon, 2013).
Accordlng Lo observers, Lhe prlvaLe secLor pressured Lhe uomlnlcan governmenL Lo send slgnals
0SA
41%
Bominican
Republic
S6%
Bollanu
2%
Canaua
2%
Pueito Rico
2%
South
Koiea
2%
0K
2%
Switzeilanu
2%
Spain
1%
Italy
1%
venezuela
1%
ueimany
1%
Fiance
1%
0thei
6%
17
Lo Lhe Amerlcan governmenL LhaL Lhey were lnLeresLed and ready Lo accommodaLe forelgn
Lrade ln any way, even golng so far as Lo agree noL Lo cooperaLe wlLh Lhe lnLernaLlonal Crlmlnal
CourL ln cases where human rlghLs had been vlolaLed by Amerlcan clLlzens (lsa-ConLreras &
SanLos-8eyes, 2004). Accordlng Lo economlsL avel lsa ConLreras, Lhls puL Lhe unlLed SLaLes ln a
poslLlon Lo maxlmlze concesslons (lsa ConLreras, 2013).
ln facL, by Lhe Llme LhaL Lhe uS declded Lo lnclude Lhe u8 ln Lhe Lalks, Lhere was only Llme for
Lhree rounds of negoLlaLlons ln fewer Lhan Lhree monLhs, Lhe shorLesL perlod of negoLlaLlon for
any free Lrade agreemenL up Lo LhaL polnL (lsa-ConLreras & SanLos-8eyes, 2004). Several former
u8-CAl1A negoLlaLors Lold CeorgeLown unlverslLy researchers LhaL Lhe uomlnlcan negoLlaLors
were relaLlvely lnexperlenced aL Lhe Llme. Cne noLed, we needed handholdlng as a counLry and
as negoLlaLors durlng Lhls process" (CeorgeLown unlverslLy Law CenLer, 2010).
1he lree 1rade AgreemenL conLlnues Lo have crlLlcs several years laLer. 1hey polnL Lo Lhe
counLry's conLlnulng Lrade deflclL wlLh Lhe uS and CenLral Amerlca, perslsLenLly low wages, and
Lhe lack of lmpacL on Lhe counLry's perslsLenL poverLy problem as evldence of Lhe agreemenL's
fallure. uurlng an lnLervlew for Lhls paper, Lhe economlsL Mlguel Caera-PaLLon, former head of
Lhe unlLed naLlons uevelopmenL rogram ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc, sald LhaL u8-CAl1A was
beneflclal for Amerlcan companles and damaglng Lo Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc (Caera PaLLon,
LconomlsLa, 2013).
uesplLe Lhe deLracLors, Lhere were many who belleve LhaL Lhe lmpacL of u8-CAl1A has been neL
poslLlve. 1he reporL produced by uSAlu and Lhe uomlnlcan MlnlsLry of Commerce and lndusLry
found LhaL Lhe lmpacL of u8-CAl1A has been beneflclal overall: 1he slgnlng of Lhe free Lrade
agreemenL produced an lncrease of 73 ln Lhe growLh raLe of exporLs Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes, and
almosL 60 Lo CenLral Amerlca. Accordlng Lo Lhese esLlmaLes, Lhe exporLs would have been less
lf Lhe agreemenL had noL been slgned" (Alemany lsaac, 2011). Accordlng Lo represenLaLlves from
Lhe naLlonal Counsel of lree 1rade Zones (CnZlL) durlng an lnLervlew for Lhls research, Lhe
economlc slLuaLlon ln Lhe counLry would have been much worse lf noL for u8-CAl1A (ue CasLro,
2013).
1PL AA8LL & 1Lx1lLL SLC1C8
1he producLlon of apparel and LexLlles has hlsLorlcally been Lhe largesL and mosL producLlve of
all Lhe exporL secLors ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc. Accordlng Lo represenLaLlves aL Lhe CnZlL
(2013), Lhe LexLlle secLor developed Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc." Powever, Lhe secLor's
prevalence had been decreaslng sLeadlly slnce Lhe year 2000, when more Lhan uS$2,300
mllllons worLh of LexLlles were senL Lo Lhe uS markeL (vsquez-8ulz, ulaz, 8lvas, & AlLagracla,
2012).
lrom Lhen on, exporLs fell aL a raLe of 8 annually. ln 1993 LexLlle exporLs represenLed 60 of
Lhe LoLal exporLs from Lhe lree 1rade Zones. 1hls percenLage was reduced Lo 34 ln 2000, 40
en 2003, and aL Lhe close of 2010 lL fell Lo 24" (Alemany lsaac, 2011). AL lLs helghL, u8 was Lhe
largesL LexLlle exporLer of all Lhe u8-CAl1A counLrles and flfLh among all Lop garmenL exporLers.
8y 2010, Lhe counLry was Lhe flfLh ln Lhe reglon, only hlgher Lhan CosLa 8lca ln LhaL caLegory,
and 21
sL
ln Lhe world. 1hls represenLed an almosL 80 loss of markeL share ln a decade (W8C,
18
2013). noneLheless, Lhere were sLlll more [obs creaLed ln Lhe lree 1rade Zones from apparel and
LexLlles Lhan any oLher slngle secLor, represenLlng 30.3 of Lhe LoLal (CnZlL, 2012).
llCu8L 7: LxC81S l8CM 1PL l8LL 18AuL ZCnLS (CnZlL, 2012)

llCu8L 8: CA8MLn1 SLC1C8 AS 1C1AL Cl CCMAnlLS ln 1PL l8LL 18AuL ZCnLS
(CnZlL, 2012)

MosL sources blamed Lhe decllne of Lhe LexLlle secLor on Lhe end of Lhe MulLlflbre agreemenL ln
!anuary 2003 and lncreased compeLlLlon from Aslan counLrles wlLh slgnlflcanLly lower labor
cosLs. ln addlLlon, Lhe Lwo economlc crlses of Lhe 2000s were exLremely challenglng for Lhe
secLor. uurlng LhaL perlod many garmenL and LexLlle facLorles relocaLed operaLlons Lo Asla or
nelghborlng PalLl (Cl1, 2013).
Powever, afLer approxlmaLely Len years of manufacLurlng consolldaLlon ln Chlna, Lhere were
slgns of a shlfL of producLlon back Lo Lhe WesLern Pemlsphere. Chlna lncreased mlnlmum wages
slgnlflcanLly and was no longer Lhe low-wage desLlnaLlon lL once was. 8angladesh had largely
Laken Lhls LlLle, buL wlLh recenL concerns over safeLy Lhls mlghL be consldered a hlgh-rlsk
u
1uuu
2uuu
Suuu
4uuu
Suuu
6uuu
Total Expoits
uaiment Sectoi
u
1uu
2uu
Suu
4uu
Suu
6uu
7uu
Total
uaiment Sectoi
19
locaLlon for some brands. lurLhermore, Lhe long lead Llmes (ofLen Lwo Lo Lhree monLhs by boaL)
could be excesslve for fashlon brands wlLh mulLlples seasons and lean manufacLurlng models.
1hls may explaln why offlclals aL CnZlL were very opLlmlsLlc abouL manufacLurlng ln Lhe
uomlnlcan 8epubllc desplLe currenL daLa LhaL suggesLs u8's garmenL secLor was perhaps a dylng
lndusLry. ln Lhe lasL four years, Lhey have seen more and more companles ln Lhe secLor
reLurnlng Lo Lhe counLry. 1hey recenLly approved permlLs for Lhe lnsLallaLlon and operaLlon of
13 new lree 1rade Zone companles LhaL wlll generaLe 900 [obs (ularlo Llbre, 2013). 1hey also
announced anoLher hlgh proflle plan beLween Lhe Amerlcan vl CorporaLlon and 1alwanese
Pong lu Croup for nlne companles ln SanLlago LhaL was expecLed Lo generaLe 11,300 dlrecL
[obs. 1he facLorles wlll produce 20 mllllon palrs of vAnS Lennls shoes each year (Ll naclonal,
2013).
1he ulrecLor of Lhe CnZlL, Lulsa lernndez, sLaLed LhaL many companles LhaL had been leavlng
Lhe counLry are reLurnlng. ln Lhe lree 1rade Zone parks ln SanLlago, for example, Lhere lsn'L
even one unlL avallable" (olanco, 2013). And of Lhls lncreased demand, Lhe Councll polnLs Lo
Lhree maln secLors - LexLlles, shoes, and medlcal producLs-as Lhe proLagonlsLs" of whaL Lhey
predlcL wlll be Lhe fuLure growLh of Lhe secLor (ue CasLro, 2013).
ln facL, Lhey reporLed LhaL ln 2013, of Lhe 20 prlnclpal suppllers of garmenLs Lo Lhe unlLed
SLaLes, Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc had Lhe Lhlrd largesL growLh raLe. And as one of Lhe osL Chlna
16"-Lhe group of counLrles forecasLers clalmed were polsed Lo reclalm Lhe low-wage
manufacLurlng [obs LhaL Chlna ls loslng - governmenL offlclals belleved Lhls upward Lrend was
llkely Lo conLlnue (ue CasLro, 2013).

llCu8L 9: !C8S CLnL8A1Lu 8? l8LL 18AuL ZCnLS (CnZlL, 2012)

AlLhough Lhe fuLure may sLlll be uncerLaln for u8's garmenL and LexLlle secLor, mosL experLs
agree LhaL lndusLry ls currenLly ln a perlod of fundamenLal resLrucLurlng. When Lhe lndusLry was
aL lLs peak ln Lhe early 2000s, many companles were unlnLeresLed or unwllllng Lo expand Lhelr
servlces. 1hey opLed Lo sLay ln Lhe cuL and sew" buslness and noL venLure lnLo any oLher parLs
of Lhe supply chaln. Powever, Lhe commodlLy sewlng buslness (e.g., baslc L-shlrLs) ls Lhe very
u
Suuuu
1uuuuu
1Suuuu
2uuuuu
2Suuuu
1
9
9
S

1
9
9
6

1
9
9
7

1
9
9
8

1
9
9
9

2
u
u
u

2
u
u
1

2
u
u
2

2
u
u
S

2
u
u
4

2
u
u
S

2
u
u
6

2
u
u
7

2
u
u
8

2
u
u
9

2
u
1
u

2
u
1
1

2
u
1
2

Total uaiment Sectoi
20
lowesL, leasL aLLracLlve rung on Lhe ladder of lndusLrlallzaLlon. [CounLrles] are beggars, flghLlng
wlLh loLs of oLher poor counLrles for whaLever buslness Lhey can geL and compeLlLlon ls over
prlce" (uavldson, 2011). 1hls Lype of markeL ls noL only cuLLhroaL wlLh razor Lhln marglns, lL ls
also noL susLalnable over Lhe long Lerm.
ln a few oLher garmenL-exporLlng counLrles, parLlcularly ln Asla, low-sklll assembly [obs dld
evenLually develop lnLo a more verLlcally lnLegraLed, hlgher skllled lndusLry. lor lnsLance, Chlna
was once Lhe low-sklll, low-cosL garmenL manufacLurer of Lhe world. 8uL wlLh caplLal
lnvesLmenLs and Lechnlcal sklll bulldlng of Lhe lasL decade, coupled wlLh a now much hlgher
mlnlmum wage, Chlna ls no longer Lhe besL desLlnaLlon for cheap assembled goods. 1he brands
LhaL conLlnue Lo source from Chlna do so because of Lhe sklll, quallLy, experLlse, and well-
developed supply chaln.
As a whole, Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc dld noL develop lLs garmenL secLor ln Lhe same sLraLeglc
way. Accordlng Lo rofessor Caera PaLLon durlng an lnLervlew for Lhls research, durlng Lhe
lndusLry's boom many companles opLed for Lhe easler, buL ulLlmaLely shorLslghLed, sLraLegy of
only offerlng baslc assembly servlces. 1here were no governmenL programs Lo encourage a
more long-Lerm sLraLegy, and many facLorles were laLer forced Lo close Lhelr doors when
cheaper labor markeLs emerged elsewhere (Caera PaLLon, 2013).
Powever, Lhe lndlvldual LexLlle companles LhaL survlved Lhe flnanclal crlses were Lhose LhaL saw
Lhe larger Lrends and adapLed accordlngly. ln Lhe 1990s and early 2000s, successful flrms
auLomaLed operaLlons, reorganlzed producLlon lnLo modules, and lmplemenLed a [usL-ln-Llme"
producLlon sLraLegy (Ceara-PaLLon, eL al., 2003). Slnce Lhen, successful companles lncreased
Lhelr verLlcal lnLegraLlon ln order Lo offer full package" servlces Lo brands ln Lhe uS and Lurope.
1hls meanL LhaL Lhe facLorles managed all Lhe deLalls of garmenL producLlon from deslgn Lo
sourclng Lo packaglng, and everyLhlng ln beLween. WlLhouL rock boLLom wages, Lhe uomlnlcan
8epubllc's LexLlle lndusLry was more compeLlLlve lf Lhey were able Lo offer Lhese full package
servlces wlLh Lhe beneflL of shorL lead Llmes Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes.
As lllusLraLed by Lhe charL below, Lhe uomlnlcan LexLlle secLor had relaLlvely low levels of
verLlcal lnLegraLlon compared Lo lLs compeLlLlon prlor Lo u8-CAl1A. Accordlng Lo AuCZCnA
esLlmaLes, 34 companles ln Lhe l1Zs were currenLly offerlng full package servlces Lowards Lhe
end of 2013 (8afael Conzlez, 2013).
llCu8L 10: lnuLx Cl vL81lCALL? ln1LC8A1Lu CCMAnlLS ln 1PL CA8MLn1 SLC1C8
ln 1PL uCMlnlCAn 8Lu8LlC, MLxlCC, Anu CLn18AL AML8lCA, 2003 (CLA8A-
PA11Cn, L1 AL., 2003)
Country Garment
compan|es
1ext||e
compan|es
Accessory
compan|es
A||
Garment
Sector
Index of
Vert|ca|
Integrat|on
Dom|n|can kepub||c 262 7 - 269 3
Dom|n|can kepub||c* 282 7 23 289 9
Mex|co 13,602 2,236 1,281 17,119 21
Costa k|ca 48 2 3 33 13
L| Sa|vador 179 13 66 260 31
21
Guatema|a 231 33 147 413 44
nonduras 139 8 31 198 20
N|caragua 33 1 1 37 3
CA-S** 632 61 230 963 32
14,316 2,304 1,331 18,331 21
*Accordlng Lo AuCZCnA 1/14/2003
**1he CenLral Amerlca 3 lncludes CuaLemala, Ponduras, nlcaragua, Ll Salvador and CosLa 8lca

llrms Lyplcally have Lhe poLenLlal Lo become even more proflLable, and powerful, lf Lhey venLure
furLher down Lhe supply chaln lnLo deslgn and markeLlng. Cf course Lhls requlres a slgnlflcanL
amounL of lnvesLmenL ln human and caplLal resources.
llCu8L 11: 1P8LL CPA1L8S ln 1PL 8CCLSS Cl lnSL81lCn lC8 CCMAnlLS Anu
CCun18lLS ln 1PL ln1L8nA1lCnAL CA8MLn1 SuL? CPAln (CLA8A-PA11Cn, L1 AL.,
2003)

AnoLher slgnlflcanL shlfL ln Lhe secLor ls Lhe composlLlon of maLerlals belng produced. Slx years
ago, 100 of Lhe LexLlle exporLs from Lhe counLry were cloLhlng. 8y 2013, Lhey were only abouL
30 of LoLal exporLs (ue CasLro, 2013). 1he remalnlng half of Lhe secLor's exporLs were knlL
fabrlcs LhaL are bound for PalLl and oLher counLrles ln CenLral Amerlca. 1hls marked a sLraLeglc
shlfL ln response Lo u8-CAl1As rule of orlgln" requlremenLs.
Accordlng Lo Lhese rules, companles could only beneflL from duLy-free LreaLmenL lf Lhe flnal
garmenLs LhaL were cuL and sewn ln u8-CAl1A counLrles and ulLlmaLely exporLed Lo Lhe uS
conLalned fabrlc from one of Lhe u8-CAl1A counLrles. Powever, mosL counLrles ln Lhe reglon
dld noL have esLabllshed LexLlle lndusLrles. 1here were a growlng number of mllls LhaL offer knlL
fabrlcs, llke Lhose ln u8, buL accordlng Lo Lhe CnZlL Lhere was only one small mlll ln Ponduras
LhaL produces woven fabrlcs, for example (2013). Accordlng Lo AuCZCnAS, Lhe uomlnlcan
8epubllc had a growlng number of facLorles LhaL can produce woven LexLlles (8afael Conzlez,
2013). noneLheless, very ofLen companles musL source fabrlc from Lhe uS aL a slgnlflcanLly
hlgher cosL Lhan Lhose LexLlles sold by suppllers ln Asla ln order Lo recelve Lrade beneflLs.
1he garmenL lndusLry ls always ln a perlod of LranslLlon, glven Lhe Lrend-chaslng and sllm
marglns LhaL are Lhe secLor's hallmarks. Powever, unllke some oLher counLrles, Lhe uomlnlcan
8epubllc has noL yeL been able Lo caLalyze Lhese condlLlons lnLo more [obs or a decrease ln
poverLy.

