The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour

MR. MAC NEIL: Good evening. I'm Robert MacNeil in New York.

MS. FARNSWORTH: And I'm Elizabeth Farnsworth in Washington. After tonight's News Summary, we look at illegal sweat shops in the United States, and Betty Ann Bowser reports on how Austin, Texas, is grappling with juvenile crime. NEWS SUMMARY

MS. FARNSWORTH: President Clinton's partners in the Whitewater Development Corporation were indicted today, along with Arkansas Governor Jim "Guy" Tucker. James McDougal, his ex-wife, Susan, and Tucker were charged with wire, mail, and bank fraud, as well as conspiracy for their dealings with the now defunct Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan. McDougal was the owner of the thrift when questionable financial transactions occurred. Tucker is already under indictment on related charges. President and Mrs. Clinton have said their Whitewater investment with McDougal had nothing to do with the operation of Madison Guaranty. Robin.

MR. MAC NEIL: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke continued his efforts today to mediate a peace settlement in the former Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, Serb and Croat battles were underway in a number of places, including Dubrovnik, on the Croatian coast. The walled city has been targeted by Serb artillery for several days. We have more in this report from Peter Morgan of Independent Television News.

PETER MORGAN, ITN: The wooded hills North of Dubrovnik, scarred by huge rings of fire. Forest fires are burning out of control near the Adriatic port after coming under Bosnian Serb shellfire. Dubrovnik's historic Old Town has not been targeted, but nearby villages are within the sights of Serb gunners 10 miles to the East in Trebinje. The Serbs say they're responding to Croat provocation. The Croats say the opposite and warn they'll soon use their troop and tank build-up to try and push the Serbs out of range of the medieval town. In Belgrade, Serbia's president Milosevic met U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke to discuss the latest U.S. peace plan.

RICHARD HOLBROOKE: And this afternoon, we have had five hours of talks with President Milosevic. Today's talks were extremely useful. They were very frank, and they clarified some issues. Those talks have not been completed, because President Milosevic has another urgent appointment now with the European Union negotiator Paul Bildt.

MR. MAC NEIL: The European negotiator also spoke with reporters. He commented on the U.S. peace efforts.

CARL BILDT, European Union Envoy: I think what is happening now is really that everyone is in a sort of waiting mood to see what the Americans are able to do, and that is certainly very much the mood in Sarajevo. They are awaiting the arrival of the American delegation in a few days' time. They will assess that very carefully. I think it will need to be explored somewhat. There will be a meeting of the contact group somewhat further on, and then we'll see.

MR. MAC NEIL: Sec. Holbrooke's talks with President Milosevic continue tomorrow in Belgrade.

MS. FARNSWORTH: At least 16 people were injured in Paris today when a bomb exploded near the famed Arc De Triomphe. The rush hour blast occurred near a metro station in Charles DeGaulle Square. The bomb was packed with nails and bolts and had been placed in a garbage can. It blew out nearby shop windows. Police said the device was similar to one that killed seven people and injured eighty in a Paris subway last month. French officials have said they suspect Algerian fundamentalists in that attack.

MR. MAC NEIL: The United States plans to build up its military forces in and around the Persian Gulf, a Pentagon spokesman said today. The action is in response to unusual Iraqi military activity in the southern part of the country near Kuwait. The spokesman said Pentagon officials were concerned but not alarmed by the Iraqi action. He didn't say how many American soldiers would be involved in the build up. There are currently about 20,000 U.S. troops stationed in the Persian Gulf region.

MS. FARNSWORTH: China today conducted its second underground nuclear test in three months. The blast occurred at the remote desert testing site at Lop Nor in Western China. The Chinese government has refused to comply with a 1992 moratorium on underground testing, claiming it needs to develop a credible nuclear deterrent. A White House spokeswoman said President Clinton was disappointed by China's action. Several Asian leaders also condemned the test.

MR. MAC NEIL: In economic news today, the Commerce Department reported that the nation's trade deficit rose 2 1/2 percent in June to 11.3 billion dollars. That's the second highest monthly imbalance in history. The trade gap between the U.S. and China jumped 5 1/2 percent, but the deficit with Japan shrank by 3.7 percent.

MS. FARNSWORTH: Residents of Bermuda have voted by a three to one margin to remain part of Great Britain. Bermuda's premier, Sir John Swan, who had campaigned for independence, resigned today after yesterday's vote was announced. The islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean, about 600 miles from the U.S. coast, came under British rule in 1684. This was Bermuda's first independence vote.

MR. MAC NEIL: North Carolina officials today lifted the state of emergency there as a fading Hurricane Felix began creeping out to sea. The storm is now about 170 miles off Cape Hatteras, with winds barely reaching hurricane speed. Forecasters predict Felix will remain slow and idle for the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, evacuated tourists and residents began returning to the outer banks, despite continuing high winds and surf. Officials downgraded hurricane warnings all along the East Coast.

MS. FARNSWORTH: Environmentalists said today some Midwesterners are drinking pesticide-contaminated water. A study conducted by the non-profit organization Environmental Working Group found high levels of pesticides in tap water in 28 of 29 communities surveyed. The farm area cities with high level pesticides include New Orleans, Omaha, Indianapolis, and Kansas City. The report was released at a Washington news conference.

