Worker says she A promise of a job so she could earn money for herself and to send home to family was all 26-year-old "Tammy" (not her real name) hoped for when she left Vietnam 2-1/2 years ago.
was threatened
"If they die, I will be responsible,"
By Debra Barayuga
factory owner Kil Soo Lee, allegedly said
Star-BulletinBut sewing "Made in USA" clothing for large retailers at a Korean-owned clothing factory in American Samoa wasn't exactly what she had envisioned.
After sweltering in a factory that often reached 104 degrees, eating the same tasteless meals day in, day out, and working 14 to 15-hour days, six days a week, she longed to go home, she told the Star-Bulletin.
Even before she arrived in American Samoa, employees were already complaining about physical beatings, being deprived of food and being forced to work with threats of deportation.
They heard owner Kil Soo Lee tell his supervisors to beat the workers if they disobeyed, saying "If they die, I will be responsible."
Tammy was branded a "trouble maker" by supervisors at Daewoosa Samoa Ltd. for speaking out against their treatment and seeking out an attorney.
Lee was charged in a criminal complaint last week with involuntary servitude and forced labor.
The workers fear reprisals against their families in Vietnam if they discuss their treatment.
Tammy arrived in Tafuna, American Samoa, in August 1999 expecting to make $408 per month, according to their contracts. Minimum wage there is $2.60. Their employer was to provide lodging and meals free of charge.
Lee kept his workers indebted to him by charging $200 for room and board. And beginning in February 2000, meals cost $5 per day, Tammy said.
A few months before she arrived, the U.S. Department of Labor had fined Daewoosa for failing to pay its workers. But Lee continued to withhold wages and charge for meals and lodging, making the workers more indebted, according to the complaint.
At one time, a month's salary came out to only $3.37 after meal deductions.
When their employer refused to pay them for three months, Tammy and others sought the help of an attorney who filed a lawsuit against Lee to get him to turn over wages owed them.
Lee retaliated by having his supervisors intimidate them, threatening them with deportation and preventing them from working.
Her friend Cindy and another man in their group now in Hawaii are constant reminders of the abuse they left behind.
When violence broke out between Samoan and Vietnamese workers, Cindy was struck in the eye with a pipe and required a partial transplant while the man suffered a ruptured eardrum and now suffers from a permanent hearing impairment.
Meanwhile, Tammy hopes to make the best of her stay here.
She dreams of going to school and finding a good job. "I want to make a life here,' she said.
The workers are still trickling in from American Samoa. Some caught a flight out to Mainland destinations. A few will remain for about a week before moving on to sponsoring families.