Assembly of
Impoiteu Raw
Nateiials
Full Package
Besign & In-
Bouse Bianus
22
1PL uLC8LASL ln 1PL ln1LnSl1? Cl LMLC?MLn1 C8CW1P L8
SL lS nC1 A CAuSL lC8 CCnCL8n. ll l1 lS 1PL 8LSuL1 Cl
1LCPnCLCClCAL lnvLS1MLn1 Anu 88LAk1P8CuCPS ln P?SlCAL
8CuuC1lvl1? Anu ll l1 lS ACCCMAnlLu 8? 1PL C8CW1P Cl
8LAL WACLS Anu SuS1AlnLu CCML1l1lvLnLSS, l1 MA?
AC1uALL? 8LSuL1 ln A SlCnlllCAn1 8LuuC1lCn Cl CvL81?
WPlLL A1 1PL SAML 1lML MAln1AlnlnC C8CW1P SCLlu
LMLC?MLn1. 1PlS WAS 1PL LLSSCn LLA8nLu ln MAn?
CCun18lLS ln LAS1 Anu SCu1PLAS1 ASlA (kACS, 2003).
CCnCL8n ln 1PL uCMlnlCAn 8Lu8LlC LlLS nC1 CnL? ln 1L8MS
Cl 1PL nuM8L8 Cl !C8 CSl1lCnS, 8u1 1PL CuALl1? (Cl1, 2013)




23
CuALl1? Cl LllL
Measurlng Lhe quallLy of a human llfe can be a dlfflculL and even conLenLlous Lask. 1o noL only
ldenLlfy Lhese eluslve markers of well belng, buL also deLermlne how Lhese facLors have been
lmpacLed by macroeconomlc evenLs seL lnLo moLlon Lhousands of mlles away from Lhe
lndlvlduals whose llves Lhey shape ls an even more opaque asslgnmenL. Lucklly, researchers
have spenL decades reflnlng how quallLy of llfe (CCL) should be evaluaLed and Lhen used Lo
lnform soclal and economlc pollcy. ln facL, nobel rlze wlnner AmarLya Sen has devoLed much of
hls professlonal career Lo Lhls very Loplc.
4

1here ls sLlll no consensus on Lhe slngle besL measure of CCL, buL Lhere are Lwo prlmary areas
of measuremenL: sub[ecLlve and ob[ecLlve markers of well-belng. 1he former lncludes self-
assessmenLs of Loplcs llke personal saLlsfacLlon, happlness, and fulflllmenL. 1he laLer uses
avallable daLa llke Cu per caplLa, educaLlon level, and llfe expecLancy Lo assess how well
human needs mlghL be meL ln any glven locaLlon. Powever, any one of Lhese approaches alone
wlll noL be able Lo palnL a compleLe plcLure. lor lnsLance, hlgh lncome does noL necessarlly
resulL ln a hlgh quallLy of llfe, as lL may noL acknowledge hazardous worklng condlLlons, a hlgh
sLress [ob, or a dlsablllLy. ln addlLlon, Cu per caplLal ls very ofLen an unrellable measuremenL ln
counLrles wlLh a large dlvlde beLween Lhe wealLhy and poor. Conversely, a very happy person
may noL necessarlly have a hlgh sLandard of llvlng and sLlll be genulnely happy for any number
of personal, rellglous, or culLural reasons. 1herefore, Lhe challenge ls Lo flnd a way Lo comblne
boLh Lypes of measures Lo gaLher Lhe mosL accuraLe porLralL of quallLy of llfe posslble.
ln 2003, Lhe Luropean unlon conducLed lLs flrsL CuallLy of Llfe sLudy for 28 counLrles ln Lhe
reglon. uurlng Lhls amblLlous underLaklng, Lhey esLabllshed Lhree guldlng prlnclples LhaL served
as a foundaLlon for Lhls research's approach Lo CCL (Alber, eL al., 2004):
1. ua||ty of ||fe refers to |nd|v|dua|s' ||fe s|tuat|ons. lL ls necessary Lo look aL people's
llves wlLh a mlcro perspecLlve" ln order Lo undersLand Lhelr LhoughLs and feellngs
and aLLlLudes as well as Lhe condlLlons of Lhelr dally llves. Macroeconomlc feaLures
are lmporLanL as well, Lhey provlde lmporLanL conLexL for lndlvldual experlences,
buL Lhey do noL Lake cenLer sLage.
2. ua||ty of ||fe |s a mu|t|-d|mens|ona| concept. 1here ls no one measuremenL or
facLor LhaL deLermlnes an lndlvldual's quallLy of llfe. 1here are many dlfferenL
dlmenslons ln several dlfferenL areas of llfe LhaL also lnLerplay wlLh one anoLher.
3. ua||ty of ||fe |s measured by ob[ect|ve as we|| as sub[ect|ve |nd|cators. Sub[ecLlve
and aLLlLudlnal percepLlons help orlenL an lndlvldual's ob[ecLlve llvlng condlLlons,
and vlsa-versa. Applylng boLh ways of measurlng quallLy of llfe allows a more
compleLe plcLure.
ln order Lo comblne boLh of Lhese approaches, Lhls research borrows sLrucLure from Lhe Puman
uevelopmenL lndex (Pul), Lhe mosL common ob[ecLlve measure of quallLy of llfe. 1he lndex,
publlshed by Lhe unlLed naLlons uevelopmenL rogram, ranks 187 counLrles and un-recognlzed

4
lor more lnformaLlon, read: poollty of wbot by AmarLya Sen
hLLp://www.Lc.umn.edu/~sLon0233/3302/readlngs/sen.pdf
24
LerrlLorles ln Lerms of Lhree baslc dlmenslons of human developmenL: a long and healLhy llfe,
access Lo knowledge and a decenL sLandard of llvlng.
llCu8L 12: PuMAn uLvLLCMLn1 lnuLx (Pul) MLASu8LS
1he uomlnlcan 8epubllc was glven an Pul value of .702 for 2012. 1hls rank places lL aL 96 ouL of
187 counLrles and LerrlLorles, equal Lo 8ellze, ll[l, and Samoa. 8eLween 1980 and 2012, Lhe
counLry's Pul lncreased 34 percenL or aL an average annual lncrease of approxlmaLely 0.9
percenL (unu, 2013). 1he uomlnlcan 8epubllc has one of Lhe lowesL lndlces ln LaLln Amerlca,
where lL occuples number 24 of Lhe 33 counLrles ln 2011 (Cl1, 2013).
llCu8L 13: unu PuMAn uLvLLCMLn1 lnuLx, LA1ln AML8lCA 2012 (unu, 2013)




u
u.1
u.2
u.S
u.4
u.S
u.6
u.7
u.8
u.9
veiy high
human
uevelopment
high human uevelopment meuium human uevelopment
low
human
uev't
Long & Bealthy Life
- Life expectancy
Access to
Knowleuge
- Nean yeais of
schooling
- Expecteu yeais of
schooling
Stanuaiu of
Living
- uioss National
Income pei capita
23
llCu8L 14: uCMlnlCAn 8Lu8LlC'S Pul 18LnuS CvL8 1lML (unu, 2013)

Accordlng Lo naLlonal calculaLlons, quallLy of llfe for uomlnlcan clLlzens conLlnues Lo lmprove
slowly, alLhough Lhere were wlde reglonal dlfferences, prlmarlly beLween Lhose llvlng ln urban
and rural reglons.
llCu8L 13: CuALl1? Cl LllL lnuLx 8? ZCnL Cl 8LSluLnCL, 2000-2011 (MlnlS1L8lC uL
LCCnCMlA, LAnlllCAClCn ? uLSA88CLLC, 2013)

1he Lhree prlmary componenLs used Lo measure CuallLy of Llfe-sLandard of llvlng, knowledge,
and healLh-funcLlon ln Lhls research as Lhe backbone for workers' sub[ecLlve assessmenLs of
Lhelr own quallLy of llfe. ln addlLlon, a fourLh plllar was added Lo examlne Lhe quesLlon of
u.S
u.SS
u.6
u.6S
u.7
u.7S
u.8
198u 199u 2uuu 2uuS 2uu6 2uu7 2uu8 2uu9 2u1u 2u11 2u12
Bominican Republic Latin Ameiica anu the Caiibbean Woilu
4u
4S
Su
SS
6u
6S
7u
7S
2uuu 2uu1 2uu2 2uuS 2uu4 2uuS 2uu6 2uu7 2uu8 2uu9 2u1u 2u11
National
0iban
Ruial
26
happlness and overall saLlsfacLlon wlLh llfe. 1herefore, each of Lhe followlng secLlons wlll have
Lwo parLs, Lhe macroeconomlc conLexL (ob[ecLlve lndlcaLors measured by offlclal sLaLlsLlcs and
oLher lndlcaLors) and Lhe resulLs of worker lnLervlews and focus groups (sub[ecLlve percepLlons
as reporLed by workers dlrecLly), ln order Lo provlde an as robusL as posslble porLralL of Lhe llves
of workers slx years afLer Lhe enacLmenL of u8-CAl1A.
S1AnuA8u Cl LlvlnC
WC8k LllL
uurlng u8-CAl1A negoLlaLlons, 8epresenLaLlves of Lhe AlL-ClC and Lhe uomlnlcan naLlonal
Councll of unlon unlLy (CnuS) LesLlfled abouL serlous vlolaLlons of worker rlghLs ln Lhe
uomlnlcan 8epubllc. 1he uS ueparLmenL of SLaLe Puman 8lghLs reporLs from Lhose years
echoed slmllar concerns abouL Lhe labor slLuaLlon. Accordlng Lo Lhe mosL recenL Puman 8lghLs
8eporL, enforcemenL of labor laws ln Lhe counLry was sLlll consldered lneffecLlve" (unlLed
SLaLes ueparLmenL of SLaLe, 2012). 8epresenLaLlves from CnuS and ledeLrazonas (one of Lhe
unlon federaLlons LhaL represenLs lree 1rade Zone employees) reporL LhaL Lhey have seen some
progress, buL Lhe slLuaLlon conLlnues Lo be exLremely challenglng for workers. 1hey noLed
lncreased pressure (fewer workers produclng more for less money), unreporLed subconLracLlng
3
,
and lack of respecL for bargalnlng rlghLs and freedom of assoclaLlon (Pernndez, 2013, lamlla,
2013).
ln conLrasL, represenLaLlves from CnZlL reporLed ln 2013 LhaL u8-CAl1A had llkely lmproved
condlLlons for workers because Lhe agreemenL relnforced exlsLlng labor laws: 1he companles
Lake even more care of Lhe labor pracLlces" (ue CasLro, 2013). ln facL, u8-CAl1A only requlred
member counLrles Lo enforce Lhelr own labor laws buL does noL mandaLe accordance wlLh
lnLernaLlonal labor sLandards. 1he penalLy for vlolaLlng Lhese laws was a flne of up Lo $13 mllllon
dollars Lo be used for labor enforcemenL.
6
1o daLe, Lhere haven'L been any labor complalnLs
flled agalnsL Lhe uomlnlcan governmenL under u8-CAl1A.
7

ln Lhls sLudy, workers' responses Lo Lhe quesLlon of how Lhelr work llves have changed slnce u8-
CAl1A varled [usL as wldely as Lhe oplnlons of Lhe experLs. ln facL, Lhe slx slLes lncluded ln Lhls
sLudy represenL an exLremely wlde specLrum of experlences. lor example, among Lhe workers
from CuanamlnLhe, PalLl Lhere was consensus LhaL Lhelr worklng llves have goLLen conslderably
worse, almosL Lo Lhe polnL of belng unbearable. 1hls zone ls parLlcularly fasclnaLlng because lL
slLs rlghL on Lhe border wlLh Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc and PalLl. Workers come from PalLl and

3
ln general, subconLracLed facLorles Lend Lo be smaller and pay less. 1hey ofLen operaLe lnformally,
wlLhouL Lhe same level of governmenL scruLlny as oLher facLorles. Many avold paylng soclal securlLy,
employee lnsurance and oLher Laxes.
6
Labor enforcemenL ls Lo be conducLed by Lhe counLry aL faulL. CrlLlcs argue LhaL Lhls flne would funcLlon
as a Lransfer of funds from one arm of Lhe governmenL Lo Lhe oLher, and ls Lherefore noL much of a
deLerranL. 1he uS 1rade 8epresenLaLlve's offlce explalns LhaL Lhe uS would oversee Lhe use of Lhese
speclal enforcemenL funds on a case-by-case basls.
7
1wo labor complalnLs have been flled ln Lhe reglon under u8-CAl1A, agalnsL Ponduras (2012) and
CuaLemala (2008). 8oLh remaln unresolved as of Lhls wrlLlng.
27
supervlsors and managers were prlmarlly uomlnlcan, each group enLers from lLs separaLe
sldes" and ln many cases reLurn Lo Lhelr respecLlve counLrles aL Lhe end of Lhe day. 8aw
maLerlals enLer from Lhe uomlnlcan slde and flnlshed goods exlL Lhe PalLlan slde bound for Lhe
unlLed SLaLes or reLurn Lo Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc for furLher processlng. 1he zone en[oys
lnvesLmenL from 1he Soros Lconomlc uevelopmenL lund, 1he CllnLon 8ush PalLl lund, and Lhe
lnLeramerlcan uevelopmenL 8ank.
llCu8L 16: 8LLA1lvL SLC18uM Cl WC8klnC CCnul1lCnS AS 8LC81Lu 8? lCCuS
C8CuS A81lClAn1S

AL one end of Lhe specLrum, workers from Lhe CCuLvl lree 1rade Zone conslsLenLly shared
sLorles of desperaLlon, frusLraLlon, and anger abouL Lhelr work and home llves. lleld experLs
generally agreed LhaL lf Lhlngs were bad ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc, Lhey would be conslderably
worse ln PalLl. As clLlzens of Lhe pooresL counLry ln Lhe WesLern Pemlsphere, Lhelr sLorles
cerLalnly reflecL LhaL hypoLhesls.
5loce 200J wltb tbe lostollotloo of tbe cOuvl ltee 1toJe 2ooe lo Ooooomlotbe, wotkets
jbove beeo] vlctlms of evety kloJ of lojostlce. 1be wotkets lo tbls foctoty ote oot olloweJ
petmlssloo to qo to tbe Joctot ot to toke tbelt cbllJteo wbo ote slck to tbe Joctot, tbey
ote oot qlveo petmlssloo to pottlclpote lo tbe mootoloq of tbelt fomlly membets wltboot
tbe lotetveotloo jof tbe ooloo]. 1bey Jo oot bove occess to potoble wotet, ote oot
olloweJ to commoolcote Jotloq tbe Joy, tbey Jo oot ptovlJe ttoospott. 1bey Jo oot
woot to poy fot wotk petfotmeJ, wblle tbe coottoct soys wotk sboolJ be 48 boots
weekly, wotkets wotk mote tboo 80 boots wltboot collectloq ovettlme poy.
(Ooooomlotbe)
Cn Lhe oLher exLreme, workers employed by AlLa Cracla Apparel have had very dlfferenL
experlences. ln Lhe pasL several years, Lhey have seen Lhelr llves change dramaLlcally from llvlng
paycheck Lo paycheck Lo seelng Lhe beglnnlngs of a mlddle class llfe:
Now l Joot woke op wltb my beoJ foll of wbete Jo l qo, wbot Jo l Jo toJoy, wbo ls
qoloq to coll me ooJ soy Jo tbls belp me wltb tbot ot wbo coo l osk fot 100 pesos.
lot tbot yes, l om so mocb bopplet oow. (vlllo Altoqtoclo)
Now ls bettet. l om eotoloq mooey, tesolvloq my ptoblems, ooJ befote lt wosot llke tbot.
(vlllo Altoqtoclo)
0uanaminthe La vega Santiago
Bonao &
Bayaguana
villa
Altagiacia
28
8ettet. fot my fomlly ooJ tbelt Jlet, mote secotlty. AoJ l bove beeo oble to occompllsb
oll of tbls lo less tboo tbtee yeots, tokloq cote of my fomlly. lt ls o blq occompllsbmeot
becoose lo 2007 l JlJot bove eoooqb mooey to Jo ooytbloq. (vlllo Altoqtoclo)
1he workers from La vega, SanLlago, 8onao and 8ayaguana fell somewhere ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe
specLrum for worklng condlLlons reporLed, and were more llkely Lo be represenLaLlve of
condlLlons faclng Lhe average garmenL worker ln Lhe counLry. 1hese workers reporLed varylng
degrees of lmprovemenL ln Lhelr llves and shared a unlfylng rellef aL belng employed. 1hls was
parLlcularly sLrong for workers ln SanLlago, who dld noL have unlon represenLaLlon and were
locaLed ln Lhe porLlon of Lhe counLry wlLh Lhe hlghesL concenLraLlon of garmenL facLorles and
Lherefore mosL layoffs and planL closures slnce Lhe 2000s:
5loce l eoteteJ tbe ltee 1toJe 2ooe, l bove beeo wotkloq fot 25 yeots ooJ l coot soy tbot
lt bos qooe well fot me ot tbot lt bos qooe boJly becoose l wos oble to molotolo my tbtee
klJs ooJ l om stlll wotkloq tbete toJoy. (5ootloqo)
At leost l floJ tbot tlqbt oow lt ls posslble to bove sometbloq stoble. (5ootloqo)
ln La vega, llke CuanamlnLhe, workers were noL amblvalenL abouL how Lhelr llves have changed:
well tlqbt oow l tblok tbot tbe job ls wotse, becoose tbete ls o lot of wotk ooJ o llttle blt
of mooey, ooJ tbete ote o lot of expeoses, tbe ecooomy ls o lot mote expeoslve. (lo
veqo)
1. WACLS
lL ls noL llkely a colncldence LhaL worker's relaLlve saLlsfacLlon wlLh Lhelr employmenL almosL
dlrecLly correlaLes wlLh Lhelr salarles. Wages, alLhough noL Lhe only relevanL facLor ln
deLermlnlng quallLy of llfe, were one of Lhe mosL lmporLanL-especlally when Lhey were low.
1he uomlnlcan governmenL esLabllshes 13 dlfferenL mlnlmum wages for dlfferenL secLors of Lhe
workforce and updaLes Lhese amounLs perlodlcally. 1he mlnlmum salary pald Lo lree 1rade Zone
workers (8u$6,376 monLhly, approxlmaLely uSu$132) was one of Lhe lowesL. 1he average
garmenL worker earns more Lhan Lhe mlnlmum, however, approxlmaLely 8u$8,700 monLhly
(approxlmaLely $207) accordlng Lo governmenL sLaLlsLlcs (CnZlL, 2012). noneLheless, salarles
have lagged far behlnd labor producLlvlLy (Cl1, 2013) and alLhough acLual wages have lncreased
sLeadlly, real earnlngs per hour of prlvaLe secLor workers was abouL 27 percenL lower ln 2011
Lhan ln 2000 (Abdullaev & LsLevo, 2013).






