A new world of retail supremacy: Supply chains and workers' chains in the age of Wal-Mart

International Labor and Working-Class History

Volumn 70, Issue , 2006, Pages 106-125

  Appelbaum, Richard ^a   Lichtenstein, Nelson ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 34247482004     PISSN: 01475479     EISSN: 14716445     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0147547906000184     Document Type: Article

References (78)

1. Gary Gereffi, "The Organization of Buyer-driven Global Commodity Chains: How U.S. Retailers Shape Overseas Production Networks," in Gary Gereffi and Miguel Korzeniewicz, eds., Commodity Chains and Global Capitalism. (Westport, CT, 1994), 95-122;
2. Richard P. Appelbaum and Gary Gereffi, "Power and Profits in the Apparel Commodity Chain," in Edna Bonacich, Lucie Cheng, Norma Chinchilla, Norma Hamilton, and Paul Ong, eds., Global Production: The Apparel Industry in the Pacific Rim (Philadelphia, 1994);
3. Gary Gereffi, "Beyond the Producer-driven/Buyer-driven Dichotomy: The Evolution of Global Value Chains in the Internet Era," IDS Bulletin 32.3 (2001), 30-40;
4. Andrew Ross, Fast Boat to China: Corporate Flight and the Consequences of Free Trade (New York, 2006), 24-31.
5. Edna Bonacich, "Pulling the Plug: Labor and the Global Supply Chain," New Labor Forum (Summer 2003): 41-48.
6. Gary Gereffi, John Humphrey, and Timothy Sturgeon, "The Governance of Global Value Chains," forthcoming in Review of International Political Economy.
7. Edna Bonacich with Khaleelah Hardie, "Wal-Mart and the Logistics Revolution," in Nelson Lichtenstein, ed., Wal-Mart: The Face of Twenty-First Century Capitalism (New York, 2006), 163-87;
8. Frederick H. Abernathy, John T. Dunlop, Janice H. Hammond, and David Weil, A Stitch in Time: Lean Retailing and the Transformation of Manufacturing-Lessons from the Apparel and Textile Industries (Oxford, 1999).
9. Among the top forty, twelve were based in the United States and accounted for 43% of total revenues. Almost all of the remaining ones are from the EU (accounting for 46%). The only Asian firms in the top forty are five in Japan (accounting for the remaining 11%). Richard P. Appelbaum, "Fighting Sweatshops: The Changing Terrain of Global Apparel Production," in Richard P. Appelbaum and William I. Robinson, eds., Critical Globalization Studies (New York, 2005)
10. Abernathy et al, op. cit, 3;
11. Misha Petrovic and Gary G. Hamilton, "Making Global Markets: Wal-Mart and Us Suppliers," in Lichtenstein, ed., Wal-Mart: the Face of Twenty-First Century Capitalism, 107-41.
12. Lichtenstein interview with anonymous Bentonville resident, April 29, 2005, Bentonville; Jeff Glasser, "Boomtown, U.S.A.," U.S. News and World Report, June 25, 2001, 17-20;
13. Anne D'Innocenzio, "Wal-Mart Suppliers Flocking to Arkansas," The State, September 21, 2003, 1.
14. Joseph Y.S. Cheng, Guangdong: Preparing for the WTO Challenge (Hong Kong, 2003);
15. Michael Enright, Edith Scott, Ka-mun Chang, Regional Powerhouse: The Greater Pearl River Delta and the Rise of China (Singapore, 2005),
16. Joe Studwell, The China Dream (London, 2005).
17. Philip Goodman and Philip Pan, "Chinese Workers Pay for Wal-Mart's Low Prices," The Washington Post, February 8, 2004, 1.
18. Pun Ngai, Made in China: Women Factory Workers in a Global Workplace (Durham, NC, 2005), 46-48;
19. Authors' interview with Pun Ngai, Hong Kong, September 15, 2005. The "hukou" system is currently being reformed and Guangdong Province reportedly no longer stamps workers' hukou as urban or rural, making it easier for immigrants to gain access to services. For a business perspective on this see Zhan Ye, "New Hope for China's Women Workers," Chinese Business Review, April 26, 2006.
20. Alfred Chandler, Jr. Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of American Industrial Enterprise (Garden City, 1962), 158-99 passim;
21. Louis Galambos and Josepth Pratt, The Rise of the Corporate Commonwealth (New York, 1988), 167-69.
22. Richard S. Tedlow, New and Improved: The Story of Mass Marketing in America (New York, 1990), for studies of Coca Cola, Sears, A & P, and the automobile companies.
