Forced Labor
Tafuna, American Samoa, American Samoa
Kil Loo See opened a garment factory, Daewoosa Samoa, Ltd., in Tafuna and recruited 313 workers from Vietnam and China. The factory produced clothes for Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, J.C. Penny and others. The workers signed three-year contracts that promised minimum wage. Kil Loo See, however, rarely paid the workers, threatened them with violence and deportation, withheld food and even beat them. Also, if they broke their contract and returned home early, they would face fines and their entire family would be blacklisted. The workers were in significant debt because they had to pay recruitment fees that were usually around $5,000. One worker lost her eye and another lost his hearing in his left ear after being beaten by a security guard under Kil Loo See's orders and most workers lost 18-25 pounds at the factory.
2008