29
llCu8L 17: LA8C8 8CuuC1lvl1? Anu 8LAL LA8nlnCS, lnulCLS ln LCCA8l1PM

ln facL, accordlng Lo a recenL sLudy of Lhe Lop 21 apparel exporLers Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes, real
wages ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc fell by 23.74 beLween 2001 and 2011-one of Lhe blggesL
decreases of all Lhe counLrles sLudled (W8C, 2013).
llCu8L 18: MCn1PL? 8LAL WACLS ln 13 Cl 1PL 1C 21 AA8LL LxC81L8S 1C 1PL
unl1Lu S1A1LS (W8C, 2013)

Wages for operaLors (generally unskllled labor) varled wldely LhroughouL Lhe counLry, as
hlghllghLed by Lhe daLa below.
30
llCu8L 19: AvL8ACL WLLkL? SALA8? (ln uSu) Alu 8? CA8MLn1 CCMAnlLS ln 1PL
l8LL 18AuL ZCnLS, 8? lnuuS18lAL A8k, 2012 (CnZlL, 2012)

u 2u 4u 6u 8u 1uu 12u 14u
villa Altagiacia
Bella vista
Bos Rios
Bani
Caiibbean Inuustiial Paik
Zonas Fiancas Especiales
villa Nella
Noca
Espeianza
Salceuo
Pueito Plata
Santiago
Navaiiete
Las Amiicas
San Peuio ue Nacoiis
La vega
La Aimeiia
PISAN0
El Seibo
Paique Tecnologico ue Santiago
San Isiuio
Chemtec
Bato Nayoi
Baiahona
Bonao
San Fiancisco ue Nacoiis
Nigua
Los Alcaiiizos
uuiabo
31
llCu8L 20: AvL8ACL MCn1PL? SALA8? Cl 1PlS 8LSLA8CP SAMLL, ln uSu (2013)

MosL garmenL workers ln Lhe l1Zs were pald a base wage plus a per-plece lncenLlve, allowlng
Lhem Lo earn more Lhan Lhe mlnlmum. 1hls producLlon-based pay sysLem had several
lmpllcaLlons on acLual wages. llrsLly, lf a worker's producLlon goal was 1000 panLs, for example,
and Lhey only compleLed 999 unlLs Lhey wlll geL no bonus aL all and earned only Lhe mlnlmum
for LhaL perlod. AlmosL all of Lhe workers ln Lhls sLudy who have been employed ln Lhe garmenL
secLor for Lhe lasL several years reporLed LhaL producLlon goals conLlnue Lo lncrease. lor
example, workers ln 8ayaguana reporLed LhaL producLlon goals have almosL doubled from 48-33
loLs Lo 110-112 ln Lhe lasL few years. ln CuanamlnLhe, workers reporLed a slmllar slLuaLlon:
wbeo l stotteJ ot tbe compooy lo 2007 we boJ o jptoJoctloo] qool of 50 pocks, bot
toJoy lts wotse.
jwby Jo yoo tblok lt ls wotse?]
8ecoose wltb o qool of 50 pocks tbey polJ os bettet tboo tbey Jo oow wltb o qool of 90
pocks.
jnow mocb JlJ tbey poy fot o qool of 50 pocks?]
1bey polJ os 2,500 qootJes jopptoxlmotely 2,4J0 uomlolcoo lesos, 561 u5u] ooJ oow
wltb o qool of 90 pocks tbot sometlmes yoo bove to stoy ootll 8.00 l.M. to flolsb, tbey
poy os 1,687 qootJes jopptoxlmotely 1,645 uomlolcoo pesos, 541 u5u]. (Ooooomlotbe)
Secondly, Lhe composlLlon of Lhe orders belng fulfllled has changed. AfLer Lhe end of Lhe
MulLlflbre AgreemenL and wlLh Lhe dawn of u8-CAl1A, many companles are placlng large orders
wlLh low-cosL Aslan facLorles and sourclng smaller replenlshmenL orders wlLh qulck Lurnaround
Llmes from facLorles ln CenLral Amerlca and Lhe Carlbbean. lL was esLlmaLed Lo Lake
approxlmaLely Lhree weeks for a sewlng module
8
Lo learn a new producL and reach 100 of

8
Many garmenL manufacLurers ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc now organlze Lhelr producLlon ln modules,
small groups LhaL are responslble for dolng all of Lhe operaLlons Lo compleLe a flnlshed garmenL. 1hls is a
u 1uu 2uu Suu 4uu Suu
villa Altagiacia
Bonao
Bayaguana
Santiago
La vega
0uanaminthe
32
producLlon. 1herefore, workers wlll llkely see a reducLlon ln Lhelr overall salarles because Lhere
wlll be fewer weeks where Lhey make Lhe producLlon goal" (1raub-Werner, 2007).
ln addlLlon, Lhe added complexlLy of Lhe lncenLlve-based pay sysLem also added Lo lncreased
human error: lL was noL uncommon for wages Lo be mlscalculaLed or lncorrecLly pald. 1he
Workers 8lghLs ConsorLlum (W8C), a well-respecLed uS-based nCC LhaL monlLors facLorles
around Lhe world, had several lnspecLlon reporLs of uomlnlcan garmenL facLorles avallable for
publlc revlew. Cne facLory ln parLlcular, l1lC Apparel was clLed for wage paymenL lrregularlLles
(W8C, 2012). Workers from Lhls sLudy, as represenLed by Lhese commenLs from Lhe SanLlago
and La vega focus groups, also reporLed LhaL Lhelr paychecks are someLlmes dlscounLed by up Lo
30 for mlsslng one day of work or belng laLe:
wbete l om wotkloq oow lf yoo mlss ooe Joy, ftom tbe llttle blt tbot tbey poy os tbot ls
1,500 mlolmom (weekly), tbey Jlscooot yoo 1,000 pesos. (5ootloqo)
Oo ltlJoy, tbey polJ me 1,200 pesos becoose tbey seot me bome ot 10.J0 lo tbe
motoloq, slck, ooJ tbe oext Joy l ottlveJ otoooJ 10om becoose l boJ to qet oo ooolysls
jot tbe cllolc] ooJ becoose of tbot, tbey JeJocteJ my cbeck. (lo veqo)
Ooe week l wos slck ooJ l JlJot qo to wotk, tbeo tbete wos o ptoblem wltb tbe poytoll.
ooJ tbe followloq week tbey JeJocteJ my eotlte cbeck, ooJ l weot bock to my boose
wltboot ooe ceot. 1bey JeJocteJ evetytbloq, oot jost 200 ot J00 pesos, bot 1600 pesos. l
weot bome wltboot ooe ceot. (lo veqo)
2. WC8klnC PCu8S
uomlnlcan labor law allows for a 44-hour workweek, wlLh 36 hours of unlnLerrupLed resL each
week. lL also provldes for annual holldays and requlres premlum pay for overLlme. Llke mosL
garmenL facLorles around Lhe world, however, almosL 80 of uomlnlcan garmenL workers
worked beLween nlne and Len hours dally (Loarca, eL al., 2007). 1here were several large planLs
ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc LhaL work on a 4x4 schedule - four 12-hour days followed by four
days of resL. CLher facLorles worked Monday Lhrough lrlday for approxlmaLely nlne hours a day
(wlLh unpald lunch and/or breaks), and some worked half days on SaLurdays.
CverLlme hours were a very common Lheme among garmenL workers. 1he workers from
CuanamlnLhe and SanLlago reporLed LhaL overLlme had lncreased ln Lhe lasL several years and
LhaL lL was volunLary ln name only. noL only dld workers work exLra hours Lo supplemenL Lhelr
paychecks, buL also because refuslng would have meanL [eopardlzlng Lhelr poslLlon aL Lhe
facLory:
lot oll of tbe employets, ovettlme boots ote mooJototy wbeo tbey soy. 8ot wby yoo Jo
yoo bove to stoy? oo stoy becoose yoo woot ooJ oeeJ yoot job. (5ootloqo)
wbete l wotk, ovettlme boots ote mooJototy. l mlsseJ ooe 5ototJoy ooJ tbey ote
qlvloq me o wotoloq lettet becoose l JlJot qo to wotk tbot 5ototJoy. 8efote l oseJ to Jo

deparLure from Lhe LradlLlonal model, where operaLlons are performed ln one or a few large producLlon
llnes.
33
ovettlme ftom 5.J0 ootll 9pm ooJ tbeo ot 10 l woolJ ottlve so lote to my boose.
(5ootloqo)
lor workers LhaL reporLed fewer overLlme hours Lhan before, Lhey all (excepL for workers from
vllla AlLagracla) reporL lncreased pressure Lo produce more ln fewer hours. As menLloned
prevlously, because orders are lncreaslngly smaller wlLh shorLer Lurnaround Llmes, orders are
very ofLen rushed. 8uL accordlng Lo workers, Lhe MlnlsLry of Labor has been cracklng down on
overLlme, parLlcularly aL Lhe larger planLs, so managers dlscourage lL buL Lhe producLlon goals
have noL been reduced accordlngly.
An lnspecLlon of Lhe Suprema facLory performed by Lhe W8C hlghllghLs how worklng hours have
changed over Lhe lasL several years (W8C, 2010).
WC8kL8S 8LC81Lu 1PA1 u un1lL A8Cunu A8lL 2009, l1 WAS
S1AnuA8u 8AC1lCL A1 1PL lAClLl1? lC8 LMLC?LLS 1C CLCCk-
Cu1 A1 1PL Lnu Cl 1PLl8 nC8MAL SPll1 Anu 1PLn CCn1lnuL
WC8klnC lC8 An Auul1lCnAL CnL 1C 1WC PCu8S LACP uA? ln
C8uL8 1C CCMLL1L 1PLl8 8CuuC1lCn CuC1AS. WC8kL8S
S1A1Lu, unllC8ML?, 1PA1 1PL? lLL1 CCMLLLLu 1C L8lC8M
1PlS Lx18A WC8k 8LCAuSL l1 WAS lMCSSl8LL 1C MLL1 1PL
8CuuC1lCn CuC1A uu8lnC 1PL WC8kuA?. 1PL 1lML SLn1
WC8klnC Al1L8 1PLl8 SPll1S LnuLu WAS nC1 8LCC8uLu 8?
1PL CCMAn? C8 8LlLLC1Lu ln WC8kL8S' A? SLlS, Anu
WC8kL8S WL8L nC1 8CvluLu An? Auul1lCnAL PCu8L?
CCMLnSA1lCn lC8 1PlS LA8C8.
l8CM 8CuCPL? A8lL 2009 1C 1PL 8LSLn1, Su8LMA PAS,
Wl1P SCML LxCL1lCnS, 8CPl8l1Lu WC8kL8S l8CM WC8klnC
Al1L8 1PL? PAvL CLCCkLu-Cu1. PCWLvL8, 1PL lAC1C8? PAS
nC1, AS A CC8CLLA8? 1C 1PlS 8LlC8M, 8LuuCLu l1S
8CuuC1lCn CuC1AS lC8 LMLC?LLS. nLA8L? ALL Cl 1PL
WC8kL8S ln1L8vlLWLu 8? 1PL W8C 8LC81Lu 1PA1, AS A
8LSuL1, l1 lS nCW nLCLSSA8? lC8 1PLM 1C WC8k 1P8CuCP A1
LLAS1 A81 Cl 1PLl8 PALl-PCu8 LunCP L8lCu Anu CnL C8
8C1P Cl 1PLl8 1Ln-Mlnu1L 88LAkS ln C8uL8 1C MLL1 1PLl8
uAlL? 8CuuC1lCn CuC1AS.
ln oLher words, unpald overLlme has been curbed ln some places buL producLlon quoLas are sLlll
almosL lmposslbly hlgh. As one worker descrlbed Lo W8C researchers, ln Lhe afLernoon, almosL
nobody Lakes Lhe breaks. We almosL all end up sLaylng [on Lhe producLlon llne]. lf you go Lo Lhe
baLhroom, you have Lo go fasL, [slnce] wlLh Lhe quoLas, we don'L have Lhe luxury of leavlng our
machlnes." AnoLher worker sLaLed, 1o meeL Lhe producLlon quoLa l usually work for half of Lhe
lunch perlod and only Lake one of my breaks - and Lhe ma[orlLy of people ln my area do Lhe
same Lhlng" (W8C, 2010). 1he workers from Lhls sLudy had slmllar experlences:
34
No, yoo bove to wotk, yoo bove to wotk. lf yoo qo to tbe botbtoom ooJ yoo speoJ too
mocb tlme tbey come ooJ look fot yoo. op, tbe boss qoes ooJ looks fot os. (lo veqo)
lf someooe stooJs op ot tbelt mocbloe, tbeyte llke slt Jowo! 5lt Jowo! (lo veqo)
1bete ls o lot of ptessote ot wotk. yoo bove to qo fost. (lo veqo)
lo otJet to eoto 1800 jpesos] yoo bove to be klllloq yootself boslcolly wltboot stopploq
(lo veqo)
ln vllla AlLagracla, mosL of Lhe employees worked ln one or more garmenL facLorles prevlously.
1he dlfferences beLween Lhe Lwo experlences hlghllghLed some fundamenLally dlfferenL
approaches Lo managemenL.
wotkloq wos obllqototy. AoJ lf yoo JlJot woot to stoy fot ovettlme tbey seot yoo to tbe
offlce. 1bey ptessoteJ yoo, tbteoteoeJ yoo. AoJ moybe tbey woolJ flte yoo. AoJ Jotloq
tbe ootmol wotkJoy, yoo boJ to be tbete wltb someooe wotcbloq yoo oll Joy so tbot yoo
JlJ yoo wotk olmost fotceJ. 8ot bete, oo lts teolly Jlffeteot. l, fot exomple, come bete
ooJ l Jo my wotk. oo Joot bove to tell me wbot to Jo becoose l koow wbot to Jo. vety
petsoo Joes wbot tbey bove to Jo wltboot beloq fotceJ. 8ecoose we see tbls os o Jebt to
tbe well-beloq of oot towo, ootselves, ooJ tbe compooy. AoJ tbots sometbloq tbot evety
petsoo Joes bot oot becoose we bove tbe ptessote of someooe tbete ottockloq os. lts
teolly Jlffeteot. (vlllo Altoqtoclo)
3. ulSC8lMlnA1lCn & PA8ASSMLn1
ulscrlmlnaLlon and harassmenL ln facLorles, llke any oLher workplace, can be exLremely dlfflculL
Lo reporL and enforce. SubLle LhreaLs can produce [usL as much fear as overL ones, buL may be
LhaL much more dlfflculL Lo prove. ln sewlng facLorles, Lhere ls also a LradlLlonal dynamlc
beLween female sewlng operaLors and male supervlsors LhaL can lend lLself Lo varlous forms of
sexual harassmenL. ln addlLlon, lL ls also common for planL managemenL and supervlsors Lo be
of dlfferenL soclal classes lf noL races or naLlonallLles, represenLlng anoLher poLenLlal dynamlc
LhaL could affecL experlences of dlscrlmlnaLlon and harassmenL.
rlor Lo u8-CAl1A, sexual harassmenL was wldespread among garmenL workers accordlng Lo
local nCCs (Cmez Carrasco, 2007). Lugolla lamllla, of CnuS, reporLed durlng an lnLervlew for
Lhls research LhaL Lhese Lypes of slLuaLlons were sLlll common Loday (2013). Powever, collecLlng
Lhls Lype of daLa was dlfflculL because workers ofLen dld noL know whaL dlscrlmlnaLlon and
sexual harassmenL were nelLher ln deflnlLlon nor ln pracLlce.
ln Lerms of dlscrlmlnaLlon, Lhere are generally Lwo Lypes - LreaLmenL of [ob appllcanLs and
LreaLmenL of employees. 1hls research was noL deslgned Lo measure dlscrlmlnaLlon ln Lhe hlrlng
process, alLhough lL was menLloned several Llmes ln Lhese focus groups LhaL managers engage ln
33
whaL could be descrlbed as dlscrlmlnaLory hlrlng: only conLracLlng young women or men
9
or
forclng candldaLes Lo submlL Lo Plv and/or pregnancy LesLs durlng Lhelr appllcaLlon process.
ln regards Lo dlscrlmlnaLlon and harassmenL lnslde of Lhe workplace, Lhls appeared Lo be mosL
exLreme ln CuanamlnLhe. Clven Lhe very compllcaLed relaLlonshlp beLween PalLlans and
uomlnlcans
10
, lL ls unforLunaLely unsurprlslng. AlLhough Lhere was only one woman ln Lhe
CuanamlnLhe focus group, she spoke vehemenLly on Lhe Loplc and her coworkers had several
slmllarly charged sLorles Lo share:
As o womoo, l wotk ot tbe lospectloo toble bot tbey ptessote me so mocb ooJ tbey
mlstteot me so mocb. 1be uomlolcoos Joot tespect me, tbey olwoys toocb me oo tbe
bott ooJ wbeo l tty to complolo tbey olso belleve tbe uomlolcoo. lts to soy tbot tbey
olwoys belleve tbe uomlolcoo meo mote tboo os tbe womeo. (Ooooomlotbe)
ulsctlmlootloo ls tbe otJet of tbe Joy lo tbe compooy becoose tbe tteotmeot betweeo
uomlolcoos ooJ noltloos ls Jlffeteot ftom oll polots of vlew. we Joot Jtlok tbe some
wotet, tbe botbtooms ote Jlffeteot, ooJ olso noltloo womeo ote tbe vlctlms of sexool
botossmeot by uomlolcoo meo ooJ evety tlme tbot o womoo ttles to stop lt tbey flte bet.
(Ooooomlotbe)
Powever, Lhls ls by no means llmlLed Lo PalLlan workers. Accordlng Lo a W8C lnspecLlon of l1lC
Apparel ln 2012, sexual harassmenL was common ln facLorles wlLh only uomlnlcan workers also.
SLvL8AL Cl 1PL WC8kL8S ln1L8vlLWLu 8CvluLu Mu1uALL?
CCnSlS1Ln1 1LS1lMCn? S1A1lnC 1PA1 1PL? 8LLlLvLu MALL
SuL8vlSC8S Anu MAnACL8S WL8L SLxuALL? PA8ASSlnC
lLMALL LMLC?LLS. SLvL8AL WC8kL8S 8LC81Lu CnL CASL ln
A81lCuLA8, WPL8L A 1C MAnACL8, Wl1P 1PL PLL Cl A
SuL8vlSC8 Anu 1LCPnlCAL L8SCnnLL, 8LSSu8Lu A ?CunC
lLMALL WC8kL8 1C PAvL A SLxuAL 8LLA1lCnSPl Wl1P 1PL
MAnACL8. WPLn SPL 8LluSLu 1C uC SC, SPL 8LC81LuL? WAS
ll8Lu. C1PL8 WC8kL8S CCMMLn1Lu ln MC8L CLnL8AL 1L8MS
1PA1 1PL8L A8L SLvL8AL SuL8vlSC8S Anu MAnACL8S WPC
PAvL MAuL SLxuAL AuvAnCLS 1CWA8u ?CunCL8 WCMLn WPC
WC8kLu A1 1PL lAC1C8?, Anu 1PA1 1PL? 8LLlLvLu 1PA1

