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Date of publication: May 10, 2004

Source: Portland Press Herald

Author: SELENA RICKS, Staff Writer

© 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc

WESTBROOK - Once college applications and scholarship forms have been mailed, most high school seniors have grown sick of writing essays. Not 17-year-old Westbrook High School senior Elizabeth Trask.

A few months ago, Trask wrote an essay to be entered in a contest sponsored by the Clean Clothes Campaign of Southern Maine, a network of local activists against sweatshops. She recently learned that as the winner, she will travel to Albany, N.Y., from May 14 to 16 to attend the SweatFree Communities National Conference.

" I've been writing a lot of essays even if they're not rewarding money," said Trask, who will major in political science at the University of Southern Maine in the fall.

Beyond her interest in writing, Trask is passionate about standing up for fair trade and labor rights. She hopes to eventually become a public affairs lawyer or a politician.

"I'm interested in learning about paying workers fair wages and providing healthy working conditions," said Trask, who is captain of her school's outdoor track team and babysits to earn money.

Trask said before writing her essay for the Clean Clothes contest, she hadn't put much thought into the plight of people working in sweatshops.

"I was aware of sweatshops, but I never really tried to take a deep look at them or tried to tell people to help stop them," she said. "It was eye-opening."

A sweatshop is a workplace that violates the Fair Labor Standards Act and where workers are subject to conditions such as poverty wages, long hours without overtime pay, unhealthy or unsafe work environments, verbally or physically abusive discipline, or denial of union organization. Sweatshops exist all over the world, and have even been discovered in the U.S. According to a 2000 survey by the U.S. Department of Labor, 67 percent of Los Angeles garment factories don't pay workers minimum wage or overtime.

"They call Los Angeles the sweatshop capital of the U.S.," said Pauline Michaud, a member of Clean Clothes Campaign of Southern Maine who helped pass ethical purchasing laws for the state of Maine and the town of Scarborough.

Michaud said her organization decided to sponsor a teen essay contest for the SweatFree Communities conference because students in other parts of the country have been successful in anti-sweatshop campaigns.

"Teens have a lot of enthusiasm, and when they believe in something, they can make a difference," said Michaud.

Teens also spend a lot of money on clothing. According to the marketing research firm Teenage Research Unlimited, youths ages 12 to 19 shelled out $175 billion last year, mostly on clothes.

"I really don't think most teens even take (sweatshops) into consideration when they buy clothes," said Trask. "They're just trying to find latest trends. No one really takes time to look at the tag or thinks a little 9-year-old might be making this."

Trask, who said she looks forward to turning 18 next month "I get to vote soon" hopes to learn more about fair trade practices and workers' rights at the SweatFree Communities conference.

" I want to learn what I can do in order to demand corporations to clean up the labor problems," said Trask. "I want to be aware of everyday actions that people can take in order to end sweatshops." Staff Writer Selena Ricks can be contacted at 791-6451 or at: sricks@pressherald.com