23. For an overview see Jennifer Bair, "Global Capitalism and Commodity Chains: Looking Back, Going Forward," Competition and Change 9: 2 (June) 129-156;
24. and Abernathy, Dunlop, et al., A Stitch in Time: Lean Retailing and the Transformation of Manufacturing.
25. Petrovic and Hamilton, "Making Global Markets: Wal-Mart and Its Suppliers," in Lichtenstein, ed., Wal-Mart, 108.
26. "Wal-Mart, P&G Link up for Efficiency," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 14, 1989, 12B;
27. Constance Hays, "What's Behind the Procter Deal? Wal-Mart," New York Times, January 29, 2005, C1;
28. Davidowitz quoted in Jeremy Grant and Dan Roberts, "P&G Looks to Gain Strength Through Unity," Financial Times, January 31, 2005, 25.
29. Bonacich with Hardie, "Wal-Mart and the Logistics Revolution," in Lichtenstein ed., Wal-Mart, 163-188.
30. Major Van Hart, (Retired), "Logistics: The Art of Doing War," at http://www.chuckshawks.com/logistics.htm.
31. Marc Levinson, The Box: How The Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger (Princeton, 2006), 171-88;
32. Bahar Barami, "Productivity Gains from Pull Logistics: Tradeoffs of Internal and External Costs," paper presented at the Transportation Research Board Conference on Transportation and Economic Development, Portland, Oregon, September 22-25, 2001.
33. Petvoic and Hamilton, "Making Global Markets: Wal-Mart and Its Suppliers," in Lichtenstein, ed. Wal-Mart, 107-142;
34. and also Gary Hamilton, "Remaking the Global Economy: U.S. Retailers and Asian Manufacturers," Hearing on "China and the Future of Globalization," before the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission, May 20, 2005;
35. Naomi Klein, No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies (New York, 1999).
36. Hamilton, "Remaking the Global Economy."
37. Sam Walton and John Huey, Sam Walton, Made in American: My Story (New York, 1992), 162.
38. Jerold Waltman, The Politics of the Minimum Wage (Urbana, IL, 2000), 38-41;
39. The exemption of retail workers proved the most contentious issue in every legislative conflict over the minimum wage during the 1950s and 1960s. See Tom Wicker, "Minimum Wage: Congress Shows Power," The New York Times, March 26, 1961, E6.
40. Jared Bernstein and Isaac Shapiro, "Unhappy Anniversary: Federal Minimum Wage Remains Unchanged for Eight-Straight Year, Falls to 56-Year Low Relative to Average Wage," Economic Policy Institute, September 1, 2005; W.W. West vs. Wal-Mart, Inc., 264 F. Supp. 158; 1967 US District Court, February 16, 1967.
41. Bob Ortega, In Sam We Trust (New York, 1998), 87-90, 105-109;
42. Lichtenstein telephone interview with AI Zack (formerly UFCW), August 24, 2005.
43. "Wal-Mart Boasts 'Made in USA,' Discount Store News, June 15, 1992, 127.
44. Ortega, In Same We Trust, 208.
45. Ibid, 206.
46. Michael Barrier, "Walton's Mountain," Nation's Business, April 1988, 64.
47. "Wal-Mart Boasts 'Made in the USA,'" 127.
48. Caroline Mayer, "Wal-Mart Flies the Flag in Import Battle; Prods U.S. Producers With Favorable Terms," The Washington Post, April 21, 1985, El;
49. Farris Fashions, Inc. and Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, Southwest Regional Joint Board, Cases 26-CA-14258 and 26-RC-7323, September 30, 1993, 550. The factory was derelict in June 2006 when Nelson Lichtenstein visited Brinkley.
50. Sam Hornblower, "Wal-Mart & China: A Joint Venture," on "Frontline: Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" website; Bill Bowden, "PREL CEO Says Wal-Mart's Policy is No Sweat," Northwest Arkansas Business Journal, June 25, 2001.
51. Richard Appelbaum organized this trip as part of his exploration of global supply chains. Eileen Boris and Karen Shapiro were also participants in the trip and almost all the interviews.
52. Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings is the principal source of Pou Chen's shoe production; as of June 2004, Pou Chen held 50.1% of the stock in Yue Yuen: http://www.yueyuen.com.
53. Sales data from Hoovers' website. And see Yue Yuen's website at http://www.yueyuen.com for a more complete business profile.