9
1hls ls a deparLure from Lhe LradlLlonal mopollo sLorles from Lhe prevlous decades where Lhe workforces
were predomlnaLely young women. Powever, as Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc beglns Lo do more LexLlle
producLlon, as opposed Lo cuL and sew assembly, workers reporL LhaL Lhey wanL men Lo flll Lhese roles
because Lhey lnvolve large machlnery and more heavy llfLlng.
10
Slnce Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc declared lndependence from PalLl ln 1844, Lhere has been a long hlsLory
of vlolence, pollLlcal confllcL, and Lenslon beLween Lhe Lwo counLrles. MosL recenLly ln CcLober 2013, a
consLlLuLlonal Lrlbunal ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc ruled LhaL any chlldren born ln Lhe counLry Lo
undocumenLed lmmlgranLs do noL have Lhe rlghL Lo uomlnlcan clLlzenshlp. 1he declslon, reLroacLlve Lo
1929, effecLlvely revoked clLlzenshlp for more Lhan 200,000 PalLlan-uomlnlcans and has furLher sLralned
Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween Lhe Lwo counLrles.
36
WCMLn WPC 8LluSLu SLxuAL 8LLA1lCnSPlS PAu 8LLn ll8Lu
AS A 8LSuL1. (W8C, 2012)
4. PLAL1P & SAlL1?
Whlle low wages and long worklng hours are Lyplcally Lhe flrsL complalnLs logged abouL garmenL
facLorles around Lhe world, Lhe recenL bulldlng collapse and flres aL facLorles ln 8angladesh and
aklsLan have hlghllghLed Lhe rlsk-someLlmes deadly-LhaL healLh and safeLy vlolaLlons can
pose Lo workers. LxLreme heaL, exposure Lo chemlcals and fabrlc dusL, and blocked flre exlLs and
alsles are some of Lhe mosL common complalnLs.
Accordlng Lo Lhe AdmlnlsLraLlon of Labor 8lsk, PealLh & SafeLy, Lhe governmenL arm charged
wlLh workplace safeLy, Lhe number of reporLs of on-Lhe-[ob accldenLs has been rlslng sLeadlly
over Lhe lasL elghL years. Powever, Lhey clalm LhaL Lhls ls due Lo lncreased publlc awareness
campalgns and workshops launched by Lhe AdmlnlsLraLlon (A8LSS, 2013). ln oLher words, Lhey
belleve accldenLs are noL more frequenL buL LhaL Lhey slmply wenL unreporLed (and Lhus
uncompensaLed) ln Lhe pasL.
llCu8L 21: CuAn1l1? Cl 8LC81S Cl WC8kLACL ACCluLn1S, 2004-2012 (A8LSS,
2013)

lnLeresLlngly, respondenLs from 8onao and 8ayaguana, who work ln LexLlle planLs as opposed Lo
cuL and sew faclllLles, were Lhe mosL vocal abouL healLh and safeLy concerns. 1hey reporLed LhaL
workers had been kllled or serlously ln[ured (loss of llmbs, flngers, eyes) on Lhe [ob ln recenL
years, and LhaL Lhey could feel Lhe negaLlve effecLs of worklng so closely Lo so many chemlcals.
1hey also reporLed exLreme LemperaLures LhaL caused workers Lo falnL aL Lhelr worksLaLlons.
Cne LexLlle worker ln Lhls sLudy apLly summarlzed Lhe general senLlmenLs around healLh and
safeLy aL Lhese Lypes of planLs:
lf l wotk flve mote yeots jlo tbe ploot] tbey ote qoloq to toke me oot of tbete lo oo
ombolooce. 1bose cbemlcols klll. (8oyoqoooo)
lor assembly workers, Lhe mosL common complalnL was of alrborne dusL from Lhe fabrlc belng
cuL and sewn. Accordlng Lo Lhe Maqulladora PealLh and SafeLy ro[ecL, Alrborne coLLon dusL
can be an lrrlLanL or senslLlzer for workers' resplraLory sysLem, a serlous lung hazard ln LexLlle
planLs (brown lung" or bysslnosls), and aL hlgh enough concenLraLlons and Lhe rlghL
37
clrcumsLances, a combusLlble dusL" (Maqulladora PealLh & SafeLy SupporL neLwork, 2011).
Workers, llke Lhls one from La vega, mosL commonly experlenced Lhese resplraLory lrrlLanLs as
cold or flu-llke sympLoms and perslsLenL coughs:
l bove o colJ evety Joy, evety Joy, evety Joy, l bove o colJ ftom Iooooty to uecembet,
Iooooty to uecembet.tbe Jost bos me JeoJ. lts klllloq me, lts llke l coo botely Jo
ooytbloq ooymote. (lo veqo)
uurlng one facLory observaLlon ln Lhe SouLh, Lhe exLremely hlgh LemperaLures and very
cramped workspaces were lmmedlaLely evldenL. AlLhough Lhe llghLlng appeared Lo be sufflclenL,
Lhere were noL sulLable alsles nor spaces beLween machlnes and worksLaLlons for workers on
Lhe producLlon llne Lo evacuaLe ln Lhe case of an emergency. ln Lhe screen-prlnLlng area, Lhe
heaL was suffocaLlng, especlally near Lhe long conveyor dryers. lor some reason, lL also
appeared Lo be Lhe secLlon where many pregnanL women were worklng.
ln comparlson, Lhe facLory ln vllla AlLagracla ls a large, open space wlLh slgnlflcanLly fewer
workers and machlnes. AlLhough Lhe LemperaLures were aL Llmes hlgh, Lhe alr was never
observed Lo be sLlfllng or oppresslve. lurLhermore, Lhere was conslderably more space Lo work
and move abouL.
3. l8LLuCM Cl ASSCClA1lCn
lreedom of AssoclaLlon has long been consldered a core labor rlghL, alLhough lL ls LradlLlonally
one of Lhe mosL dlfflculL Lo enforce. ln Lheory, uomlnlcan labor law proLecLs freedom of
assoclaLlon and collecLlve bargalnlng, buL ln pracLlce enforcemenL ls sald Lo be unrellable,
lneffecLlve, or unpredlcLable. Accordlng Lo Lhe lnLernaLlonal Labor CrganlzaLlon, Lhe
requlremenLs for collecLlve bargalnlng rlghLs ln Lhe counLry are consldered excesslve" (SLorrs,
2004).
rlor Lo Lhe passage of u8-CAl1A, Lhe uS ueparLmenL of SLaLe reporLed LhaL Lhere were
wldespread problems" wlLh puLLlng esLabllshed workers' rlghLs lnLo pracLlce. ln Lhe 2012
reporL, Lhe slLuaLlon had noL changed much:
1PL [uCMlnlCAn] CCvL8nMLn1 lnCCnSlS1Ln1L? LnlC8CLu
LAWS 8LLA1Lu 1C l8LLuCM Cl ASSCClA1lCn Anu CCLLLC1lvL
8A8CAlnlnC, Anu LnAL1lLS WL8L lnSulllClLn1 1C uL1L8
LMLC?L8S l8CM vlCLA1lnC WC8kL8S 8lCP1S. 1PL 8CCLSS
lC8 uLALlnC Wl1P ulSu1LS 1P8CuCP LA8C8 CCu81S WAS
Cl1Ln LCnC, Wl1P CASLS LnulnC lC8 SLvL8AL ?LA8S.
vA8lCuS nCCS 8LC81Lu 1PA1 CCMAnlLS 1CCk AuvAn1ACL
Cl 1PL SLCW Anu lnLllLC1lvL LLCAL S?S1LM 1C ALAL CASLS,
WPlCP LLl1 WC8kL8S Wl1PCu1 LA8C8 8lCP1S 8C1LC1lCn ln
1PL ln1L8lM. uu8lnC 1PL ?LA8 1PL8L WL8L 8LC81S Cl
ln1lMluA1lCn, 1P8LA1S, Anu 8LACkMAlL 8? LMLC?L8S 1C
8LvLn1 unlCn AC1lvl1?.CCMAnlLS u8C81LuL? ll8Lu
WC8kL8S lC8 unlCn AC1lvl1? Anu 8LACkMAlLLu 18AuL
38
unlCnlS1S. WC8kL8S WL8L CCMMCnL? ASkLu 1C SlCn
uCCuMLn1S LLuClnC 1C A8S1Aln l8CM A81lClA1lnC ln
unlCn AC1lvl1lLS. CCMAnlLS ALSC C8LA1Lu Anu SuC81Lu
?LLLCW" C8 CCMAn?-8ACkLu unlCnS 1C CCun1L8 l8LL Anu
uLMCC8A1lC unlCnS. ln 8AC1lCL lC8MAL S18lkLS WL8L nC1
CCMMCn (unl1Lu S1A1LS uLA81MLn1 Cl S1A1L, 2012).
1he lnLernaLlonal Labor CrganlzaLlon also reporLs LhaL vlolaLlon of freedom of assoclaLlon ls
especlally common ln l1Zs ln u8-CAl1A counLrles (Sepulveda Malbrn, Schaplra-lelderhoff, &
uelpech, 2009). 1he mosL common Lypes ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc are hlghllghLed ln Lhe charL
below.
llCu8L 22: CCMLAln1S LxAMlnLu 8? 1PL CCMMl11LL lC8 LA8C8 l8LLuCM 8?
CA1LCC8? Cl CllLnSL ln 1PL uCMlnlCAn 8Lu8LlC (1990-2008) (SLLvLuA
MAL88n, SCPAl8A-lLLuL8PCll, & uLLLCP, 2009)

Lvery slngle one of Lhe Worker 8lghLs ConsorLlum lnvesLlgaLlons conducLed ln Lhe uomlnlcan
8epubllc - aL Lhe ropper, Clldan, !oeanne, and l1lC facLorles - lnclude reporLs of vlolaLlon of
lreedom of AssoclaLlon, suggesLlng wldespread anLl-unlon pressure ln Lhe lree 1rade Zones.
unlon organlzers were reporLedly flred and blackllsLed and workers were LhreaLened for
speaklng wlLh organlzers. ln one parLlcular case ln a Clldan planL, Lhey reporLed sysLemaLlc
LhreaLs of LermlnaLlon and blackllsLlng, colluslon beLween managemenL and an
unrepresenLaLlve labor organlzaLlon, and Lhe reLallaLory dlsmlssal of unlon members (W8C,
2011).
1hese challenges are whaL organlzers blame for Lhe relaLlvely low unlonlzaLlon raLe among lree
1rade Zone workers. ln 2011, Lhe naLlonal Councll of Labor unlons reporLed LhaL unlons were
acLlve ln abouL 20 of 200 companles ln Lhe lree 1rade Zones, buL only slx unlons had esLabllshed
collecLlve bargalnlng rlghLs. 1he governmenL, on Lhe oLher hand, reporLed LhaL 233 unlons were
acLlve wlLhln Lhe l1Zs ln 2011 (unlLed SLaLes ueparLmenL of SLaLe, 2012). erhaps Lhe lack of
clarlLy ls also lnsLrucLlve: Lhere were sald Lo be leglLlmaLe unlons as well as company or yellow"
unlons LhaL are essenLlally hlred by Lhe company Lo keep workers from organlzlng wlLh a more
Anti-union
Bisciimination
4u%
Secuiity anu
integiity of
people
2u%
Inteifeience
16%
0nion office
8%
Fieeuom of
expiession anu
assembly
8%
Auministiation
anu social
assets
4%
0thei laboi
violations
4%
39
leglLlmaLe unlon, and someLlmes lL was dlfflculL Lo Lell whlch organlzaLlons are acLually acLlng as
leglLlmaLe worker represenLaLlves.
Workers from Lhls sLudy LhaL dld noL come from unlonlzed facLorles generally agreed LhaL
organlzlng a unlon would [eopardlze Lhelr [obs. 1hese responses from SanLlago spoke Lo whaL
researchers and acLlvlsLs would descrlbe as a cllmaLe of fear" - shared anxleLy around
exerclslng Lhe freedom Lo organlze based on rumors, subLle lnLlmldaLlon, and dlrecL LhreaLs:
wbete l wotkeJ befote, lf tbete wos o ooloo ooJ tbeo tbe bosses foooJ oot, tbey woolJ
klck tbem oot ooJ tepott tbem to tbe sectetoty so tbot tbey woolJot be oble to floJ
wotk ooywbete else. (5ootloqo)
l boveot wotkeJ lo ooy compooles wbete tbete ls o ooloo bot l coo soy tbot tbe
commeots l bove beotJ ftom otbet people wbo bove. ooJ tbey soy tbot wbeo tbey wotk
lo compooles wltb ooloos tbete ote o lot of ptoblems becoose tbe owoets oevet oqtee
wltb tbem bovloq o ooloo. (5ootloqo)
lour ouL of Lhe slx groups of workers lncluded ln Lhls sLudy were from faclllLles wlLh unlons LhaL
were generally consldered Lo be leglLlmaLe and funcLlonal. 1he workers, parLlcularly Lhose from
CuanamlnLhe, 8onao and 8ayaguana, aLLrlbuLed lmprovemenLs Lhey have seen ln Lhe facLory,
even when Lhey are relaLlvely meager, Lo Lhelr unlon. WlLhouL Lhem, workers belleved LhaL
Lhlngs would be conslderably worse:
l woolJ soy tbot tbete ls o blq Jlffeteoce jlo tbe lost flve yeots], oot wltb tbe toles bot
tbey bove lmptoveJ tbe ptocess, tbey tespect tbe wotkets, tbe fomlly llves bettet. l wos
wotkloq lo oootbet foctoty befote wltb o ooloo bot lt wos weok ooJ tbe wotk mocb
wotse tboo toJoy. (8oooo)
1be wotk tbot tbe ooloo Joes ls JefeoJ tbe tlqbts of tbe employees. lf lt wosot fot tbe
pteseoce of tbe ooloo evety sopetvlsot woolJ bove o wblp lo booJ to eoslove tbe wotkets
eveo mote tboo tbey ote Joloq oow. (Ooooomlotbe)
ln many academlc and prlvaLe secLor clrcles, unlons remaln conLroverslal. ln Lhe uomlnlcan
8epubllc, Lhere ls a percepLlon of unlons as belng corrupL aL worsL, or aL besL lneffecLlve.
Powever, lack of worker power ln Lhe face of bad worklng condlLlons-be lL formal unlon or
oLherwlse-appears Lo have a relaLlonshlp wlLh wages and producLlvlLy. Looklng aL secLoral
developmenLs, lacklusLer real earnlngs are wldespread, lncludlng ln secLors wlLh sLrong
producLlvlLy growLh, [a] puzzllng developmenL LhaL could be relaLed wlLh weak worker
bargalnlng power" (Abdullaev & LsLevo, 2013). ln oLher words, lncreases ln producLlvlLy LhaL do
no lead Lo lncreased wages may have Lo do wlLh Lhe facL LhaL workers are noL organlzed and
able Lo demand hlgher pay.
PCML LllL
ln 2010, Lhe 8anco CenLral seL Lhe poverLy llne aL $10,407 uomlnlcan pesos monLhly for a famlly
of four members (MaLeo & rez Csorlo, 2013). WlLh Lwo adulLs employed ln Lhe lree 1rade
Zones and earnlng mlnlmum wage, a famlly wlll sLlll fall well below Lhe poverLy llne. 8ased on
Lhls measure, Lhe workers from CuanamlnLhe, La vega and SanLlago do noL earn enough Lo
40
cover Lhelr baslc cosLs alone. ln facL, Lhe mosL common refraln from workers was oo te Jo. ln
oLher words, Lhe amounL Lhey are earnlng slmply does noL glve you enough Lo llve on:
lt ls oot o poestloo of bettet ot wotse, wbot boppeos ls tbot tbe cost of evetytbloq bos
locteoseJ tbeo wbot tbey poy yoo Joesot qlve yoo ooytbloq becoose evetytbloq ls so
expeoslve. (lo veqo)
1bot tolse tbot tbey pot fot tbe ptlvote sectot, fot tbe ltee 1toJe 2ooe sectot, Joesot
eveo qlve eoooqb to covet yoot expeoses. (8oyoqoooo)
lL ls also lmporLanL Lo noLe LhaL many workers were slngle heads of household or have large
exLended famllles Lo supporL. WlLh unemploymenL raLes LhaL have hovered around 13 for
decades and approxlmaLely 33 of Lhe populaLlon employed ln Lhe lnformal secLor (presumably
wlLh even less [ob securlLy and beneflLs), a worker wlLh a regular paycheck ls ofLen expecLed Lo
provlde for more Lhan [usL Lhelr lmmedlaLe famllles (ulg & Levaggl, 2011). ln Lhls way, workers
reporL LhaL every peso counLs, and LhaL lnflaLlon has been slgnlflcanLly ouLpaclng Lhe lncrease ln
wages. Workers from 8onao and CuanamlnLhe shared common complalnLs of shopplng for
baslc food and oLher sLaples:
Now yoo ote boyloq tlce ooJ lo two weeks lts twlce os mocb. 1bete ls oo coottol ovet
ptlces. (8oooo)
wbot yoo booqbt fot two pesos oow costs tbtee ot foot. (8oooo)
1be teosoo ls tbot tbe voloe of mooey wos blqbet tboo lt ls toJoy ooJ tbe ptoJocts wete
less expeoslve. 1oJoy tbey Joot poy os tbe some, tbe voloe of mooey bos qooe Jowo
ooJ tbe ptoJocts ote mote expeoslve. (Ooooomlotbe)
1hese accounLs were noL [usL hyperbole, Lhe lnLernaLlonal Labor CrganlzaLlon echoes workers'
reporLs. 1he mlnlmum wage ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc has noL kepL pace wlLh Lhe cosL of
llvlng. Accordlng Lo Lhe CenLral 8ank, Lhe cosL of Lhe mlnlmum baskeL of goods for Lhe pooresL
qulnLlle was Lwlce Lhe average mlnlmum wage. 1he mosL surprlslng ln Lhe uomlnlcan case ls
LhaL Lhe counLry experlenced one of Lhe hlghesL raLes of economlc growLh ln LaLln Amerlca, wlLh
an average of 3.3 annual growLh ln Cu durlng Lhe 2000s and 3.1 annual growLh ln labor
producLlvlLy (measured as producLlon per worker), LhaL normally would have lnduced lncreases
ln real wages" (Cl1, 2013).
ln Lerms of houslng, mosL workers llved ln Lhe nelghborhoods surroundlng Lhe facLorles where
Lhey worked ln small renLed houses or aparLmenLs. ln general, Lhese were poorer
nelghborhoods where lnfrasLrucLure and servlces were llmlLed. very few people were able Lo
afford Lhelr own homes, alLhough Lhose LhaL dld were able Lo as a collecLlve efforL:
l llve lo my bosbooJs boose, oot mloe, ooJ l boveot polJ except fot tbe sboteJ setvlces.
My bosbooJ poys bolf ooJ tbe otbet fomlly tbot llves Jowostolts poys tbe otbet bolf, ooJ
we bove sotvlveJ. we bove koowo bow to eoJote tbe bllls ftom tbe boose ootll tlqbt
oow. 8efote lt wos o lot less tboo lt ls oow, becoose we ooly polJ 400 ot so pesos fot
wotet ooJ electtlclty, ooJ oow we ote poyloq olmost 700. (5ootloqo)
41
1he llvlng slLuaLlon for workers ln CuanamlnLhe was parLlcularly precarlous ln Lerms of Lhe
homes as well as Lhe nelghborhoods where workers were llvlng. 1he lack of elecLrlclLy, paved
roads, runnlng waLer and oLher baslc lnfrasLrucLure were glarlng as soon as crosslng over from
Lhe uomlnlcan border. uurlng dayllghL, Lhe communlLles appeared Lo be safe buL workers grew
lmpaLlenL durlng Lhe end of Lhe focus group as dusk approached-Lhey dld noL wanL Lo have Lo
walk home ln Lhe dark. ln general, all of Lhe workers from CuanamlnLhe complalned of
lnsufflclenL llvlng condlLlons:
lo 2007 l wos olteoJy lo Ooooomlotbe llvloq lo o teoteJ boose lo teolly boJ sbope. l stlll
llve lo tbls boose becoose wltb tbe mooey tbot tbey poy me, tbete ls oo posslblllty of
poyloq fot oootbet mote comfottoble boose. (Ooooomlotbe)
1be boose ls lo teolly boJ cooJltloo, wbeo lt tolos tbe wotet comes loto tbe boose ooJ lo
otJet to leove yoo bove to cotty yoot sboes lo yoot booJs. (Ooooomlotbe)
lo tbls ploce, ooboJy coo be oo tbe stteet oftet seveo. (Ooooomlotbe)
No, yoo coot tolk oboot sofety lo o ploce llke tbot. 1be klJs coooot ploy fteely wltboot
feot tbot ot ooy momeot tbleves coolJ come ooJ becoose l om oot ftom bete lts bettet
fot me to ovolJ tbese sltootloos. (Ooooomlotbe)
Cnce agaln, Lhe sLorles of workers from vllla AlLagracla provlded a sLunnlng conLrasL Lo Lhose ln
PalLl. uurlng lnLervlews for Lhls research, workers showed how Lhey had been able Lo add roofs,
cemenL walls, plumblng and elecLrlclLy Lo Lhelr homes wlLh Lhelr lncreased lncome. 1hese
lmprovemenLs were especlally evldenL ln conLrasL Lo oLher houses ln Lhelr nelghborhoods,
where zlnc roofs and wooden slaLs leaned precarlously. Some even had compuLers for Lhelr
chlldren Lo use and many commuLed Lo work on small mopeds.
lo my llfe, evetytbloq bos cbooqeJ. My boose oseJ to be follloq Jowo ooJ lt boJ me
teolly sttesseJ oot bot oot ooymote. wbot l bove oow ls o lot mote ptotecteJ. (vlllo
Altoqtoclo)
A LlvlnC WACL
1he concepL of a llvlng wage has been dlscussed ln lnLernaLlonal convenLlons slnce as early as
Lhe unlLed naLlons unlversal ueclaraLlon of Puman 8lghLs ln 1948. AlLhough Lhere ls sLlll no
slngle sLandard for how lL should be deflned or measured, Lhe lnLernaLlonal Labor CrganlzaLlon
conslders llvlng wage as a fundamenLal human rlghL: 1he ldea of a llvlng wage ls LhaL workers
and Lhelr famllles should be able Lo afford a baslc, buL decenL, llfesLyle LhaL ls consldered
accepLable by socleLy aL lLs currenL level of economlc developmenL. Workers and Lhelr famllles
should be able Lo llve above Lhe poverLy level, and be able Lo parLlclpaLe ln soclal and culLural
llfe" (Anker, 2011).
ln 2010, Lhe W8C developed a llvlng wage calculaLlon for Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc, based on an
exLenslve caLalogue of an average famlly's baslc needs ln Lhe local markeLplace: food and waLer,
houslng and energy, cloLhlng, healLh care, LransporLaLlon, educaLlon and chlldcare, as well as
modesL funds for savlngs and dlscreLlonary spendlng. 1hey deLermlned LhaL a llvlng wage ln
2011 would be 8u$21,236 monLhly (W8C, 2010, W8C, 2013). uependlng on Lhe source, Lhe cosL
42
of llvlng for a famlly of four ls somewhere beLween 2 and 3.3 Llmes Lhe mlnlmum wage for l1Z
workers.
llCu8L 23: SALA8lLS Anu 1PL CCS1 Cl LlvlnC ln uCMlnlCAn LSCS

