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Date of publication: September 26, 2006

Source: WCCO

Author: Jeanette Trompeter, Reporting

(WCCO) St. Paul The St. Paul School district recently adopted a policy against the wretched working conditions in sweatshops, where workers are mistreated, work long hours and are underpaid.

Sweatshops are not only overseas -- they're here in our country. According to the Department of Labor, more than 50 percent of U.S. garment factories are sweatshops.

That statistic doesn't sit well with Central High School students, who are coming down hard on companies who use sweatshops to make uniforms and sports equipment.

"The conditions under which children are working in other countries, and even in the U.S. and Mexico, are very unfair," said Central High senior Chelsea Willett.

Chelsea Willett is just one of the students, who went before the school board and demanded sweatshop items be banned from St. Paul schools.

"We wrote them letters telling them about the conditions," said Willett, "about the sheer number of children in the world that are subjected to these awful conditions."

"It's not just our children in St. Paul schools who we need to take care of. It's all children," said St. Paul school board member Anne Carroll.

Now items, even school uniforms, are checked before they are purchase to make sure they weren't sewn in a sweatshop.

"We are asking our vendors to be able to do some back certification," said Carroll.

The students even took their cause further by making T-shirts and raising money to help children in Third World countries.

"This came from our students. Our students looked at this and said this is wrong, this shouldn't be happening and we shouldn't be condoning it," said Carroll.

Students at Hyland and J. J. Hill were also instrumental in getting the "No Sweatshop" resolution passed.

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