forced labor

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California Voters Reject Ban on Forced Prison Labor

Measure banning forced labor in any form goes down in defeat

(Newser) - California voters have rejected Proposition 6, a measure amending the state Constitution to ban forced labor in any form, the AP reports. The constitution currently bans it except as punishment for crime. That exemption became a target of criminal justice advocates who are concerned about prison labor conditions. People who...

IKEA Paying $6.5M to Compensate Prisoners for Forced Labor

Company is putting money into fund Germany is establishing

(Newser) - In what CNN is describing as a "landmark move," IKEA will pay about $6.5 million to compensate the former prisoners who were forced to build furniture for the company in communist East Germany during the Cold War era. The money will be put in a government fund...

Inmates Sue Alabama Over 'Modern-Day Slavery'

Current and former prisoners say the state is illegally profiting from their work

(Newser) - Current and former inmates announced a lawsuit this week challenging Alabama's prison labor program as a type of "modern-day slavery," saying prisoners are forced to work for little or no pay in jobs that benefit government entities or private companies. The class-action lawsuit also accuses the state...

Exposed in Ga.: 'Underworld of Human Trafficking'

3 men have been sentenced for a 'modern-day slavery' scheme involving Central Americans

(Newser) - Three men have been sentenced to federal prison as part of a broad investigation into what authorities say was a wide-ranging conspiracy to bring workers from Central America to the United States for forced labor on southern Georgia farms. The three men were charged in separate but related cases related...

They Were Promised 'Paradise.' The Destination: North Korea

Lawsuit in Japan seeks retribution for decades-long repatriation program

(Newser) - Some 93,000 people moved from Japan to North Korea in the latter half of the 20th century, many believing they would encounter a "paradise." North Korea—desperate for labor amid efforts to rebuild following two tragic wars—suggested these migrants, many of whom were ethnic Koreans who'...

Weeks Before Trial, R. Kelly's Lawyers Want Out

Remaining attorneys say singer actually fired them

(Newser) - R. Kelly is to face trial in federal court in New York this August for allegedly abusing various women and girls over 25 years. But whether the trial will go ahead is now unclear, with a report suggesting the singer has fired his two lead attorneys. In a statement to...

PETA's Monkey Labor Claim Sees Another Big Casualty

Target the latest to drop Chaokoh coconut milk

(Newser) - A brand of coconut milk is slowly disappearing from the shelves of America's retailers thanks to an effort by PETA . Target on Monday confirmed to USA Today that it no longer sells Chaokoh coconut milk after PETA accused the Thai brand of relying on forced monkey labor. Since 2019,...

Krispy Kreme Owners Do Something About 'Disgusting' Past

Reimann family to donate $5.5M to Holocaust survivors after discovery of past Nazi ties

(Newser) - In March, it was reported that ancestors of the Reimann family—whose JAB Holding Co. owns a controlling stake in Krispy Kreme, Panera Bread, Pret a Manger, and other well-known brands—had used French POWs and Russian civilians as forced laborers under the Nazi regime. Now the family, one of...

Church Leaders Charged With Swindling the Homeless

Federal indictment accuses them of forcing homeless to beg, taking their welfare benefits

(Newser) - Homeless people drawn in by promises of food and a place to stay got something a little different: stints of forced labor in which they were made to beg for money for up to nine hours a day, six days a week. That was just one of the allegations mentioned...

Cookie Heiress Bragged of Her Wealth. Then She Made It Worse

Verena Bahlsen says she erred with remarks on Bahlsen's forced labor during Nazi era

(Newser) - "Oblivious," "arrogant," and "aloof" is how a cookie company heiress is being painted this week after comments on how her company used Nazi-era forced labor. The BBC reports 25-year-old Verena Bahlsen of the Bahlsen company joked about how rich she is at a marketing meeting...

Pair Who Enslaved Girl for 16 Years Learn Their Fate

Husband, wife in Texas each sentenced to 7 years

(Newser) - A husband and wife in Texas have each been sentenced to seven years in prison for enslaving a Guinean girl for 16 years. Mohamed Toure and Denise Cros-Toure, both 58, could be deported to their native Guinea as a result of Monday's decision, which also requires that they pay...

Judge Makes Historic Ruling on Woman Held by 'Cult'

Kendra Ross is 'thrilled' by the judgment, lawyer says

(Newser) - Kendra Ross mustered the courage to run for her life six years ago, and now could be a multi-millionaire. A judge awarded Ross $8 million in damages Wednesday for 10 years she was forced to clean, cook, and care for children in a Kansas group that court documents are calling...

UN: North Korea Obtains Foreign Cash in Cruel Way

Forced labor is a human rights violation one UN official wants brought before ICC

(Newser) - North Korea is saddled with sanctions for its nuclear testing , but Pyongyang has found at least one way to buck the system, the UN now acknowledges: bring in foreign currency via forced labor outside the country , reports CNN . And it's no small chunk of change the nation is said...

Enslaved Fisherman Shares Brutal Story

'It was like our lives were already over'

(Newser) - A 25-year-old fisherman from Mynamar who found himself enslaved thousands of miles from home for five years was rescued—along with thousands of others like him—earlier this year. Now he's telling his story. "Who could stand working continuously without taking a rest?" asks Myo Aung, describing the...

Global Slavery at All-Time High
 Global Slavery at All-Time High 
Nov 18, 2014 4:19 AM CST

Global Slavery at All-Time High

There are nearly 36m slaves worldwide, rights group says

(Newser) - The latest report from a rights group drives home the disturbing fact that the peak of slavery in human history wasn't during the Roman Empire or some other distant time—it's happening right now. Nearly 36 million people around the world (more than ever before) are slaves, according...

Your Gadgets' Dirty Origin Story: Forced Labor

Apple, Samsung, Sony products made at factories in question

(Newser) - Many factory workers behind Apple, Samsung, and other top electronics products are working in Malaysia—where 28% of electronics workers, and 32% of migrant workers in the industry, are stuck in forced labor, a report commissioned by the US government finds. Some 92% of the country's workers from Bangladesh,...

Pastor Turns Bible School Into Labor Camp: Affidavit

Reginald Miller faces up to 20 years on each count

(Newser) - The head of a Bible college in South Carolina allegedly made foreign students work at substandard wages and threatened to revoke their visas if they complained, Raw Story reports. Homeland Security Investigations filed the complaint last week against Cathedral Bible College President Reginald Miller, who faces a maximum of 20...

Spain May Make Its Kids Do Chores

Proposed legislature also includes mandate to 'respect teachers'

(Newser) - Is it a daily battle to get your kids to do their chores? You may want to move to Spain, where parliament on Friday approved a bill that would make children legally obliged to do housework—and more, BBC News reports. If the bill becomes law, those under the age...

Amnesty: Forced Labor Building World Cup Venues
Forced Labor Building
2022 World Cup Stadiums
amnesty report
Nov 18, 2013 2:09 AM CST

Forced Labor Building 2022 World Cup Stadiums

Qatar migrant workers abused, exploited, Amnesty International report finds

(Newser) - The gleaming new stadiums Qatar plans to host the 2022 World Cup in are being built on the backs of abused migrant workers, a scathing new Amnesty International report finds. The group says it has uncovered an "alarming level of exploitation," with workers being forced to work without...

Number of Slaves on the Planet: 30M

Victims in 162 countries; half are in India

(Newser) - Slavery continues to afflict almost 30 million people across the planet—in every one of 162 countries surveyed in a new report. India is home to 13.9 million slaves, by far the largest number; relative to population, however, Mauritania has the highest rate, with 4% of the population enslaved...

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