llCu8L 24: CCMA8lSCn Cl 8LvAlLlnC vL8SuS LlvlnC WACLS (MCn1PL?) lC8 1C
AA8LL LxC81L8S 1C 1PL uS (W8C, 2013)

u
Suuu
1uuuu
1Suuu
2uuuu
2Suuu
Ninimum Wage
in FTZs (2u12)
Aveiage Textile
Woikei in FTZs
(2u12)
Poveity Line foi
family of 4
(2u1u)
Living Wage,
WRC (2u11)
43

1he cosL of llvlng has soared above prevalllng wages ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc for Lwo prlmary
reasons: lnLernal and exLernal pollcles. ln regards Lo Lhe former, Lhere appeared Lo be a lack of
pollcy around wages and conLrol of prlces. Accordlng Lo economlsL avel lsa ConLreras, Lhe
uomlnlcan governmenL dld noL have a formal poslLlon on how ofLen mlnlmum wages should be
deLermlned (lsa ConLreras, 2013). ln oLher words, Lhey hadn'L been able Lo declde how Lo
approach Lhe dellcaLe balance beLween ralslng wages and malnLalnlng employmenL levels.
1herefore, wage lncreases happened every couple of years, dependlng on Lhe secLor, and
Lyplcally covered Lhe cosL of lnflaLlon slnce Lhe lasL ralse and noLhlng more. ln comparlson, Lhe
governmenLs of 8razll and Chlle lmplemenLed regulaLlons LhaL Lle Lhe lncremenLal lncreases ln
Lhe mlnlmum wage wlLh boLh Lhe growLh of producLlvlLy as well as lnflaLlon (Cl1, 2013). ln
addlLlon, lnLernal pollcles (or lack Lhereof) were also Lhe cause of lnefflclencles ln energy and
poor lnfrasLrucLure, whlch ln Lurn lncreased Lhe cosL of baslc goods and servlces llke elecLrlclLy,
cooklng gas, and food producLs.
1he second lssue LhaL affecLs Lhe cosL of llvlng ls relaLed Lo exLernal Lrade, and u8-CAl1A ln
parLlcular. lL was Loo soon Lo measure preclsely Lhe effecLs of how lmporLed producLs from Lhe
unlLed SLaLes had affecLed prlces of baslc goods, as mosL agrlculLural lmporLs had duLles and
Larlffs LhaL wlll conLlnue Lo decllne slowly over Lhe years Lo come. noneLheless, Lhere were
already Lrends LhaL suggesL LhaL domesLlc producLlon of beans (a sLaple of Lhe uomlnlcan dleL)
was llkely Lo be undercuL and perhaps even ellmlnaLed by cheaper lmporLs from Lhe unlLed
SLaLes. lf Lhese cheaper beans resulLed ln lower prlces for consumers, Lhen Lhls mlghL prove Lo
be a poslLlve lmpacL on Lhe cosL of llvlng for average clLlzens. Powever, Lhls was unforLunaLely
noL always Lhe case ln Lhe compllcaLed domaln of free Lrade agreemenLs.
1he example of corn lmporLs Lo Mexlco under Lhe norLh Amerlcan lree 1rade AgreemenL
(nAl1A) ls lllusLraLlve. uurlng Lhls Llme, much cheaper (subsldlzed) corn lmporLs from Lhe unlLed
SLaLes flooded Lhe Mexlcan markeL, drlvlng many Mexlcan corn farmers ouL of buslness. As a
44
resulL, Lhe domesLlc prlce for corn fell buL Lhe prlce of corn food (namely LorLlllas, a Mexlcan
sLaple) doubled and even Lrlpled ln some parLs of Lhe counLry (8olg-lranzla, 2007). 1hls
phenomenon was reporLedly caused, aL leasL ln parL, because more corn was allowed Lo enLer
Lhe counLry wlLh reduced Larlffs Lhan whaL had been negoLlaLed ln Lhe agreemenL and because
corn lmporLers were able Lo creaLe a monopoly and seL hlgh prlces. Small farmers were drlven
ouL of buslness aL a very qulck pace. LvenLually, Lhe Mexlcan governmenL had Lo sLep ln and
creaLe prlce conLrols for corn producLs, buL Lhe effecL on poor rural famllles ln parLlcular was
dramaLlc. uurlng Lhls Llme, Mexlco saw enormous mlgraLlon from Lhe counLryslde Lo Lhe clLles
as well as Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes. LconomlsL avel lsa ConLreras belleves LhaL Lhe uomlnlcan
governmenL could avold a slmllar crlsls from happenlng wlLh beans, buL Lhey would have Lo have
Lhe foreslghL Lo seL clear pollcles lmmedlaLely (lsa ConLreras, 2013).
So as Lhe cosL of llvlng conLlnued Lo ouLpace wages, all of Lhe workers lncluded ln Lhls sLudy,
excepL for Lhose from vllla AlLagracla, reporLed regularly sollclLlng loans Lo cover Lhe cosL of
baslc monLhly needs. MosL of Lhese sLreeL loans" came from local lnformal lenders who
generally charged much hlgher lnLeresL raLes Lhan lnsLlLuLlonal lenders and had slgnlflcanLly
shorLer repaymenL schedules. ln facL, some of Lhese ptestomlstos worked dlrecLly wlLh Lhe
facLorles for whlch Lhe workers were employed.
ln Lhls sLudy, workers conflrmed LhaL Lhese loans had parLlcularly devasLaLlng effecLs on
everyday llfe:
uesplte tbe foct tbot yoo wotk, tbey poy os less tboo wbot tbey sboolJ ooJ llfe ls mote
expeoslve. Altbooqb we wotk we coooot eot lf we Joot bottow mooey. (Ooooomlotbe)
we ote oll ollleJ wltb o lot of Jebt becoose tbete ls oo mooey (bottowloq mooey tlqbt
tbete ftom tbe ptestomlsto). oo ltlJoys we qo bome wltb flve ceots becoose we oll
bottow mooey ooJ lts oot eoooqb. lo otJet to be oble to sotvlve, l boJ to sell ftleJ
cblckeo oo 5ototJoys ooJ 5ooJoys so tbot l bove sometbloq by MooJoy becoose lts oot
eoooqb to llve oo, ootbloq, ootbloq, ootbloq. lt ls socb tbot yoo qet bome wltb flve ceots
becoose tbe ptestomlstos toke evetytbloq else. (lo veqo)
1bey olwoys qlve os looos, tbey seoJ os to tbe sopetmotket to boy mllk fot tbe klJs,
pompets... ooJ ooe Joy yoo ote wltboot eveo flve pesos. (lo veqo)
Workers spoke abouL Lhese loans wlLh a desperaLlon LhaL was palpable: Lhere was no
concelvable way for Lhem Lo ever 1) pay back Lhe loans ln Lhelr enLlreLy, 2) sLop needlng Lo
borrow more, and 3) ln Lhe cases where ptestomlstos were worklng ln con[uncLlon wlLh
facLorles, change [obs lf Lhey found someLhlng beLLer. ln oLher words, lL was noL [usL Lhe reallLy
of belng worklng poor, buL belng Lrapped ln a splral of debL from whlch Lhere was no hope of
escape LhaL seemed Lo elevaLe workers' feellngs of sLress and hopelessness. 1he only workers
who were able Lo geL ouL of Lhelr debL were from vllla AlLagracla, and Lhey were only able Lo do
Lhls afLer Lhree years of earnlng salarles LhaL were abouL Lhree Lo four Llmes hlgher Lhan Lhe
average. Cne such worker shared hls experlences durlng an lnLervlew:
wbeo l wos tbete jwotkloq lo oootbet compooy] tbot polJ llke tbot, l olwoys boJ to
bottow mooey. 1beo l beqoo qettloq mote ooJ mote lo Jebt. Actoolly l om qettloq oot
of Jebt oow. l tblok tbls yeot l wlll be ftee of Jebt. (vlllo Altoqtoclo)
43
1hls cycle of debL and lack of [ob moblllLy also ralses some fundamenLal quesLlons abouL Lhe
prlnclple pro-sweaLshop argumenL LhaL clalms Lhese [obs, even Lhose wlLh Lhe worsL condlLlons,
are sLlll ln Lhe besL lnLeresL of workers. rofessor 8en[amln owell explalns (owell, 2014):
l uC nC1 uLn? 1PA1 SWLA1SPCS PAvL WACLS lA8 8LLCW 1PL
LLvLLS ln 1PL uLvLLCLu WC8Lu. nC8 uC l uLn? 1PA1
SWLA1SPCS Cl1Ln PAvL LCnC Anu un8LulC1A8LL WC8klnC
PCu8S, A PlCP 8lSk Cl ln!u8lLS Cn 1PL !C8, Anu CLnL8ALL?
unPLAL1P? WC8klnC CCnul1lCnS. SWLA1SPCS ALSC
SCML1lMLS uLn? LunCP C8 8A1P8CCM 88LAkS, vL88ALL?
A8uSL WC8kL8S, 8LCul8L CvL81lML, Anu 88LAk LCCAL LA8C8
LAWS. uLSl1L 1PLSL A18CClCuS CCnul1lCnS, SWLA1SPCS A8L
S1lLL ln 1PL 8LS1 ln1L8LS1 Cl 1PL WC8kL8S WPC CPCSL 1C
WC8k ln 1PLM.
1he only excepLlon he makes Lo Lhe above argumenL ls ln Lhe case of slavery or forced labor: lL ls
lmmoral and lndefenslble only ln slLuaLlons where companles or local governmenLs coerce
workers lnLo [obs by force. Pe does noL deflne slavery or lndenLured servlLude more speclflcally,
however, so lL ls dlfflculL Lo poslLlon lndebLed workers who cannoL change [obs on Lhls specLrum
of morallLy. AlLhough ouLslde of Lhe scope of Lhls research, Lhese loans may well have some
broader lmpllcaLlons on Lhls debaLe and Lhe Lheory LhaL Lhese [obs are ulLlmaLely ln Lhe besL
lnLeresL of Lhe worker.
knCWLLuCL
uomlnlcan law requlres LhaL Lhe governmenL spend aL leasL 16 of LoLal publlc budgeL or 4 of
Cu on educaLlon, dependlng on whlchever flgure ls hlgher for LhaL year (nuu, 2010).
Accordlng Lo Lhe naLlonal Cfflce of SLaLlsLlcs, spendlng rarely meeLs Lhese requlremenLs even as
Cu conLlnues Lo grow.
llCu8L 23: u8LlC SLnulnC AS L8CLn1ACL Cl Cu Anu Cl nA1lCnAL 8uuCL1
(CnL, 2013)

u
S
1u
1S
2u
1
9
9
u

1
9
9
1

1
9
9
2

1
9
9
S

1
9
9
4

1
9
9
S

1
9
9
6

1
9
9
7

1
9
9
8

1
9
9
9

2
u
u
u

2
u
u
1

2
u
u
2

2
u
u
S

2
u
u
4

2
u
u
S

2
u
u
6

2
u
u
7

2
u
u
8

2
u
u
9

2
u
1
u

2
u
1
1

2
u
1
2

% of uBP % of buuget
46
ln Lhe lasL decade, Lhe counLry has seen some advancemenL ln Lerms of educaLlon lndlcaLors:
more young people are aLLendlng school, fewer people are llllLeraLe, fewer sLudenLs are
repeaLlng grades, and graduaLlon raLes are hlgher (nuu, 2010, MlnlsLerlo de Lconomla,
lanlflcacln y uesarrollo, 2013). Powever, mosL of Lhese lndlcaLors lmproved aL a slow pace
and sLlll fell below reglonal averages. lurLhermore, accordlng Lo Lhe nuu, alLhough Lhere were
more people belng educaLed ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc, Lhe quallLy of Lhe educaLlon conLlnued
Lo be lower Lhan mosL counLrles ln LaLln Amerlca and Lhe Carlbbean (nuu, 2010).
llCu8L 26: AvL8ACL ?LA8S Cl LuuCA1lCn Cl 1PL CuLA1lCn CvL8 13 ?LA8S, 2011
(MlnlS1L8lC uL LCCnCMlA, LAnlllCAClCn ? uLSA88CLLC, 2013)

llCu8L 27: LuuCA1lCn LLvLL Cl 1PL CuLA1lCn 8? CLnuL8 (AvL8ACL 2010-2012)
(nuu, 2013)

ln comparlson Lo oLher counLrles ln Lhe reglon, Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc's educaLlon sysLem lags
behlnd lLs peers.
1A8LL 1: CSl1lCn Cl 8lMA8? LuuCA1lCn Cl 1PL u8-CAl1A CCun18lLS, lnCLuulnC
AnAMA, ln 8LLA1lCn 1C ALL 134 CCun18lLS Anu AMCnCS1 LACP C1PL8, 2007-
2008 (nuu, 2010)
Country os|t|on |n
the Wor|d
os|t|on |n
the keg|on
Costa k|ca 36 1
anama 69 2
7.S 7.S
7.S
7.6
7.8
7.9 7.9
8.1 8.1
8.2
8.4
2uuu 2uu1 2uu2 2uuS 2uu4 2uuS 2uu6 2uu7 2uu8 2uu9 2u1u
4S.u%
Su.9%
1S.u%
8.2%
S1.7% S2.1% S1.6%
4.7%
Piimaiy Seconuaiy 0niveisity None
Nen Women
47
nonduras 78 3
L| Sa|vador 94 4
Guatema|a 108 3
N|caragua 114 6
Dom|n|can kepub||c 124 7

llCu8L 28: CCMA8lSCn Cl ?LA8S Cl SCPCCLlnC (unu, 2013)

Among Lhe parLlclpanLs ln Lhls sLudy, educaLlon levels were sllghLly hlgher Lhan Lhe naLlonal
averages. When asked for baslc demographlc lnformaLlon, Lhe ma[orlLy of workers reporLed
havlng graduaLed from hlgh school.
llCu8L 29: LuuCA1lCn LLvLL Cl A81lClAn1S ln 1PlS S1uu?