RICHARD WILES, Environmental Working Group: The levels of these weed killers in many major cities routinely exceeded federal health standards for weeks and even months at a time. On top of this, in virtually all of these cities, tap water was contaminated with two or more weed killers or their by-products. In fact, in two thirds of the cities, tap water flowing from people's kitchen sinks was contaminated with four or more weed killers, often at levels in excess of federal standards.

MS. FARNSWORTH: The manufacturer of one of the herbicides said the report might cause undue concern about health effects. Officials at the Ciba-Geigy Corporation said health risks occur only at levels of exposure thousands of times higher than current standards. That's our summary of the news. Now it's on to slave labor in the U.S. and the juvenile crime wave in Texas. FOCUS - SLAVE LABOR

MR. MAC NEIL: First tonight, illegal sweatshops in the United States. Criminal indictments were returned today against nineoperators of an illegal garment factory in Southern California, where officials say more than 70 workers from Thailand were held against their will in slave-like conditions. State and federal labor departments have also filed charges, and on Tuesday, Labor Secretary Robert Reich announced he would call a summit of major retailers aimed at curbing illegal sweatshops. We'll talk about the issue of sweatshop labor in a moment, but first this report from Correspondent Jeffrey Kaye of public station KCET-Los Angeles.

JEFFREY KAYE: Tuesday night, a group of Thai women prepared a traditional meal for themselves in a suburban Los Angeles home. The women's host is a Thai businesswoman who has offered her guests minimum wage jobs in her garment factory. The cheerful attitude here was in marked contrast from two weeks ago. Then they were being detained to provide the government with information about a virtual slave camp.

WOMAN: These workers need your help.

MR. KAYE: The 72 Thai nationals, sixty-eight women and four men, were freed on bond last weekend. Many were welcomed at a Thai Buddhist temple by members of the local Thai community. They said they were recruited, some as long as seven years ago, from garment factories in Bangkok.

WANG THOSUM: [speaking through interpreter] They promised me that this is the land of opportunity, I could make more money over here.

MR. KAYE: They said they came as tourists with no legal work permits, their transportation paid for by their employers.

LAMAYAI BUDDEE: [speaking through interpreter] Yes. I contract for three years.

MR. KAYE: They promised to repay their air fare and to work for at least three years for between fifteen and eighteen hundred dollars a month. They lived and worked in an apartment complex in El Monte, just East of downtown Los Angeles, and as agents found out after they raided the complex, the workers often put in eighteen hour days, seven days a week. California labor official Rick Rice led reporters on a tour of the compound.

CORRESPONDENT: How many hours did they have to work at these machines in this garage?

RICK RICE, California Labor Department: Well, we were told cases of 7 AM to midnight.

MR. KAYE: Workers said they were paid less than $1.60 an hour. They slept 20 to a room and were forced to buy food from a makeshift store inside the compound.

CORRESPONDENT: There was a guard outside?

WORKER: [speaking through interpreter] Yes, two guards.

MR. KAYE: The workers said the people running the operation were members of the same family. They said guards armed with clubs and a machete, stationed outside, prevented the workers from going outdoors, and in recent years, after some dozen escaped, barbed wire and boarded up windows turned the apartment complex into a fortified labor camp.

RICK RICE: As you can see, there are several sewing machines in here.

MR. KAYE: Officials found 97 sewing machines and evidence of a thriving garment business. They say an office and safe contained about $900,000 worth of cash and gold. Authorities seized 122 bags of garments. They also took records reflecting a multi-million dollar a year enterprise.

VICTORIA BRADSHAW, California Labor Commissioner: I've gone through every single document, and I saw the magnitude of that operation, and I feel confident that almost every major store, outside of a mom and pop operation, in this country probably had goods going across their floors at some time.

MR. KAYE: This week, California Labor Commissioner Victoria Bradshaw, along with U.S. labor officials, announced a widening probe into those who did business directly or indirectly with the sweatshop. Authorities say clothes made there wound up in the stores of such national chains as Mervyn's, Montgomery Ward, Sears, Nieman-Marcus, and Foley's. Representatives of those stores say they had no knowledge of the operation. Authorities are also subpoenaing the records of 16 garment manufacturers which may have contracted with the operation and supplied the retailers. Attorney Michael Dave, who represents three of the subpoenaed manufacturers, says his clients were in the dark about the sweatshop.

MICHAEL DAVE, Lawyer: The sweatshop, so far as my information tells me, was operated in El Monte, California. My clients dealt with the central Los Angeles facilities. They only went to the central Los Angeles facilities. They saw their goods being manufactured there. They saw their goods ready for shipment from those facilities, and had no way of knowing that, in fact, apparently other facilities, such as in El Monte, were being used.

MR. KAYE: This building in downtown Los Angeles housed a front operation which authorities believe was used to mislead manufacturers. Doing business as D&R, S&P, or SK Fashions, it sold garments that had actually been sewn at the El Monte complex, according to investigators.

