Survey Estimates 250,000 Chicago Workers In 'Sweatshops'

A survey of 790 immigrant and low-income workers in the Chicago area found that nearly 36% of them work in workplaces that have at least two of the following conditions: wages below the $5.15/hour legal minimum, poor ventilation, lack of proper bathrooms, locked exits, or a pattern of sexual harassment. "It was much worse than we thought," says Robert Ginsburg, research director of the Chicago-based Center for Labor and Community Research and the coauthor of the report. Ginsburg estimates that as many as 250,000 Chicago area workers may be working in sweatshop conditions.