Many workers reporL LhaL Lhelr employers occaslonally offer Lechnlcal courses LhaL Lhey have
aLLended. Powever, ln Lerms of compleLlng hlgh school or pursulng hlgher educaLlon whlle
worklng ln Lhe lree 1rade Zones, many reporL noL havlng Lhe Llme or money Lo do so. lor
example, employees ln 8onao and 8ayaguana work 4x4 shlfLs (four 12 hour shlfLs followed by
four days off), whlch made lL dlfflculL Lo parLlclpaLe ln weekly classes LhaL are held aL local
lnsLlLuLlons. lL was also common for oLher workers Lo belleve LhaL due Lo long hours and sLrlcL
supervlsors, Lhey had Lo make a cholce beLween sLudylng and worklng:
u
2
4
6
8
1u
12
14
16
Bominican
Republic
}amaica El Salvauoi Latin Ameiica
anu the
Caiibbean
Neuium BBI
Countiies
Expecteu Yeais of Schooling Nean Yeais of Schooling
u.u%
2u.u%
4u.u%
6u.u%
8u.u%
Piimaiy Seconuaiy 0niveisity None
48
No, tlqbt oow tbey ote oot qlvloq os tbe cbooce to stoJy becoose tbete ls o lot of wotk.
1bey soy tbot wotk comes fltst ooJ stoJles oftet. (5ootloqo)
l qtoJooteJ ftom blqb scbool ooJ l om oot qoloq to tbe oolvetslty becoose tbey woot
qlve me petmlssloo jto leove fot closses]. l bove to toke lt, bot lm scoteJ tbot tbey wlll
yell ot me ot tolk to me boJ ot tbey wlll woot to flte me. (5ootloqo)
CLhers slmply found Lhe cosL of golng back Lo school prohlblLlve.
No, l woot to stoJy bot l coot. becoose my ecooomlc sltootloo woot ollow lt. veo
eotloq ls Jlfflcolt, we Joot bove eoooqb colotles to boto lo otJet to stoy lo qooJ beoltb.
(Ooooomlotbe)
jAoJ wbot ote tbe llmltotloos ot Jlfflcoltles tbot yoo see lo tetms of stoJyloq?] Ob jost
lmoqloe! My motbet ls slck, l bove to boy bet meJlcloes, l bove o Jooqbtet, my bosbooJ
boJ oo occlJeot o yeot oqo. (lo veqo)
Powever, wlLhouL more educaLlon, workers reallze LhaL Lhey have llLLle chance of movlng lnLo a
hlgher, beLLer paylng poslLlon aL Lhe planL:

oo coot become sopetvlsot wltboot oo eJocotloo. (8oooo)
lo otJet to be moooqet, yoo bove to be oo eoqloeet. (8oooo)
8efote tbete wos o ttop tbot lf yoo boJot qtoJooteJ ftom blqb scbool, yoo coolJot qet
o job lo ooy compooy. 1bey woolJ teject yoo. (vlllo Altoqtoclo)
1he workers aL vllla AlLagracla spoke mosL frequenLly abouL access Lo educaLlon-boLh for
Lhemselves and Lhelr chlldren-as a ma[or beneflL of Lhelr lncreased lncome. Workers were
sLudylng aL unlverslLy Lo become Leachers, accounLanLs, and one man was even able Lo graduaLe
from prlmary school.
l bove o soo lo ptlvote scbool bot befote l coolJot seoJ blm tbete. ne bos speclol oeeJs
ooJ leotoloq Jlsobllltles ooJ l boJ to seoJ blm to o speclol scbool jost fot tbose klJs.... ne
ls 1J oow, ooJ lf lt wosot fot Alto Ctoclo l woolJot be oble to bove blm tbete. (vlllo
Altoqtoclo)
l bove ooe jcbllJ] lo oolvetslty qettloq bls Mostets. 1be otbet ooe ls lo o ptlvote colleqe.
AoJ tbe yoooqest ls qoloq to be qoloq to tbe oolvetslty olso. (vlllo Altoqtoclo)
PLAL1P
Slmllar Lo publlc spendlng on educaLlon, Lhe uomlnlcan governmenL regularly spends less on
healLh Lhan Lhey are meanL Lo (3 of Cu). ln 2011, Lhe governmenL spenL abouL 8u$36,078.46
mllllon, approxlmaLely 2.63 of Cu and 8u$ 3,937.19 per caplLa each year (equlvalenL Lo uS
$133.22 per person per year) (Pldalgo nuez & Cedano, 2013).
49
llCu8L 30: u8LlC SLnulnC Cn PLAL1P AS L8CLn1ACL Cl Cu

llCu8L 31: u8LlC SLnulnC 8? PLAL1P CA8L 8CvluL8, L8CLn1ACLS, 2011

1he healLh sysLem ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc ls seL up prlmarlly lnLo Lwo branches: publlc and
prlvaLe. 1he prlvaLe secLor ls consldered Lo be superlor, alLhough advancemenLs have been
made ln Lhe lasL decade Lo lmprove Lhe publlc secLor.
llCu8L 32: LllL LxLC1AnC? ACCC8ulnC 1C 1PL unl1Lu nA1lCnAL PuMAn
uLvLLCMLn1 lnuLx (unu, 2013)

1
1.S
2
2.S
S
2uuS 2uu4 2uuS 2uu6 2uu7 2uu8 2uu9 2u1u 2u11
S1%
18%
11%
26%
14%
Bospitals
Pioviueis of Ambulatoiy
Attention
Retaileis anu 0thei
Pioviueis of Neuical
Piouucts
ueneial Bealth
Auministiation anu Bealth
Insuiance
67 68 69 7u 71 72 7S 74 7S 76
Bominican Republic
}amaica
El Salvauoi
Latin Ameiica anu the Caiibbean
Neuium BBI
30
ln 2001, Lhe governmenL passed a law creaLlng a Soclal SecurlLy program, whlch provldes healLh
lnsurance, workers compensaLlon, and penslons Lo uomlnlcan clLlzens. PealLh coverage lncludes
prlmary healLh servlces, emergency LreaLmenL, speclallsL servlces, dlagnosLlc LesLs, denLlsLry,
physlcal Lherapy and rehablllLaLlon (rez, 2013). 1hls sysLem ls dlvlded lnLo Lwo prlmary
caLegorles: subsldlzed and employer-based. Subsldlzed medlcal lnsurance covers Lhose who are
unemployed and/or llvlng ln poverLy. ln 2007, Lhe sysLem also lnLroduced a conLrlbuLlon scheme
for employers and employees Lo share Lhe cosL of healLh coverage (70 employers, 30
employees). ln 2012, Lhe LexLlle secLor pald more Lhan 8u $813 mllllon LoLal Lo Lhe Soclal
SecurlLy 1reasury (CnZlL, 2012).
As of March 2013, 34 Lhe populaLlon was afflllaLed wlLh Lhls new Soclal SecurlLy sysLem, an
achlevemenL LhaL noneLheless falls shorL of Lhe goal of provldlng unlversal healLh care beglnnlng
ln 2012 (rez, 2013). All of Lhe workers ln Lhe sLudy, excepL for Lhose ln CuanamlnLhe, have
healLh lnsurance. ln facL, Lhey reporL LhaL Lhls new sysLem ls one of Lhe blggesL beneflLs of Lhelr
[obs. As lllusLraLed by Lhls worker from Lhe SanLlago focus group, Lhere ls a general agreemenL
LhaL lL was posslble Lo go Lo Lhe docLor when Lhey needed Lo:
l bove beeo wotkloq fot 17 yeots lo textlle foctotles, ooJ wltblo tbls tlme l boJ two
cbllJteo vlo cesoteoo. l boJ ooe opetotloo oo my klJoeys ooJ ot tbot tlme l JlJ bove
meJlcol losotooce, ooJ fot tbot sotqety tbey coveteJ oll of my costs becoose l boJ tbeo
to my koowleJqe tbete wos ooly ooe type of losotooce. lts wbot tbey coll seqoto soclol
jsoclol secotlty]. (5ootloqo)
uesplLe saLlsfacLlon wlLh healLh coverage, Lhe ablllLy Lo acLually use Lhelr lnsurance was ln some
cases llmlLed by worklng hours. ermlsslon Lo leave for medlcal appolnLmenLs, for example, was
a very common complalnL:
wbete l wotk, tbey Joot qlve yoo petmlssloo to qo to tbe Joctot. 1oJoy o qltl mlsseJ
wotk fot tbot, becoose sbe weot to tbe Joctot ooJ tbe sopetvlsot btooqbt bet lo ooJ tolJ
bet off, sbe oseJ o lot of obsceoe wotJs. 1be qltl tolJ bet tbot tbey oevet qlve petmlssloo
ooJ tbot sbe boJ to jost toke tbe tlme oo bet owo wlll. 1be some tbloq boppeoeJ wltb
tbe qltl tbot wos bospltollzeJ, sbe boJ to btloq o popet to sbow tbot sbe wos oJmltteJ ot
ot tbe Joctot. wbete l wotk tbey Joot qlve yoo petmlssloo, ooe bos to jost toke lt.
(5ootloqo)
lf ooe bos o yoooq cbllJ ooJ evetytbloq ooJ be qets slck tbey Joot cote. lts o ptoblem to
qet petmlssloo. vetytbloq ls o ptoblem. (lo veqo)
1he blggesL challenge Lhey reporLed was wlLh prescrlpLlon drugs, many of whlch were expenslve
and noL covered compleLely by healLh lnsurance. ln facL, over 80 of money spenL on drugs ls
pald for ouL of pockeL by uomlnlcan paLlenLs (CeorgeLown unlverslLy Law CenLer, 2010). ln an
lnLervlew wlLh researchers from Lhe CeorgeLown unlverslLy Law CenLer, a uomlnlcan docLor
sald, paLlenLs have enough money Lo flnd ouL whaL ls wrong wlLh Lhem and whaL medlclnes
Lhey need buL noL enough money Lo buy [medlcaLlons]. SomeLlmes Lhey can'L afford Lhe whole
course of medlclne so Lhey [usL buy enough medlcaLlon for a day or Lwo" (CeorgeLown
unlverslLy Law CenLer, 2010).
Workers ln Lhls sLudy echoed slmllar complalnLs:
31
1be mojotlty of meJlcloes tbot tbey qlve yoo ptesctlptloos fot ote oot coveteJ by
losotooce so tbeo we Joot qet ooytbloq. 1be most expeoslve ooes tbot tbe losotooce
Joesot covet, tbose ote tbe ooes tbe Joctots ptesctlbe. (lo veqo)
8ot lf tbey qlve yoo o ptesctlptloo yoo bove to toke o bos ooJ poy o fote of 200 pesos to
qo to tbe copltol jbecoose tbete ote oo pbotmocles close-by]. (8oyoqoooo)
1be qove me o ptesctlptloo fot blqb blooJ ptessote bot tbey coolJot qlve me tbe
meJlcotloo becoose lt wosot coveteJ by my losotooce... 1bey qove me oootbet ooe ooJ l
weot to qet tbot bot lt wosot coveteJ eltbet... 5o lf l Joot toke lt tbeo wbots tbe polot?
(vlllo Altoqtoclo)
lnLeresLlngly, Lhe cosL of and access Lo prescrlpLlon drugs has been affecLed slgnlflcanLly by u8-
CAl1A, whlch conLalns some of Lhe sLrongesL lnLellecLual properLy language among all of uS
1rade AgreemenLs. under Lhe agreemenL, any medlclne sLlll under paLenL ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes
can exLend LhaL paLenL for LwenLy years ln a CAl1A counLry" (CeorgeLown unlverslLy Law
CenLer, 2010). As a resulL, local pharmaceuLlcal companles musL walL even longer Lo produce
generlc alLernaLlves of name-brand drugs. 1herefore, lnsLead of lowerlng Lhe cosL of
prescrlpLlons as Lrade proponenLs argued, Lhe agreemenL has conLrlbuLed Lo Lhe sLeady lncrease
ln cosL of medlclne ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc ln Lhe lasL several years, as fewer generlc drugs
became avallable.
ln !une 2013, Lhe LxecuLlve SecreLary of Lhe Counsel of PealLh MlnlsLrles of CenLral Amerlca and
Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc meL wlLh represenLaLlves from flve pharmaceuLlcal companles Lo
negoLlaLe lower cosLs for 80 prescrlpLlon drugs (Crganlzacln anamerlcana de la Salud, 2013).
lL was sLlll Loo soon Lo Lell whaL affecL Lhls would have on prlces ln Lhe long-Lerm. Powever,
accordlng Lo a sLudy by lundacln lenlLud, lf Lhese Lrends were noL reversed, Lhey expecLed
LhaL spendlng per caplLa on medlclnes alone wlll more Lhan quadruple (ln real Lerms) from 2006
Lo 2040 (8aLhe & Cuzman, 2010).
As wlLh oLher food sLaples, Lhe experlences of oLher counLrles ln Lhls area are lllumlnaLlng. ln
!ordan, Lhe prlce of pharmaceuLlcals lncreased by 20 flve years afLer lLs free Lrade agreemenL.
ln LgypL, whlch was noL sub[ecL Lo Lhe same lnLellecLual properLy laws, prlces were somewhere
beLween Lwo and Len Llmes less. ln CuaLemala, some generlc drugs have been forced off Lhe
naLlonal markeL due Lo u8-CAl1A even when Lhose same generlc drugs were already avallable
ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes (CeorgeLown unlverslLy Law CenLer, 2010).
ln general, desplLe lmproved healLh coverage, workers complaln of worsenlng healLh overall. ln
many cases, lL was dlrecLly relaLed Lo Lhe physlcal demands and sLresses of Lhelr [obs:
oot boJy ls llke weokeoloq. l Joot koow lf lt ls o teoctloo to tbe cbemlcols. 8ot me ooJ
my cowotkets bove solJ tbot yoo stott to feel llke less stteoqtb lo yoot boJy. lts llke tbe
cbemlcols ote mokloq yoo weoket. (8oooo)
jlo qeoetol bow Jo yoo cooslJet yoot beoltb. bettet, wotse ot tbe some?] wotse, wotse,
wotse, wotse! (lo veqo)
32
ltom ooe Joy to tbe oext beoltb qets wotse. 1be job tbot l om Joloq tepoltes mote
eoetqy, l Joot eot well ooJ l coot tespooJ to my boslc oeeJs llke eotloq, qoloq to tbe
Joctot ooJ llvloq lo o Jeceot ploce. uesplte tbe llloess tbot yoo mlqbt bove, tbe Joctots
coot qlve os meJlcol leove becoose tbe compooy ls qoloq to coll ooJ flte os.
(Ooooomlotbe)
ln sLark conLrasL, workers aL vllla AlLagracla shared sLory afLer sLory abouL how Lhelr healLh and
how lL changed slnce Lhose sLressors have been removed.
8efote, my soo oevet left tbe Joctots offlce. AoJ l JlJot eltbet. lt wos olwoys tbls ot
tbot. 5ometlmes becoose of tbe sltootloo, yoo Joot bove belp ftom ooyooe. ooJ tbe
blqqest tbloq ls tbot yoo bove o cbllJ tbete ooJ wbeo be wokes op be soys, Mommy, lm
booqty ooJ be Joesot bove ooy sboes. AoJ yoo Joot bove ooywbete to stoy ot
ooywbete to eoto mooey. lts botJ. 8ot oow, l totely toke blm to tbe Joctot. l toke blm
evety ooce lo o wblle lf be qets slck. l woolJ soy tbot becoose of tbe ecooomlc sltootloo l
bove mote powet tboo befote, lts bettet tboo befote. AoJ lt belps o lot wltb yoot
beoltb. (vlllo Altoqtoclo)
PAlnLSS
Cf all Lhe measures of quallLy of llfe, happlness ls one of Lhe mosL dlfflculL Lo gauge. Powever,
Lhe CrganlzaLlon for Lconomlc CooperaLlon and uevelopmenL recenLly publlshed a reporL
lnLended Lo do [usL LhaL. 1he ColJelloes oo Meosotloq 5objectlve well-8eloq, released ln 2013,
provldes a sLraLeglc framework for collecLlng and analyzlng Lhls Lype of daLa. 1hey deflne well-
belng as good menLal sLaLes, lncludlng all of Lhe varlous evaluaLlons, poslLlve and negaLlve, LhaL
people make of Lhelr llves and Lhe affecLlve reacLlons of people Lo Lhelr experlences" (CLCu,
2013). 1he guldellnes also ldenLlfy Lhree core elemenLs ln Lhe sLudy of well-belng (CLCu, 2013):
1. L|fe eva|uat|on: a reflecLlve assessmenL on a person's llfe or some speclflc aspecL of lL
2. Affect: a person's feellngs or emoLlonal sLaLes, Lyplcally measured wlLh a reference Lo a
parLlcular polnL ln Llme
3. Luda|mon|a: a sense of meanlng and purpose ln llfe, or good psychologlcal funcLlonlng
1he 2013 World Papplness 8eporL, publlshed by unlLed naLlons SusLalnable uevelopmenL
SoluLlons neLwork, borrowed from Lhe CLCu framework Lo analyze happlness of people around
Lhe world. ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc, happlness reporLedly decreased sllghLly (-0.122) from
2010-2012 slnce 2003-2007, whereas some of Lhe blggesL galns ln happlness lndlcaLors ln Lhe
world durlng Lhose years were found ln LaLln Amerlca and Lhe Carlbbean (7.0). ApparenLly
more Lhan Lhree quarLers of all Lhe counLrles ln Lhe sLudy reporLed slgnlflcanL lmprovemenLs
durlng Lhls Llme frame (Pelllwell, Layard, & Sachs, 2013).
ln Lhls sLudy, quesLlons prlmarlly focused on Lhe llfe evaluaLlon and affecL dlmenslons of well-
belng, alLhough Lhe eudalmonla aspecL ofLen surfaced aL varlous polnLs LhroughouL Lhe sesslons.
Workers' responses fell lnLo a few dlsLlncL caLegorles: (1) llfe has goLLen slgnlflcanLly worse, (2)
even lf my llfe lsn'L greaL, aL leasL l am worklng and for LhaL l'm Lhankful, or (3) llfe has goLLen
slgnlflcanLly beLLer.
33
Workers from CuanamlnLhe and La vega were represenLaLlve of Lhe flrsL group, volclng clear
oplnlons abouL how Lhelr llves have goLLen harder and Lhey less happy:
l feel mote soJ oow becoose llfe ls mote ooJ mote Jlfflcolt evety Joy. l obooJooeJ my
stoJles lo otJet to leove ooJ wotk, tblokloq tbot l woolJ be oble to cbooqe tbe llfe
cooJltloos of my fomlly ooJ my cbllJteo, bot lt JlJot wotk. (Ooooomlotbe)
lt bos oot qotteo bettet. l wooteJ to wotk lo tbls compooy wltb tbe objectlve of cbooqloq
tbe cooJltloos of my llfe, bot lo jtbe foctoty of oo Ametlcoo footweot btooJ], tbete ls oo
bope tbot ooe coo cbooqe bls llfe tbete. losteoJ of cbooqe wbot yoo floJ ls bomlllotloo.
(Ooooomlotbe)
l om wotse, wotse, evety Joy wotse.. 16 yeots wotkloq ooJ oow l om wotse tboo wbeo l
stotteJ. (lo veqo)
oo wltb oll of yoot yootb wosteJ lo tbe some compooy. (lo veqo)
1he focus groups ln SanLlago, 8ayaguana and 8onao were mosL represenLaLlve of Lhe second
group, Lhose workers who were relucLanL Lo complaln abouL Lhe general scope of Lhelr llves
because Lhey were sLlll worklng-even lf Lhey were crlLlcal of Lhe quallLy of Lhose [obs and Lhe
llves Lhey provlded. So alLhough Lhelr llves are noL greaL, Lhey belleve Lhelr llves have lmproved
because Lhey conLlnue Lo be employed:
lo my cose, l coot soy tbot lt ls qoloq boJly, l om oot Joloq boJ. lltst wbeo l wotk lo tbot
compooy tbot l tolJ yoo oboot, l wotkeJ fot foot yeots befote tbey closeJ ooJ l boJ beeo
eotoloq eoooqb, tbloqs wete cbeopet ooJ l wos eotoloq eoooqb to sopply my boosebolJ.
Now tbloqs ote mote expeoslve, evetytbloq ls mote expeoslve, bot tbook CoJ l bove o
llttle job ooJ wltb wbot my bosbooJ eotos we bove eoooqb to poy fot oot boosebolJ ooJ
tbots qooJ. (5ootloqo)
At leost, lo my cose lo pottlcolot, my llfe bos lmptoveJ. l bove o job, lt offets employmeot
stoblllty. lot exomple, l om oot tblokloq cotombo oext yeot tbey coolJ close tbelt Joots.
(8oooo)
1he only workers who spoke unequlvocally abouL how Lhelr llves have lmproved were from vllla
AlLagracla:
8ot oow l coo belp my motbet, ptovlJe bettet fooJ fot my klJs, o bettet eJocotloo.
8efote l coolJot Jo ooy of tbot. AoJ olso oow lf l bove to qo to tbe Joctot, l qo to tbe
Joctot. l coo eveo speoJ tlme wltb my fomlly, befote tbete wosot tlme fot tbot. (vlllo
Altoqtoclo)
lts mocb bettet. 8efote tbete wos olwoys loJlqolty ooJ Jlspotes. Now llfe ls o lot mote
ttoopoll, seteoe, ooJ polet. 8efote lt wos mocb, mocb, mocb, mocb mote Jlfflcolt. vety
JlsotJetly. (vlllo Altoqtoclo)
uesplLe dlfferenL worklng condlLlons and quallLles of llfe, almosL all workers had slmllar hopes
for Lhe fuLure-Lo have Lhelr own houses and educaLe Lhelr chlldren:
34
AoJ fot tbe oext flve yeots l bope to bove my owo bome, tbot oll tbtee of my cbllJteo ote
lo uolvetslty, ooJ tbot CoJ qlves me tbe oppottoolty to meet two ot tbtee qtooJcbllJteo.
(5ootloqo)
1o bove my boose fltst. l woot to bove my boose ooJ to be beoltby, bove my klJs be
beoltby, tbot tbey keep stoJyloq. AoJ keep movloq fotwotJ. (vlllo Altoqtoclo)
Lveryone hoped Lo sLlll be employed, alLhough only workers from vllla AlLagracla wanLed Lo sLlll
be employed aL Lhe facLorles where Lhey were currenLly worklng. CLhers hoped Lo own Lhelr
own buslnesses, or slmply flnd anoLher [ob wlLh beLLer clrcumsLances.
l woolJ llke to cbooqe my job. l woot oootbet type of wotk wbete l coo JeJlcote o llttle
blt mote of my tlme to my klJs. 1be wbole tbloq of stooJloq op oll Joy, o week klllloq
yootself fot so llttle ls oot wottb lt. oo mlqbt lose o cbllJ fot tbot, cbosloq oftet ootbloq.
cbosloq oftet qettloq slck ftom toooloq to wotk so eotly lo otJet to moke lt oo tlme, lts
too mocb sttess. (lo veqo)
l coot stooJ flve mote yeots lo tbot compooy. l woot to bove my owo mlcto-bosloess.
(8oyoqoooo)
l om boppy ot wotk. l bope tbot tbey opeo op oew woteboose. (vlllo Altoqtoclo)
l bope tbot lt qtows evetyJoy, tbot tbete ote mote jobs ovolloble ooJ jtbe compooy]
cootlooes to meet tbelt objectlves. (vlllo Altoqtoclo)
33
CCnCLuSlCnS
1o a surprlslng degree, workers have a LaclL undersLandlng of Lhelr roles ln Lhe global economy
and accepL nlcholas krlsLof's Lheorles abouL sweaLshops." Workers are wllllng Lo bear very
dlfflculL condlLlons and low pay, lf Lhelr sacrlflces lead Lo more opporLunlLles for Lhelr chlldren.
Powever, when workers come Lo belleve, elLher Lhrough personal experlences or from waLchlng
news reporLs of facLorles across Lhe world collapslng or ln flames, LhaL Lhe soclal conLracL Lhey
have enLered ls more myLh Lhan reallLy, Lhey begln Lo carry a resenLmenL and anger LhaL ls
dlfflculL Lo capLure wlLh numbers or sLaLlsLlcs. Cne worker from Lhe focus group CuanamlnLhe
descrlbed Lhls senLlmenL well:
1be wotst pott of oll of tbls ls tbot wbeo l eoteteJ cOuvl, tbey boJ two foctotles ooJ
oow tbey bove teo. 1bots to soy, tbe compooy ls qtowloq osloq op oot eoetqy wltboot
offetloq os tbe oppottoolty to cbooqe oot poollty of llfe, ooJ we koow tbot tbey ote
qoloq to tbtow os oot wbeo we Joot bove ooy mote stteoqtb to sell ot cbeop ptlces.
(Ooooomlotbe)
Lven Lhose who remalned poslLlve abouL Lhelr llves over Lhe lasL several years expressed Lhelr
graLlLude ln Lerms of Lhelr ablllLy Lo conLlnue survlvlng. WlLh no slgnlflcanL lmprovemenLs ln
work or home llfe, educaLlon, healLh or happlness, Lhey have been able Lo puL food on Lhe Lable
(ln many cases, by uslng Lhelr [obs Lo secure hlgh-lnLeresL sLreeL loans) and for LhaL Lhey
consldered Lhemselves lucky. ln some ways Lhey were rlghL. 8uL susLalned employmenL luck ls
noL Lhe same as quallLy of llfe lmprovemenLs, especlally lf Lhe employmenL leads Lo lncreased
personal debL and lack of [ob moblllLy.
ln facL, Lhe road ouL of poverLy for anyone who does noL slgn a professlonal sporLs conLracL or
wln Lhe loLLery ls llkely Lo be long and dlfflculL, especlally lf Lhe would-be vehlcles are [obs LhaL
are exLremely vulnerable Lo shlfLs ln lnLernaLlonal Lrade and domesLlc pollLlcs. As such, lL mlghL
be reasonable Lo expecL LhaL Lhe slx years slnce u8-CAl1A's passage have noL been enough Llme
for a garmenL worker Lo see a slgnlflcanL change ln Lhelr quallLy of llfe even under Lhe besL
condlLlons. Powever, ln [usL Lhree shorL years, workers from vllla AlLagracla have seen
lmprovemenLs ln all Lhe ma[or areas ln whlch Lhls sLudy aLLempLed Lo lnvesLlgaLe: work llfe,
home llfe, knowledge, healLh and happlness.
1hls has noL been Lhe case for Lhelr peers from oLher facLorles, who reporL varylng degrees of
lmprovemenLs and seLbacks. erhaps lL ls Loo soon Lo deLermlne deflnlLlvely lf Lhe mosLly low-
wage, low-quallLy [obs Lhose workers occupy wlll one day yleld beLLer opporLunlLles for Lhem
and Lhelr chlldren. Powever, boLh Lhe economlc Lrends and Lhe narraLlves of workers capLured
ln Lhls sLudy suggesL LhaL Lhese [obs are noL llkely Lo dellver on Lhe promlse of a beLLer llfe
slmply by conLlnulng wlLh Lhe sLaLus quo. ln oLher words, Lransformlng Lhe llves of Lhe worklng
poor of Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc's garmenL secLor wlll noL [usL happen maglcally, lL musL be Lhe
sLaLed lnLenLlon of Lhe flrm, whlle worklng ln Landem wlLh Lhe publlc secLor and clvll socleLy
Lowards a clear long Lerm sLraLegy of ralslng condlLlons for Lhe enLlre counLry.