VICTORIA BRADSHAW: It wasn't until we did surveillance at odd hours--in fact, 24-hour surveillance--that we find out that, in fact, the merchandise moved out of one facility late at night and moved from the other facility before dawn the next morning. And that's how we made the connection that, in fact, it was operating. If you just looked at D&R or S&K or S&P Fashions, you would not know on the surface that there were those kind of egregious violations. It was really when we started watching them 24 hours a day and how they moved the merchandise that all the pieces began to fit together.

MR. KAYE: Bradshaw admits the state also believed the downtown workshop was legitimate. They gave it a license, but the license expired in March, and because of that, companies which commissioned garments there, could be held liable for back wages estimated at more than $5 million.

VICTORIA BRADSHAW: Those operations were operating illegally. They were unregistered in the state of California, and, therefore, any garment manufacturer contractor that was, that was entering into a contract with them is going to be held jointly liable for the wages and the penalties, and that's under California law.

MR. KAYE: Both the state of California and the U.S. Department of Labor are suing for back wages, but while government agencies take action, Asian-American activists and union officials accuse them of not moving soon enough.

JULIE SU, Asian-American Legal Center: An investigation is clearly in order here into which government agency near what, when, and why it took them this long to expose the abuses in this El Monte shop.

MR. KAYE: The U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service received information in 1992 and again in 1995 that Thai workers were being held here against their will, but federal prosecutors told INS there was not enough information for federal search warrants since the information came from anonymous sources. William Slattery heads INS field operations.

WILLIAM SLATTERY, Immigration & Naturalization Service: We saw a lot of things, and we required a lot of evidence. The sum total of the evidence was not supportive enough to justify a search warrant for criminal violation of the Immigration Act.

MR. KAYE: Part of the problem for authorities has been the secretive and fearful behavior of illegal workers.

EKAISTH SRIPIPAT, Interpreter: Since I'm escaped, then they put up the barbed wire.

MR. KAYE: This woman, who would not reveal her identity, is one of the dozen Thais who escaped from the compound before the barbed wire went up. It was a daring move, since all the passports were confiscated, and they spoke little or no English. Eventually, she met anonymously with an INS agent. She feared retribution to her family in Thailand and from fellow workers. Indeed, some workers we spoke to actually blamed escapees, not their captors, for bringing on the high security. They refused to consider themselves slaves but said they were obligated to carry out their part of a deal, even if it wasn't what they had expected.

BUALOI KRUANGRAM: [speaking through interpreter] They helped me over here. I have obligation to pay off and make a little money for the guy that helped me over here. That's my obligation, and I felt that it's a must. I don't want to owe him anything.

MR. KAYE: The Thai women may be subject to deportation once the case against their employers has been resolved. In the meantime, garment union officials are urging authorities to step up their policing of the industry. They say there is increasing use of sweatshops in this country in part because of cheap labor overseas.

MR. MAC NEIL: So how widespread is sweatshop labor in the United States and who should be held responsible? We get four views. Maria Echaveste is administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor's wage and hour division. Katie Quan is an official with the Union of Needle Trades Industrial & Textile employees known as UNITE. UNITE is acting as co-legal counsel to the Thai workers in the El Monte case. She joins us from San Francisco. Norman Fryman is vice president of Beederman Industries, an apparel company that operates in the United States and overseas. He's also chairman of the American Apparel Manufacturers Association. And Carl Steidtmann is a consultant to large retail companies, including K-Mart, Sears, and the Gap. He joins us from Denver. Ms. Echaveste, how typical is the El Monte shop? How widespread a problem is this, and in how many cities?

MARIA ECHAVESTE, Department of Labor: Well, the problem is quite widespread. I think the El Monte situation is an extreme example. The type of labor violations, however, are the norm. A year ago, we did a garment survey and found in California alone at least 50 percent of the shops had minimum wage violations. At least 65 percent of the shops had overtime violations, and one third of them had serious health and safety violations. So this is a very real and serious problem.

MR. MAC NEIL: Ms. Quan, from the union point of view, do you agree with those kinds of numbers?

KATIE QUAN, Garment Workers Union: [San Francisco] Yes. In fact, if anything, they may be underestimates. I think the problem is, is that these conditions continue to exist and flourish in a situation where those who profit offer the labor of the workers, the manufacturers, and also the retailers refuse to take responsibility for the conditions under which their products are produced.

MR. MAC NEIL: And in what cities, besides Los Angeles, Ms. Quan?

MS. QUAN: Well, I think that in most of the major garment- producing cities in the United States.

MR. MAC NEIL: Which are--

MS. QUAN: In New York and in Los Angeles, and in Miami, and, you know, San Francisco, in some parts of the Pacific Northwest, there are similar situations, places where workers are not paid minimum wage, not paid overtime, where you see child labor, and situations like those of the Thai workers.

MR. MAC NEIL: Mr. Fryman, do you in the Apparel Manufacturing Association agree that it's--the problem is as widespread as they've said?