54. Jeroen Merk, "Nike's Mirror Image: Yue Yuen and the Implementation of Labour Codes," paper presented at the 47th ISA Convention, March 22-25, 2006, San Diego. Other clients include Polo Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole, Calvin Klein, and NBA Properties. About 60% of Yue Yuen's footwear production is for Nike, Reebok, and Adidas-Salomon.
55. Richard Dobson, "Pou Chen Corp.: Shoe-in for Success," Taiwan Business Topics, vol. 33, no. 8 (2003);
56. Marcus W. Brauchli and Dan Biers, "Green Lanterns: Asia's Family Empires Change their Tactics for a Shrinking World," Wall Street Journal, April 19, 1995, 1.
57. Authors' interview with Tiger Wu, Nike Manufacturing Manager, Dongguan, September 12, 2005; authors' interview with Reebok executive, Guangdong Province, September 13, 2005.
58. "Wal-Mart: 2004 Report on Standards for Suppliers," at Wal-Mart Stores website: www.walmartfacts.com.
59. Kyle Johnson and Peter Kinder, "Wal-Mart Stores, Inc." Domini 400 Social Index Decision Series, No. 3, May 16, 2001;
60. Molly Selvin, "Wal-Mart Faces Suit by Labor Group," Los Angeles Times, September 14, 2005.
61. Authors' interview with Billy Han, SACOM, September 14, 2005, Hong Kong; Authors' interview with Reebok executive.
62. Liu Kaiming, Global Purchasing Practices & Chinese Women Workers, (Shenzhen, 2003), 18, 19.
63. H. Lee Scott, "Twenty First Century Leadership," October 24, 2005, Wal-Mart Sores Web Site.
64. Lichtenstein interview with Tom Mitchell, South China Morning Post, September 17, 2005, Hong Kong.
65. Authors' interview with Liu Kaiming, September 14, 2005, Shenzhen.
66. As quoted in Pun Ngai, "Global Production, Company Codes of Conduct"
67. AP, "Nike Ventures into Discount Shoe Business," The Clarion-Ledger, April 23, 2005.
68. Authors' interview with Tiger Wu, September 12, 2005, Dongguan.
69. Liu Kai-ming, Global Purchasing Practices & Chinese Women Workers.
70. Pun Ngai, "Global Production and Corporate Business Ethics: Company Codes of Conduct Implementation and its Implication on Labour Rights in China," China Journal (July 2005): 17-18. While there are a number of case studies of the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of governmental and activist pressures to improve working conditions, there is only one, to our knowledge, that attempts a statistical estimation of their impact across a range of production facilities. Harrison and Scorse's study of Indonesian factories concludes that direct US government pressure, along with anti-sweatshop campaigns, contributed to a fifty percent increase in the minimum wage, a doubling of wages for unskilled workers at targeted plants, and some closing of targeted plants (which were offset by gains in employment at other plants).
71. See Ann Harrison and Jason Scorse, "Moving Up or Moving Out? Anti-Sweatshop Activists and Labor Market Outcomes," U.C. Berkeley and National Bureau of Economic Research draft manuscript, October 2004.
72. Murray Scot Tanner, "Chinese Government Responses to Rising Social Unrest," Testimony Presented to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, April 14, 2005;
73. John Pomfret, "Labor Unrest in China Reflects Increasing Disenchantment," The Guardian Weeky, May 4, 2000, 37.
74. Andrew Ross, Fast Boat to China: Corporate Flight and the Consequences of Free Trade (New York, 2006), 16.
75. "Chinese Labor and the WTO," Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (June 2004).
76. Jim Yardley, Jim and David Barboza, "Help Wanted: China Finds Itself With a Labor Shortage," New York Times, April 3, 2005, 1.
77. Howard A. French, "Workers Demand Union at Wal-Mart Supplier in China," New York Times, December 16, 2004, A4.
78. As this article goes to press, reports indicate that the Chinese government favors workplace reforms that would facilitate unionization and end some labor abuses in the coastal districts. Intense opposition from US and other foreign companies in China suggests that these labor law proposals may contain a few teeth. David Barboza, "China Drafts Law to Empower Unions and End Labor Abuse," New York Times, October 13, 2006.