36

8LCCMMLnuA1lCnS
lf Lhe ulLlmaLe goal of encouraglng Lhe growLh of garmenL secLor [obs ls Lo develop Lhe economy
and lmprove Lhe llves of lLs clLlzens, Lhe uomlnlcan governmenL has some work Lo do. uesplLe a
conslsLenLly sLrong economy and growLh of Lhe exporL secLor, Lhe counLry has only seen some
lmprovemenLs ln Lerms of lndlcaLors of quallLy of llfe. ln oLher words, Lhe beneflLs of economlc
growLh have noL been shared among lLs populaLlon. 1herefore, Lhe governmenL musL address
cerLaln gaps ln Lhelr soclal and economlc pollcles ln order Lo ensure LhaL Lhe LexLlle secLor ls
conLrlbuLlng Lo Lhe counLry's developmenL ln a sLraLeglc and more balanced manner.
rlvaLe SecLor
8especL for local labor law - Lspeclally ln regards Lo wage paymenLs, worklng hours,
freedom of assoclaLlon, dlscrlmlnaLlon, and sexual harassmenL.
ulscrlmlnaLlon & Sexual harassmenL - LsLabllsh Lralnlng programs for employers and
employees.
ulverslfy - lncrease Lechnology, verLlcal lnLegraLlon, and hlgher value-added producLs so
LhaL producLs can be sold aL hlgher prlces, proflL marglns lncrease, and workers can be
pald more.
CulLlvaLe markeLs ouLslde of Lhe unlLed SLaLes - Such as Lhe Luropean unlon, Lhe
Carlbbean and LaLln Amerlca.
lncrease Lhe number of companles LhaL produce LexLlles and oLher componenLs - Such
as zlppers, elasLlcs, Lags, speclalLy fabrlcs, eLc.
8eLLer producLlon plannlng sofLware or Lralnlng - oor plannlng leads Lo lncreased
overLlme and unaLLalnable producLlon quoLas, Lhus decreased proflLs.
ubllc SecLor - Soclal ollcy
uevelop a conclse pollcy around mlnlmum wages - Low levels of labor force
parLlclpaLlon and low real wages suggesL LhaL Lhe currenL wages are below fallback"
levels
11
and are Lherefore creaLlng dlsLorLlons ln Lhe markeL. lor example, 8razll's model
Lles wages Lo lncreases Lo lnflaLlon as well as producLlvlLy.
8eLLer conLrol of publlc spendlng - ln parLlcular, ensure LhaL educaLlon and healLh care
are belng funded aL Lhelr prescrlbed levels.
uevelop forward-focused pollcles around domesLlc agrlculLure - lncludlng food
manufacLure and food securlLy, especlally Laklng lnLo accounL Lhe lmpacLs of duLy-free
food lmporLs under u8-CAl1A,
ulscrlmlnaLlon & Sexual harassmenL - 1ralnlng programs for employers and employees
Lo ldenLlfy and address slLuaLlons of dlscrlmlnaLlon and harassmenL.

11
1he wage level aL whlch workers declde elLher noL Lo parLlclpaLe ln Lhe labor markeL aL all or Lo seek
work ln Lhe lnformal economy because Lhe lncome earned ln Lhe formal markeL ls noL percelved as hlgh
enough Lo be worLh lL.
37
lreedom of AssoclaLlon - Lnsure LhaL Lhe legal mechanlsms ln place Lo proLecL freedom
of assoclaLlon are operaLlng properly and efflclenLly wlLhouL excesslve requlremenLs or
Llme delays.
CreaLe a plan Lo lnclude employmenL lnsurances - Such as unemploymenL lnsurance,
LranslLlonal asslsLance ad[usLmenL programs (reLralnlng for workers who've [obs have
been ellmlnaLed due Lo lree 1rade AgreemenLs), and oLhers.
Address overwhelmlng prevalence of payday loans and lnescapable debL cycles - Lhese
shorL-Lerm, hlgh lnLeresL loans Lo workers should face more governmenL regulaLlon
(e.g., cap on lnLeresL raLes) and/or pollcles LhaL encourage loans from credlL unlons
and/or mlcro-credlL nCCs.
ubllc SecLor - Lconomlc ollcy
lnLernaLlonal Lrade negoLlaLlons - lree 1rade AgreemenLs wlLh Lhe uS or oLher large,
developed counLrles are noL deslgned Lo provlde Lhe hlghesL posslble beneflL Lo Lhe
uomlnlcan economy or people. negoLlaLlons wlll always be hlgh-pressure and slmply
due Lo relaLlve slze and economlc force, Lhe u8 wlll be aL a dlsadvanLage. 1herefore,
experLs musL be Lralned well ln advance and prepared Lo flghL for pollcles LhaL wlll
proLecL domesLlc lnLeresLs, workers, and Lhe populaLlon as a whole whlle balanclng Lhe
needs of buslness and Lhe reallLles of Lhe lnLernaLlonal markeLplace. ln addlLlon,
members of clvll socleLy, academla, and Lhe labor movemenL should be lncluded ln
Lhese Lralnlngs and negoLlaLlons, Lo ensure Lhe hlghesL level of accounLablllLy and
Lransparency.
ollcy of flscal lncenLlves for companles ln Lhe lree 1rade Zones - Lspeclally Lhose LhaL
lnvesL ln Lechnology, verLlcal lnLegraLlon, and hlgher value added producLs.
lnvesL ln lnfrasLrucLure - 1he blggesL barrlers Lo growLh LhaL companles slLe are noL
relaLed Lo workforce or labor regulaLlons, buL lnfrasLrucLure such as elecLrlclLy and
ground LransporLaLlon, accordlng Lo AuCZCnA (8afael Conzlez, 2013).
Puman 8esources 1ralnlng - Lspeclally for workers Lo learn new [ob-skllls Lo produce
producLs wlLh more Lechnology and hlgher value added.
lurLher academlc research:
lurLher research ls necessary Lo beLLer charL Lhe lmpacL of lnLernaLlonal Lrade on quallLy
of llfe over Llme - lncludlng a larger sample slze, more women workers, and fewer
unlonlzed workers. lacLory managemenL should also parLlclpaLe (and are more llkely Lo
do so lf encouraged/compelled Lo do so by Lhe brands Lhey produce for). ln addlLlon,
some quanLlLaLlve measures of quallLy of llfe would be exLremely useful ln maklng
furLher recommendaLlons for soclal pollcy as well.

38
ALnulCLS
ALnulx l: uLMCC8APlC lnlC8MA1lCn
Workers were asked Lo answer quesLlons relaLed Lo demographlcs or flll ouL a demographlc
survey.

Cender


Male
lemale


Pow old are you?




MarlLal sLaLus
Slngle
Marrled
Clvll unlon
CLher
WhaL ls your level of educaLlon? rlmary
Secondary
1echnlcal School/unlverslLy
CLher
uo you have chlldren? no
?es
Pow many?
Are you worklng rlghL now ln a lree 1rade
Zone?
?es
no
l don'L know
Pow long have you been worklng ln Lhe lree
1rade Zone?

MonLhs
?ears


ls Lhere a unlon ln Lhe facLory where you
work?
?es (Are you a member? ?es / no)
no
l don'L know
WhaL does Lhe facLory produce?





39
ALnulx ll: lCCuS C8Cu 8C1CCCL
All focus group parLlclpanLs were glven a number, whlch Lhey were lnsLrucLed Lo sLaLe before
answerlng quesLlons. 1hls allowed researchers Lo correlaLe answers wlLh demographlc
lnformaLlon.
LxploraLory quesLlons:
1. Pow has your [ob changed ln Lhe lasL flve years?
1he company now vs 2007
1he salary (have you recelved a ralse?)
1he work (poslLlon)
CverLlme
ressure from managers/supervlsors
ulscrlmlnaLlon
Sexual harassmenL
unlon
!ob securlLy
uo you Lhlnk your [ob Loday ls beLLer, worse, or more or less Lhe same Lhan lL was ln
2007?

2. Pow have Lhlngs changed ln your home and wlLh your famlly?
1he house (renLed/owned)
number of people employed ln your household
1he nelghborhood
8aslc expenses
uo you Lhlnk your famlly llfe ls beLLer, worse, or more or less Lhe same Lhan lL was ln
2007?

3. Pow has your healLh changed?
PealLh lnsurance
ALLenLlon ln hosplLals/cllnlcs
Serlous lllnesses, surgerles, eLc
Access Lo prescrlpLlon medlcaLlon
ln general, do you Lhlnk you healLh has goLLen beLLer, worse, or more or less Lhe same
slnce 2007?

4. Pow has educaLlon changed for you and your famlly?
CpporLunlLles for sLudy for your chlldren
CpporLunlLles for sLudy for you
unlverslLy educaLlon - posslble?
60
Cn-Lhe-[ob Lralnlng
uo you Lhlnk Lhere were more opporLunlLles for you and your famlly Lo sLudy now or
before 2007?

7. Are you happler now or flve years ago?
uo you Lhlnk your llfe has goLLen beLLer, worse, or preLLy much Lhe same slnce 2007?
Why?
Are you more or less happy personally now or before? Why?
WhaL has changed mosL abouL your llfe slnce 2007?
WhaL ls one Lhlng LhaL you wanL Lo conLlnue Lo lmprove ln Lhe nexL flve years?

8. ls Lhere anyLhlng more LhaL you would llke Lo add abouL how your llfe has changed ln Lhe lasL
flve years?


61
ALnulx lll: ln1L8vlLW CuLS1lCnS
WC8k
1. Where do you work?
2. Pow long have you been worklng Lhere?
3. WhaL do you do Lhere?
4. Where were you worklng ln 2007?
3. Cn average, whaL ls your monLhly salary?
6. Pow much dld you earn monLhly ln 2007?
7. When was Lhe lasL Llme you recelved a ralse?
8. WhaL ls your normal work schedule?
9. uo you work a loL of overLlme? More or less Lhan before?
10. ls Lhere a loL of pressure aL work? More or less Lhan before?
11. Pave you seen dlscrlmlnaLlon or sexual harassmenL aL work? More or less Lhan before?
12. ls Lhere a unlon ln Lhe facLory? lf so, for how long?
13. WhaL does Lhe unlon offer? Servlces, workshops, eLc.?
14. Are you worrled abouL loslng your [ob? Why or why noL?
13. uo you Lhlnk your [ob now ls beLLer, worse, or more or less Lhe same as ln 2007?

LllL
1. Where do you llve? uld you llve Lhere ln 2007?
2. ls your house renLed or owned?
3. ls your house made from cemenL blocks, wood, oLher?
4. Pow many people llve ln your house? Pow many people work?
3. Pow many people llved ln your house ln 2007? Pow many were worklng?
6. Pow do you geL Lo work?
7. uo you llke where you llve now? WhaL do you llke/dlsllke mosL?
8. uo you feel safe Lhere? Can you/your spouse/your klds walk ouLslde aL nlghL?
9. ls Lhere elecLrlclLy and waLer?
10. uo you Lhlnk LhaL Lhe baslc household expenses (elecLrlclLy, oll, waLer, rlch, beans are
more or less expenslve Lhan before? lease explaln.
11. uo you Lhlnk LhaL your famlly llfe ls beLLer, worse or preLLy much Lhe same slnce 2007?