NORMAN FRYMAN, Apparel Manufacturer: I don't think it's right to indict an industry for the practice of a few. Reputable apparel manufacturers don't engage in these deplorable practices. You won't find in the indictment names of companies who belong to the American Apparel Manufacturers Association, people like Russell Corporation and Sarah Lee, Levi Strauss, Kelwood Company. Major companies would have an unfair competitive advantage done by the people in El Monte. You know, we have a code of ethics, a code of behavior. We run fine sewing shops. We support the union's efforts to clean up these things, and, and we find that those conditions are as deplorable as the union or the Department of Labor finds them.

MR. MAC NEIL: Mr. Steidtmann, as a consultant to many retailers, how widespread would you say the problem is?

CARL STEIDTMANN, Retail Consultant: [Denver] Well, we really don't see this as a retail problem per se. We really see as a problem that is really a societal problem, one that requires the cooperation of government, of retailers, of manufacturers, of wholesalers, and of labor, and I think all of them working together can address the issue.

MR. MAC NEIL: Ms. Echaveste, the Department of Labor does consider it in part a retail problem, doesn't it?

MS. ECHAVESTE: Yes, it does, and the reason is that while it is true that the manufacturers are perhaps the first line of responsibility, the retailers have an economic tool, the leverage. They can decide with whom to do business, which frankly is much more effective than any penalties that the Department of Labor may assess. We think that it is time to stop trying to blame the manufacturers, contractors, retailers. We have to work together to find some solutions, and we look forward to working with both retailers and manufacturers. Indeed, we've had some success in Los Angeles with manufacturers, because we've used the Fair Labor Standards Act to make them pay attention out of their own self- interest.

MR. MAC NEIL: Ms. Quan, who did the union--your union--hold responsible in this problem?

MS. QUAN: As I said earlier, I think that those who profit from that exploitation ought to be held responsibility--responsible. Our union during the past six years has sponsored legislation at the California state level to join manufacturers with contractors in liability for the wages, hours, and working conditions in the contracting shops. For three times now, that legislation which passed both houses of the California legislature was vetoed first by Republican Governor Deukmajian, and then twice by Republican Governor Wilson. That hasn't stopped us. We're going forward, and as we see it now, we would also think that it's proper to join the retailers in responsibility for those working conditions.

MR. MAC NEIL: Mr. Steidtmann, if the labels of many well-known retailers were found in that sweatshop that was raided, how can retailers not assume some responsibility if they are selling products made in such conditions?

MR. STEIDTMANN: Well, it's very difficult on the part of a retailer, given the fact that they work with hundreds, if not thousands, of suppliers, to police the conditions that exist in all of their factories. In the apparel production process, several different manufacturing plants may be involved in the production of a single garment. You have to spin the thread, you have to create the textiles, you have to cut the garment, you have to put on the accessories, you have to package it. And at each stage, you can have a different supplier who would be involved. So to ask a retailer who's dealing with a thousand suppliers who may have four or five different stages of production to go out and actually police each of these different processes I think is not a very effective way of resolving this problem.

MR. MAC NEIL: Mr. Fryman, can the retailers legitimately claim they don't know?

MR. FRYMAN: No. Apparel companies who use contractors have an obligation to perform on-site visits to see exactly what their manufacturers are doing. The problem today is that many retailers doing private label manufacturing have themselves become their own manufacturers, and they have an obligation, as manufacturers, to do the same things that we as manufacturers do, and that is to make sure that the people that we are dealing with are reputable.

MR. MAC NEIL: Do many big retailers go outside your association's manufacturers?

MR. FRYMAN: Absolutely.

MR. MAC NEIL: To contract.

MR. FRYMAN: Yes, they do. Now, if you were to talk to some of the people that Mr. Steidtmann represents, Bob Metler at Sears or Les Wexner at the Limited, or Don Fisher at the Gap, they would be the first to tell you that those conditions that we saw are absolutely deplorable, and they would have nothing to do with them. And I believe them. No one intentionally--

MR. MAC NEIL: And yet some of their labels were found in the shop.

MR. FRYMAN: Yes, yes, because there are people who supply to those stores, and those stores really are not performing as manufacturers in doing the on-site visits and looking at the merchandise that is being manufactured.

MR. MAC NEIL: So, Mr. Steidtmann, I'd like to hear your point of view on this, but if--just to follow up on Mr. Fryman--if you go outside a recognized association whose members he says do not tolerate such conditions, and inspect the shops where they have stuff made, how can retailers then claim they don't know?

MR. STEIDTMANN: Well, the problem I think was well laid out in your report before our discussion. I mean, even the enforcement officials had to spend a 24-hour surveillance of this plant before they could figure out that actually illegal activity was going on. For you to expect retailers to engage in that kind of activity to find out this sort of information I think really is not an effective use of the skills that retailers bring to the marketplace and will result in much higher costs and much higher prices to consumers.

MR. MAC NEIL: Ms. Quan, what is your response to that?

MS. QUAN: Isn't it true, though, to the retailers that the retailers now require a lot more of manufacturers and contractors than they previously did. Not only are they specifying now what styles and what labels to put in, but they're also specifying what kind of hangers to put the garments, what kind of price tags to put on the garments, and that, in fact, apparel takes up--is accountable for 65 percent of the typical department store's merchandise. It seems to me that the retailers do have a lot of stake in the apparel products and how they sell. And I think the American--

MR. STEIDTMANN: Well, they have an enormous stake.

MS. QUAN: Excuse me. I think that the American public should be outraged that the products that they are buying may be produced in slave-like conditions.

MR. STEIDTMANN: But the problem, unfortunately, is how do we know?

MR. FRYMAN: Retailers, retailers who deal with reputable manufacturers can disclaim that responsibility, but when a retailer becomes a manufacturer, himself, he then has the obligation. And retailers who are manufacturers do not perform that obligation.

MR. STEIDTMANN: But then that unfortunately creates a bit of a cartel, if you will, of the people who are members of a particular association. And what that will do is it will dampen innovation in the industry, it will dampen new start-ups in the industry, and so what you'll do is end up with less production, fewer job opportunities, and, again, higher prices to the customer.

MR. FRYMAN: Because the contractors in El Monte were making such innovative products?

MR. STEIDTMANN: No, not at all. I'm not suggesting that. What happened in El Monte, I think, is appalling. I think all Americans would view it as appalling, but what I'm saying is that if you say only certain--we can only do business with certain people who are members of certain associations, then you limit--then you limit innovation, then you limit opportunities for people who want to go outside your--

MR. FRYMAN: I have no problem with the Gap or the Limited or Sears manufacturing goods in competition with manufacturers who are part of our organization, but if they are going to be manufacturers, then they have an obligation to police their goods.

MR. MAC NEIL: Where do you come in on this, Ms. Echaveste?

MS. ECHAVESTE: Thank you. I think there is an opportunity short of what the retailers are saying, that they don't want to police. If they were more responsive to information brought to them by the enforcement agencies of manufacturers or contractors who have supplied them with goods, that they then would be on notice to pay more attention, to take a closer look. They've got contract provisions. Quite a number of retailers have told me that their sales slips have contract provisions where the vendor is obligated to comply with all labor laws. Have they ever enforced those? I think there are opportunities here that frankly are going to be even more needed, because--

MR. MAC NEIL: Let's turn the story around a moment, Ms. Echaveste. What about the government enforcement which is--I mean, that is the job of government agencies, to enforce the laws for the Executive Branch. The California labor commissioner whom we saw earlier, Victoria Bradshaw, told the Los Angeles Times there are only 45 state and federal inspectors just in LA alone to monitor 44,000 sewing shops. I mean, is that, is that adequate enforcement?

MS. ECHAVESTE: It's absolutely not adequate, and in fact, we're facing right now in our '96 budget for this coming year a 12 percent cut for wage and hour, which will clearly mean that we will be less likely to respond to complaints, respond to the kinds of investigations which I think totally underscores the need for improved incentives for voluntary compliance, and that is that retailers and manufacturers have to find it in their self-interest to police themselves. And we think we can help them. We're willing to work with them. The secretary will be hosting a meeting in early September, and frankly, it really--I don't think it is that difficult. Manufacturers can share information. Enforcement agencies can share information, and retailers can then decide from whom to buy.

MR. MAC NEIL: Mr. Steidtmann, does the average American buying clothes care where or how it is made?

MR. STEIDTMANN: The overwhelming consumer research that we've done in the area of apparel and what are the factors that consumers consider really have to do with price, fit, quality of garment, and the--where it's actually manufactured, and the process by which it's manufactured really is not an issue from the consumer's perspective.

MR. MAC NEIL: Do you agree with that, Mr. Fryman?

MR. FRYMAN: Yes, I do. I absolutely agree with that. I think we're dealing here with two issues. I visited sewing factories in Thailand. I've seen some wonderful plants, air-conditioned, beautiful. That's not the norm. What happened in El Monte, California, is an aberration, and I agree with UNITE, it does happen, there are places in Miami, in San Francisco, and it is certainly the job of all of us--

MR. MAC NEIL: I notice you're not saying New York.

MR. FRYMAN: And New York. No question about the fact that here in Chinatown there are sweatshops, and we have to dig them out, and it is an obligation of the government as well to help us in doing that, because it makes us--we manufacturers--non-competitive in the industry.

MR. MAC NEIL: But if the average American buyer is only interested in quality and a low price, where's the incentive for anybody to obey the labor laws if they can get away without it and to pay union rates, which would presumably be many dollars an hour higher even than minimum wage?

MS. QUAN: Excuse me, if I could answer that question.

MR. MAC NEIL: We'll start with you, Ms. Quan, and then we'll move on.

MS. QUAN: Okay. In years of organizing, it's been my experience that the American public is quite sensitive to the conditions under which those products are produced. When we've had organizing campaigns and asked shoppers not to stop at a shop for a certain goods because their products were produced under sweatshop conditions or in violation, we've had great response from the American consumers. I think that unfortunately, it's not something that is at the--is at the top of people's minds when they go and they shop for certain styles, and they shop for the price. But if they're told that these clothes were produced in conditions such as those that the Thai workers were working in El Monte or similar sweatshop conditions, my experience is that they have responded well by supporting the union boycotts.

MR. MAC NEIL: Mr. Steidtmann, what is the incentive to, to insist on good conditions and to pay union wages?