PLAL1P
1. uo you have healLh lnsurance?
2. uld you have healLh lnsurance ln 2007?
3. Pow many Llmes a year do you go Lo Lhe docLor? ls Lhls more or less Lhan ln 2007?
4. uo you or anyone ln your famlly have serlous lllnesses, surgerles, eLc.? When dld Lhls
problem sLarL?
3. uo you Lake any medlcaLlon on a dally basls?
6. Pave you had any accldenLs or ln[urles lnslde Lhe facLory?
7. When was Lhe lasL Llme you wanLed Lo go Lo Lhe docLor buL you dldn'L go? Why dldn'L
you go?
62
8. ln general, do you Lhlnk your healLh ls beLLer, worse, or preLLy much Lhe same as lL was
ln 2007?

knCWLLuCL
1. WhaL ls your level of educaLlon?
2. When dld you leave school? Why?
3. Are you Laklng classes now? Would you llke Lo go back Lo school? lf so, for whaL?
4. Pave you had any Lralnlng on Lhe [ob?
3. Are your chlldren sLudylng? Where?
6. WhaL plans do you have for Lhe educaLlon of your klds?
7. uo you Lhlnk Lhere are more opporLunlLles for you and your famlly Lo sLudy now or
before 2007?

PAlnLSS
1. uo you Lhlnk your llfe has goLLen beLLer, worse, or preLLy much Lhe same slnce 2007?
Why?
2. Are you more or less happy personally now or before? Why?
3. WhaL has changed mosL abouL your llfe slnce 2007?
4. WhaL ls one Lhlng LhaL you wanL Lo conLlnue Lo lmprove ln Lhe nexL flve years?

ls Lhere anyLhlng more LhaL you would llke Lo add abouL how your llfe has changed ln Lhe lasL
flve years?


63
8l8LlCC8AP?
unu. (2013). nomoo uevelopmeot kepott 201J. xplooototy Note oo 201J nuk composlte
loJlces, uomlolcoo kepobllc.
unlLed SLaLes ueparLmenL of SLaLe. (2012). coootty kepotts oo nomoo klqbts ltoctlces fot 2012.
8ureau of uemocracy, Puman 8lghLs and Labor.
W8C. (2013). wotket klqbts coosottlom vetlflcotloo kepott ke lobot klqbts compllooce ot
Altoqtoclo ltoject loctoty (uomlolcoo kepobllc). WashlngLon, uC: Worker 8lghLs ConsorLlum.
W8C. (2010). wotket klqbts coosottlom Assessmeot te ltoppet lotetootloool (loetto klco ooJ
uomlolcoo kepobllc). lloJloqs ooJ kecommeoJotloos. WashlngLon, uC: Worker 8lghLs
ConsorLlum.
W8C. (2011). wotket klqbts coosottlom Assessmeot. CllJoo uottex (uomlolcoo kepobllc) -
lotetlm kepott. WashlngLon, uC: Worker 8lghLs ConsorLlum.
W8C. (2012). wotket klqbts coosottlom Assessmeot. l1lc Appotel (uomlolcoo kepobllc) -
lloJloqs ooJ kecommeoJotloos. Worker 8lghLs ConsorLlum.
W8C. (2013). wotket klqbts coosottlom Assessmeot. Ioeoooe uomlolcooo (uomlolcoo kepobllc)
- lloJloqs, kecommeoJotloos ooJ 5totos. WashlngLon, uC: Worker 8lghLs ConsorLlum.
W8C. (2013). Clobol woqe 1teoJs fot Appotel wotkets 2001-2011. Worker 8lghLs ConsorLlum.
CenLer for Amerlcan rogress.
W8C. (2010). llvloq woqe Aoolysls fot tbe uomlolcoo kepobllc. WashlngLon, uC: Worker 8lghLs
ConsorLlum.
vsquez-8ulz, P. A., ulaz, 8., 8lvas, 8., & AlLagracla, A. (2012). lmpocto llscol Jel uk-cAl1A eo lo
kepobllco uomlolcooo. 8anco CenLral del u8-CAl1A en la 8epubllca uomlnlcana, SanLo
uomlngo.
vlcepresldencla de la 8epubllca uomlnlcana . (2012). collJoJ Je vlJo. soJlo 5ocloecoomlco Je
noqotes eo kepobllco uomlolcooo. Slu8Ln.
Abdullaev, u., & LsLevo, M. (2013). cteclmleoto y empleo eo lo kepobllco uomlolcooo.
Opclooes poto oo cteclmleoto qeoetoJot Je empleo. lnLernaLlonal MoneLary lund,
ueparLamenLo del Pemlsferlo CccldenLal.
Abreu, 8., lamllla, L., & 8aLlsLa, M. (2008). Cloballzacln, 1LC y los uerechos Laborales: Ll Caso
de la 8epubllca uomlnlcana. ln C. C8l1, sttoteqlo y Accloo 5loJlcol eo Ametlcos oote lo OMc y
los 1lcs. Sao aolo: C8l1.
AcosLa, C. (2013, AgosLo 27). Codevl, una apuesLa al desarrollo blnaclonal. llstlo ulotlo .
64
Alber, !., uelhey, !., keck, W., nauenburg, 8., lahey, 1., MaLre, 8., eL al. (2004). Ooollty of llfe lo
otope. lltst otopeoo Ooollty of llfe 5otvey 200J. Luropean loundaLlon for Lhe lmprovemenL
of Llvlng and Worklng CondlLlons, uublln.
Alemany lsaac, n. !. (2011). volooclo Jel lmpocto Jel uk-cAl1A eo los 5ectotes ltoJoctlvos Je
lo kepobllco uomlolcooo. uSAlu.
Anker, 8. (2011). stlmotloq o llvloq woqe. A MetboJoloqlcol kevlew . lnLernaLlonal Labor
CrganlzaLlon, CondlLlons of Work and LmploymenL rogramme.
A8LSS. (2013, !unlo 3). Notlclos. 8eLrleved CcLubre 29, 2013, from AdmlnlsLradora de 8lesgos
Laborales Salud Segura: hLLp://www.arlss.gov.do/noLlclaueL.aspx?n103
8anco Mundlal. (2012). 8ooco MooJlol. 8eLrleved 2013, from uaLos: 8epubllca uomlnlcana:
hLLp://daLos.bancomundlal.org/pals/republlca-domlnlcana
Caera PaLLon, u. M. (2013, SepLember 4). LconomlsLa. (1. 8lchard, lnLervlewer)
Caera PaLLon, u. M. (2013, SepLember 4). LconomlsLa. (1. 8lchard, lnLervlewer)
Ceara-PaLLon, M., lsa-ConLreras, ., Moreno orLalaLln, !., Mercedes-ConLreras, A., 8ez-LverLsz,
l., ArLlles Cll, L., eL al. (2003). lofotme Nocloool Je uesottollo nomooo. kepobllco uomlolcooo
2005, noclo ooo losetclo moolJol loclyoeote y teoovoJo. Cflclna de uesarrollo Pumano del
nuu.
CenLro de LsLudlos Soclales y uemogrflcos (CLSuLM) y Macro lnLernaLlonal lnc. (2008).
ocoesto uemoqtflco y Je 5oloJ. kepobllco uomlolcooo 2007. SanLo uomlngo.
CnZlL. (2012). lofotme stoJlstlco Jel 5ectot 2ooos ltoocos 2012.
CnZlL. (2012). 5ectot colzoJos y 5os compooeotes.
CnZlL. (2012). 5ectot 1extlles y coofecclooes.
Lconoml-k, AnalyLlca, AuCZCnA. (2012). lmpocto coomlco y 5oclol Je los 2ooos ltoocos. uoo
vlslo Je J60 CtoJos.
Ll naclonal. (2013, SepLember 4). 8u 8eclblr 11,300 nuevos empleos con lnsLalacln de 9
empresas. l Nocloool .
uavldson, A. (2011, !une 08). Would a $3-A-uay Mlnlmum Wage Make Llfe 8eLLer ln PalLl?
llooet Mooey .
ue CasLro, L. (2013, SepLember 20). Manager Lconomlc Analysls and CompeLlLlveness ulvlslon.
(1. 8lchard, lnLervlewer)
ularlo Llbre. (2013, !ullo 26). 8epubllca uomlnlcana Aprueban 13 empresas para lnsLalarse en
zonas francas. ulotlo llbte .
63
lamlla, L. (2013, March 12). vlcepresldenLa y Lncargada de olllLlca de Cenero de la
Confederacln naclonal de unldad Slndlcal. (1. 8lchard, lnLervlewer)
lernndez 8eyna, L., Alburquerque, 8., & lmenLal, !. (2012). 8oletlo Je loJlcoJotes Jocotlvos
Jel Ao lectlvo 2010-2011. MlnlsLerlo de Lducacln de la 8epubllca uomlnlcana y la Cflclna
naclonal de lanlflcacln y uesarollo LducaLlvo, SanLo uomlngo.
CeorgeLown unlverslLy Law CenLer. (2010). ltesctlptloo fot lollote. neoltb & lotellectool
ltopetty lo tbe uomlolcoo kepobllc. CeorgeLown unlverslLy Law CenLer, Puman 8lghLs lnsLlLuLe.
Cmez Carrasco, C. !. (2007). koles eo 1eoslo. MoJtes y 1tobojoJotos eo los 2ooos ltoocos
uomlolcooos. SanLo uomlngo: ClAl.
Creenhouse, S. (2010, !uly 17). lacLory uefles SweaLshop Label, 8uL Can lL Survlve? New otk
1lmes .
lMl. (2003, lebruary 1). lMl LxecuLlve 8oard Approves $663 Mllllon SLand-by ArrangemenL for
Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc, LxLends 8epaymenL LxpecLaLlons. ltess keleose .
lsa ConLreras, . (2013, CcLubre 28). rofesor lnvesLlgador, CbservaLorlo uomlnlcano de
Comerclo lnLernaclonal . (1. 8lchard, lnLervlewer)
lsa-ConLreras, ., & SanLos-8eyes, l. (2004). uk-cAl1A. Alqooos ospectos lobotoles televootes
poto lo kepobllco uomlolcooo. SanLo uomlngo.
Pelllwell, !., Layard, 8., & Sachs, !. (2013). wotlJ nopploess kepott 201J.
Pernndez, ?. (2013, lebruary 23). SecreLarlo Ceneral de la lederacln de 1raba[adores de
Zonas Llbres. (1. 8lchard, lnLervlewer)
Pldalgo nuez, L. W., & Cedano, v. (2013). coeotos Nocloooles Je 5oloJ. kepobllco uomlolcooo,
lofotme Costo lobllco eo 5oloJ 2011. MlnlsLerlo de Salud ubllca .
Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves. (2003). uomlolcoo kepobllc-ceottol Ametlco-uolteJ 5totes ltee 1toJe
lmplemeototloo Act. 109Lh Congress. uS CovernmenL rlnLlng Cfflce.
krlsLof, n. (2009, !anuary 14). Where SweaLshops Are a uream. New otk 1lmes .
Loarca, l., valencla, A., aredes, M., CasLro, C., 8odrlguez, ?., Legall Lpez, A., eL al. (2007). uo
qolpe mos. los efectos Jel flo Je los ocoetJos moltlflbtos eo c.A. y k.u.
norLham, !. (2013, !une 20). Can 1hls uomlnlcan lacLory ay Cood Wages and Make a roflL?
Notloool lobllc koJlo .
Maqulladora PealLh & SafeLy SupporL neLwork. (2011). neoltb ooJ 5ofety volootloo kepott Alto
Ctoclo ltoject qotmeot ploot, vlllo Altoqtoclo, uomlocoo kepobllc.
MaLeo, v., & rez Csorlo, !. (2013, 4 18). 5olotlo mlolmo, pobtezo y poJet oJpolsltlvo.
8eLrleved 10 24, 2013
66
Medlna Cas, S., SwlsLon, A., & 8arroL, L.-u. (2012). ceottol Ametlco, looomo ooJ tbe uomlolcoo
kepobllc. 1toJe loteqtotloo ooJ cooomlc letfotmooce. lnLernaLlonal MoneLary lund, WesLern
Pemlsphere ueparLmenL.
MlnlsLerlo de Lconomla, lanlflcacln y uesarrollo. (2013). Aollsls Jel uesempeo coomlco y
5oclol Je kepobllco uomlolcooo 2010-2011. MlnlsLerlo de Lconomla, lanlflcacln y uesarrollo,
unldad Asesora de Anllsls Lconmlco y Soclal (uAALS), SanLo uomlngo.
Morgan, !., Lsplnal, 8., & Sellgson, M. (2010). coltoto polltlco Je lo Jemoctoclo eo kepobllco
uomlolcooo, 2010. coosollJoclo Jemocttlco eo los Amtlcos eo tlempos Jlflclles.
CLCu. (2013). Ocu ColJelloes oo Meosotloq 5objectve well-beloq . CLCu ubllshlng.
Cuonovan, M. (2003). lobot ltovlsloos ftom NAl1A to cAl1A. 5tooJotJs 1bot wotk, Ot o wotk
lo ltoqtess? 8osLon College Law School. 8osLon College Law School.
Cfflce of Lhe unlLed SLaLes 1rade 8epresenLaLlve. (2003). 1be locts Aboot cAl1A's lobot
ltovlsloos. Aoswetloq 1be Alleqotloos of cAl1A ctltlcs.
Cflclna naclonal de LsLadlsLlca (CnL). (2012). MetoJoloqlo poto el clcolo Je lo meJlclo oflclol
Je lo pobtezo mooetotlo eo kepobllco uomlolcooo. Lqulpo naclonal de 1raba[o, SanLo uomlngo.
Cl1. (2013). Acoso sexool eo el ttobojo y moscollolJoJ. xplotoclo coo bombtes Je lo pobloclo
qeoetol, ceottoomtlco y kepobllco uomlolcooo. San !ose.
Cl1. (2013). cteclmleoto, mpleo y cobeslo 5oclol eo kepobllco uomlolcooo. SanLo uomlngo:
Crganlzacln lnLernaclonal de 1raba[o.
CnL. (2013). 5lstemo Nocloool Je loJlcoJotes loteqtoJos poto el uesottollo. 8eLrleved from
lndlcadores: hLLp://slnld.one.gob.do/
CS/CMS. (2012). letfll lotmocotlco Je lo kepobllco uomlolcooo. MlnlsLerlo de Salud ubllco,
La Crganlzacln anamerlcana de la Salud, Crganlzacln Mundlal de la Salud.
Crganlzacln anamerlcana de la Salud. (2013, !unlo 12). loqtoo pteclos fovotobles poto c.A y
kep. uom. eo lo oeqoclocloo coojooto Je meJlcomeotos. 8eLrleved from
hLLp://www.paho.org/els/lndex.php?opLloncomconLenL&vlewarLlcle&ld804:logran-preclos-
favorables-para-c.a-y-rep.-dom.-en-la-negoclaclon-con[unLa-de-medlcamenLos&caLld671:els.-
noLlclas-de-el-salvador&lLemld291
ulg, M., & Levaggl, v. (2011). ctlsls coomlco Clobol kespoestos uesJe el MooJo Jel 1tobojo.
kepobllco uomlolcooo. Crganlzacln lnLernaclonal del 1raba[o. Cl1.
agnaLLaro, M. A. (2003). Levellng Lhe laylng lleld: Labor rovlslons ln CAl1A. lotJbom
lotetootloool low Iootool , 29 (2).
aLel, 8., & Penrlques, C. (2004). NAl1A, coto, ooJ Mexlco's Aqtlcoltotol 1toJe llbetollzotloo.
l8C Amerlcas rogram Speclal 8eporL.
rez, !. (2013). uoo mltoJo ol 5eqoto lomlllot Je 5oloJ. CbersavaLorlo ollLlco uomlnlcano.
67
nuu. (2013). Mopo Je uesottollo nomooo Je lo kepobllco uomlolcooo. rograma de las
naclones unldas ara el uesarrollo (nuu), Cflclna de uesarroloo Pumana.
nuu. (2010). lolltlco soclol. copoclJoJes y Jetecbos. nuu, Cflclna de uesarrollo Pumano,
SanLo uomlngo.
owell, 8. (2014). Oot of lovetty. 5weotsbops lo tbe Clobol cooomy. Cambrldge unlverslLy
ress.
olanco, M. (2013, !ullo 23). Zonas lrancas de 8u ue[an ALrs el LeLargo. l cotlbe .
SwlsLon, A. (2010). 5pllloevets to ceottol Ametlco lo llqbt of tbe ctlsls. wbot o ulffeteoce o eot
Mokes. lnLernaLlonal MoneLary lund, WesLern Pemlsphere ueparLmenL.
SecreLarlado 1cnlca del CablneLe Soclal. (2003). Atlos Je lo lobtezo eo lo kepobllco uomlolcooo
2005. Cflclna naclonal de lanlflcacln, SanLo uomlngo.
Sepulveda Malbrn, !. M., Schaplra-lelderhoff, k.-M., & uelpech, C. (2009). lo llbettoJ 5loJlcol
y lo Neqocloclo colectlvo eo ceottoomtlco, looom y kepobllco uomlolcooo. uo loootomo Je
so stoJo Actool. Crganlzacln lnLernaclonal del 1raba[o (Cl1). San !ose: Crganlzacln
lnLernaclonal del 1raba[o (Cl1).
SLorrs, k. (2004). ceottol Ametlco ooJ tbe uomlolcoo kepobllc lo tbe cootext of tbe ltee 1toJe
Aqteemeot (uk-cAl1A) wltb tbe uolteJ 5totes. Congresslonal 8esearch Servlce. Llbrary of
Congress.
8afael Conzlez, P. (2013, november). Lncargado unldad Lconmlco. AuO2ONA . SanLo
uomlngo, u8.
8aLhe, & Cuzman. (2010). MeJlcomeotos y ltopleJoJ lotelectool. coso evolooclo lmpocto ull
eo los meJlcomeotos eo kepobllco uomlolcooo. lunCLCuL.
8aLhe, M., & Cuzman, u. (2010). MeJlcomeotos y ltopleJoJ lotelectool. coso evolooclo
lmpocto ull eo los meJlcomeotos eo kepobllco uomlolcooo. lunCLCuL.
8aLhe, M., rez Mlnaya, 8., lranco, L., & Cuzmn, u. (2009). Ll CAl1A-u8 y su lmpacLo en la
salud: Ll caso domlnlcano. loeotes , 10 (4).
8odrlguez, A. (2007). Obstcolos o lo Iostlclo lobotol eo ceottoomtlco y el cotlbe. stoJlo Je
coso kepobllco uomlolcooo.
8olg-lranzla, M. (2007, !anuary 27). A Cullnary and CulLural SLaple ln Crlsls. 1be wosbloqtoo lost
.
8ose, 8., Munro, n., & Wallace, C. 5ecooJ otopeoo Ooollty of llfe 5otvey. Ooollty of llfe lo
otope 200J-2007. Luropean loundaLlon for Lhe lmprovemenL of Llvlng and Worklng
CondlLlons.
1raub-Werner, M. (2007). Appotel ptoJoctloo lo tbe Ametlcos oftet pootos. lessoos ftom tbe
uomlolcoo kepobllc. Maqulla SolldarlLy neLwork.
68