MR. STEIDTMANN: I think the incentive really gets to the heart of the culture of companies, themselves, and what we find in terms of high performing both manufacture and retail companies is that they, they have a great deal of respect for the workers who work in their factories and in their, in their offices, and that their ability to attract high quality labor, particularly labor that is able to deal with information and who can become knowledge workers, which is really where all industry is going, their ability to do that is a function of how well they treat their workers, so we see for businesses that take a long-term perspective to the marketplace, their focus on treating their employees well and making sure those employees have a real sense of bonding with the company is really quite critical.

MR. MAC NEIL: Well--

MR. FRYMAN: What Mr. Steidtmann says is very true. I don't think that has any bearing on where the merchandise is made. Whether it is imported or whether it is made domestically, those conditions are, are valid conditions.

MR. MAC NEIL: Yeah, but the fact is you've said there is an incentive to--for people to follow the law and pay union wages, but a great many don't.

MR. FRYMAN: Not to pay union wages. It's very difficult in any industry today to operate effectively in this country strictly with union shops. There has to be a mix of merchandise. We sit here in a television studio and yet, there is not a domestic television producer today. And we cannot say to ourselves with any sense of confidence that the monitors in this office were not made with child labor in some foreign country.

MR. STEIDTMANN: But I think the problem here is you're only focusing on the wage of the labor, and you're not focusing on the productivity. And what happens when you, when you treat workers well, when you give them good conditions to work under, when you give them the right tools to work with, their productivity is much higher than the higher wage that you pay them.

MR. MAC NEIL: Finally, Ms. Echaveste, are you confident things are going to change?

MS. ECHAVESTE: Well, I can only say that in our past two-year experience, because we've used, for example, the "hot goods" provision and prevented manufacturers from shipping goods that were in violation of the law, as a result, we've got nine manufacturers who have taken on some responsibility. I think there is an opportunity, but bottom line is there are good retailers, good manufacturers who are being harmed by the unscrupulous activities of others, and I think it's in their interest to help the government and help worker organizations root out those individuals and make sure that they're not in business.

MR. MAC NEIL: Well, Ms. Echaveste, Ms. Quan, Mr. Fryman, and Mr. Steidtmann, thank you all for joining us.

MS. FARNSWORTH: Still to come on the NewsHour tonight, a report on juvenile crime in Texas. But first, this is Pledge Week on Public Television. We're taking a short break now so your public television station can ask for your support. That support helps keep programs like this on the air. PLEDGE BREAK SEGMENT

MS. FARNSWORTH: For those stations not taking a pledge break, the NewsHour continues with a report from Columbia, South Carolina, where convicted murderer Sylvester Adams is scheduled to become the 37th prisoner executed in the United States this year. Barring a last-minute reprieve, the execution will take place at 1 o'clock tomorrow morning. The case has attracted considerable press attention in this country and abroad largely because of the contrast between Adams' fate and that of another South Carolinian, Susan Smith. Smith, who confessed to drowning her two children, was sentenced recently to life in prison. Freelance Reporter Simon Marks has the Adams story.

SIMON MARKS: Sylvester Adams' journey to Death Row started here, in the poor neighborhoods of Rock Hill, 70 miles North of Columbia. In October, 1979, Adams walked out of his home on Henderson Street and into the house next door. He was looking for money to steal when he was disturbed by his neighbor's 16-year-old son. Attorneys say Adams panicked and strangled the teenager, dragging the child's body into nearby woods. Adams doesn't deny his guilt, but his attorneys say the jury didn't hear crucial evidence in the case.

DAVID BRUCK, Adams' Lawyer: They never learned that Sylvester Adams has mental retardation and, of course, had it then. They never heard that he was and is mentally ill, with a paranoid personality disorder. They never heard about the background of hunger and violence and abuse and neglect that was his entire formative experience in life. They didn't hear anything, except what it was that he did.

MR. MARKS: The jury never heard that evidence because Adams' first attorney never presented it. Appointed by the court with public funds of just $1500 to defend his client, Attorney Jim Boyd says he had neither the resources nor the experience to mount any kind of effective defense.

JIM BOYD, Attorney: We were sitting there sort of helpless. It was a hard situation, and under the same circumstance, it would be a very difficult case even today.

MR. MARKS: Today, Adams' lawyers present a far more compelling case. While sitting on Death Row, Adams is credited with actually saving a life. Last January, he intervened to prevent another inmate from stabbing a pregnant warder with a homemade knife. That warder has called for clemency; so too has the mother of Adams' victim; and two jurors from the original trial say they wouldn't have voted for death if they knew then what they know today. But 16 years after his initial conviction and 22 appeals later, Sylvester Adams has now all but exhausted the legal process. The governor of South Carolina has formally denied his lawyers' petitions for clemency. Like newly elected Republicans in state houses across the country, Governor David Beasley is delivering on the promises he made during last November's elections to stand firm against violent crime.

DAVID BEASLEY: [commercial] We don't need to encourage criminals. We need to punish them.

GOV. DAVID BEASLEY: I support very clearly--have done this historically--the death penalty.

MR. MARKS: The governor's failure to grant clemency has caused little surprise. And while local newspapers are covering the story, with executions now commonplace, Sylvester Adams' predicament is attracting little national interest. That angers people in the neighborhood where he grew up. Many of them say he is only on Death Row because of the color of his skin.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I feel that we should have the same justice for everyone, regardless of the pigmentation of their skin. I think that Sylvester should stay in prison for life if they're going to give Susan prison for life.

MR. MARKS: Susan is Susan Smith, the white South Carolina mother sentenced last month to life imprisonment for drowning her two infant sons. Her lawyer, David Bruck, the same attorney now representing Adams, is fighting to save Sylvester Adams' life right up to the final moment, but even his client now seems to sense his chances of cheating the executioner are hopeless. In his final meeting with reporters, Adams thanked people who have appealed in vain on his behalf.

SYLVESTER ADAMS, Death Row Inmate: I would like to thank them for taking time out to buy a 32 cent stamp and send it to the governor on my behalf. I'd like to thank them for calling. I'd like to thank every last one of them for all of their prayers.

MR. MARKS: His lawyers say that despite his calm demeanor, Sylvester Adams is scared by the process that will end his 39 years of life. Instead of death in South Carolina's electric chair, he's chosen lethal injection and will go down in history as the first murderer in the state to have been given the choice. FOCUS - CRIME WAVE

MS. FARNSWORTH: Next tonight, how to cope with juvenile crime, the fastest-growing crime problem in the country. Betty Ann Bowser has our report on what Austin, Texas, is doing about it.

BETTY ANN BOWSER: The FBI's uniform crime statistics say violent crime in Austin, Texas, is down a dramatic 21 percent. But Sgt. Rickey Hinkle doesn't see it. He's as busy as ever as he patrols the streets each night.

SGT. RICKEY HINKLE: Let me see your hands right here. Hey, hey. Let me see your hands. Let me see your hands.

MS. BOWSER: What he does see are more and more bad kids, and on that point, he and the FBI agree, because just like every other major city in America, Austin is experiencing a frightening increase in crimes committed by juveniles, so much so that even the city's police chief isn't rejoicing over the FBI statistics.

CHIEF ELIZABETH WATSON, Police Department: I am not at all comfortable in that because the crime is down today that it's going to stay down tomorrow, that it is in any way a measure of police effectiveness unilaterally because my feeling is that the crime problem of tomorrow is growing up today on the streets of America here and elsewhere. We have a really serious problem with youth crime.

MS. BOWSER: Her concern is justified. The juvenile crime statistics have been going in only one direction--up. In 1989, only two juveniles were arrested for murder. Last year, there were four. In 1989, 41 juveniles were arrested for aggravated assault. Last year, that number was 128, a 212 percent increase. The skyrocketing juvenile crime problem caught city leaders by surprise. Austin likes to think of itself as being one of the most enlightened cities in the country. It has given rise to the environmental movement, symbolized by the fresh mineral waters of Garden Springs. It's a college town, which unlike the rest of Texas, has prided itself on its liberal politics and of being ahead of the learning curve on public policy issues. For years, the Austin police department has run more than 20 programs aimed at both youth crime prevention and at adult crime. Law enforcement officials point to these programs as a reason the city has seen such a major drop in overall adult crime. But Austin was not really prepared for how rapidly the juvenile crime problem would escalate.

SPOKESMAN: Two hundred pushups. Ready. One. Hut!

MS. BOWSER: There is no more visible sign in the Gardner Betts Juvenile Detention Center. Built just five years ago to house 47 kids, it was supposed to meet the needs of the area well into the next century. Juvenile Judge Jeanne Muerer says the facility was designed for children with less serious problems than what she sees today.

JUDGE JEANNE MUERER, Juvenile Court, 98th District: The type of child we're dealing with today has so many more issues within their life--their dynamics of their life--they are in gangs--they have violent tendencies--they have no family support units--they're very difficult children.

MS. BOWSER: But Travis County today has very few places to put those difficult children. Most nights, Gardner Betts operates beyond capacity, so some juvenile offenders have to sleep wherever there's room. It's so crowded that 60 percent of all the kids arrested and brought here are simply let go. As head of the Austin Police Department's gang unit, it's Lt. Duane McNeil's job to keep an eye on those kids once they're back on the street. The majority of children arrested are either in gangs or hang around with gang elements.

LT. DUANE McNEIL, Police Department Gang Unit: There's a running joke in the police department that the kids are released before the ink can even dry on your police report that you picked 'em up, and one person told a story how they arrested a kid two times in one night for stealing a car, arrested him, took him in, and they released him, and he got out and stole another car, and the kid got arrested again by some other officers on the same night.

MS. BOWSER: One of the things the Austin City Council has done to combat the problem is to pass a curfew even in the daytime when school is in session to keep kids off of the street. Mayor Bruce Todd thinks it's been successful.

MAYOR BRUCE TODD, Austin, Texas: I think the curfew has worked extremely well. What we have is a curfew that says to the police officers that they're allowed to question and pick up any child who is not in school without a valid excuse. Teachers have told me stories about kids coming back into class and almost reintroducing themself to the teacher because they haven't been there in two or three weeks.

MS. BOWSER: Since it went into effect, petty property crimes committed by juveniles have decreased during the daylight hours. But at night, some cops don't even bother to arrest curfew violators, because they know overcrowding at the detention facility will mean the kids will be back on the street in hours.

OFFICER: Go home, okay. Right now--la casa.

MS. BOWSER: Chief Watson is painfully aware of the problem.

CHIEF ELIZABETH WATSON: Unless they repeatedly violate the law with increasing seriousness, there's nothing that's going to happen. You can steal a car in this city, a kid can steal a car over and over again, a dozen in a year, and not spend an hour in detention. Now there's something wrong with that.

MS. BOWSER: This year, the Texas legislature got tough on juvenile offenders by passing an overhaul of the entire juvenile justice system. Under it, Juvenile Judge Muerer can turn a teenager like this, in fact, teens as young as 14, over to adult court.

JUDGE JEANNE MUERER: Now you understand that the state has filed an original petition asking this court to waive its original jurisdiction and to transfer your case to the adult criminal court. Do you understand that? And in that petition, they're alleging that you have committed murder, and you understand that?

MS. BOWSER: Judge Muerer says when a kid gets to this point, there is very little that can be done.

JUDGE JEANNE MUERER: If you look at them, they're dead. Their eyes are dead. Somewhere through whatever life experiences they have gone through they've lost the ability to connect with people. And life and death has no meaning. And those are very frightening types of young people, and that is so tragic when you see a 16- year-old who has dead eyes.

MS. BOWSER: While the city is just beginning to struggle with the juvenile crime wave, Rev. Sterling Lands saw it coming years ago.

REV. STERLING LANDS: Somewhere along the line, we've made it become okay for little girls to be whores--

CONGREGATION RESPONDING: Uh huh.

REV. STERLING LANDS: --and little boys to be whore mongers.

MS. BOWSER: Lands is a former engineer turned Baptist minister who has given up on the traditional institutions to change the lives of young people, so he's trying to make up for what children don't get at school, at church, or at home.

REV. STERLING LANDS: I might be the last candle stick. I may be the last trumpet in their lives. So I will cut them no slack at all.

MS. BOWSER: Lands runs a year-round program called "Rites of Passage." It is based on a simple premise: If you teach children high moral character, they won't commit crimes. Rites of Passage enrolls children as young as three years old and is trying to keep them until they are young adults. The kids attend Rites of Passage year-round, including weekends. In the summer, Lands runs a nine to five day program. [children marching] The program emphasizes military-style marching, discipline, and self-respect.

REV. STERLING LANDS: From five to eighteen, we teach boys how to become men, and we teach girls how to become women. Now, a real man is one who takes care of his family, who understands that society doesn't owe them anything, and they're willing to invest their gifts, skills, talent, and time; they believe in industry. A real woman is very much the same thing; they understand that to be a part of society means that you're making a contribution and you're helping other people, as opposed to standing with my hand out, waiting for someone to give me something.

MS. BOWSER: Lands gets no federal or state funding but does receive some aid from various charitable foundations in Texas, and so far, he says about half of his kids have stayed out of trouble. But like a lot of the experts, Lands sees an even bigger juvenile crime wave looming.

REV. STERLING LANDS: I'm talking now about something that we've never seen before. It doesn't have to happen. Right now, if we would start to spend as much money on building our families as we do trying to buy the favor of other countries outside of the United States, we could turn our country around. The blood bath is on its way, but it could be stopped.

MS. BOWSER: Like a number of Austin community leaders, Lands is very concerned about one recent response to the juvenile crime wave. The Texas legislature passed a concealed weapons law. District Attorney Ronny Earle doesn't like it either.

RONNY EARLE, District Attorney, Travis County: I think it's absurd. I think it's just crazy. I think it's a step in the wrong direction. If carrying guns made you safe, made a community safer, then every ghetto in the country would be really safe, because the incidence of carrying concealed handguns is higher in ghettos than it is anywhere else.

MS. BOWSER: Juvenile Judge Muerer thinks the new law puts all kids at risk.

JUDGE JEANNE MUERER: Adults who are carrying concealed weapons are going to kill children, and not because they just want to go shooting for target practice, but because it's a self-protection. The whole theory behind this, let's carry guns, is to protect yourself. And when the adrenaline is running high, and you've got a group of teenagers that you're afraid of, there's going to be more accidents.

MS. BOWSER: There are definitely going to be more teenagers and experts say more juvenile crime as the country enters the next century. In Austin, as in the rest of the United States, children under ten are demographically the fastest growing segment of the population. RECAP

MR. MAC NEIL: Again, the major stories of this Thursday, President Clinton's two partners in the Whitewater Development Corporation and Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker were indicted. They were charged with wire, mail, and bank fraud for their dealings with the now-defunct Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan. A bomb exploded in central Paris near the Arc De Triomphe. Seventeen people were injured. Good night, Elizabeth.

MS. FARNSWORTH: Good night, Robin. We'll be back tomorrow night with our regular end-of-the-week political analysis. I'm Elizabeth Farnsworth. Thank you and good night.