January 18th, 2018

Health Science: Lecture 3

Maquilapolis
 Maquilas - term for foreign owned assembly plants in low or tariff free zones
throughout the Americas
 Imported parts assembled in maquilas and exported
 Characterized by low wages, minimal environmental and labour protections
By the end of this class you will:
1. Be able to describe working conditions in Mexican machines and their
detrimental impacts on health
2. Identify systemic factors that facilitate such working conditions
History in Brief:
 Mexican BIP (border industrialization program) started 1960s: no tariffs on
imports or exports
 Free Trade Zones throughout the Americas
 Goal: economic stimulus Mexico and for US less illegal migration
 Model replicated worldwide with the free trade zone

Boom In Mexico After Signing Of NAFTA 1994:

 Tripled US - MEXICO TRADE
 Unprecedented growth of Mexican manufacturing
 Promised increase in working conditions have worsened
 After the NAFTA came into effect, in 1994, US Mexico trade did triple and that
was the goal of NAFTA
 That caused a rapid and massive expansion for factories in Mexico
 It caused a boom in jobs as well
 Before NAFTA was signed, there was a lot of enthusiasm about how the
government would have had good working conditions
 But in Mexico it didn’t end up doing that, wages actually dropped and working
conditions were horrendous
MOVIE
1. List the working conditions in Maquilas that fall under the definition of poor
working conditions
 Good job according to Raphael: “security, adequate conditions (e.g. pace and stress),
opportunities for self-expression and individual development at work, participation, and
work-life balance”
- Feeling pressured and harassed
- Nearby water bodies started turning worse
- Very low wages (68$ per week)
- Exposure to toxic chemicals (lead)
- Not sleeping because too much of a hectic schedule
- Major strain physiologically; not drinking water or washrooms
- Fired if they talked about a union; no chance for self-expression or growth
- Could be fired at any moment’s notice; difficult to get severance pay
- Chance of transmitting disease/symptoms to their children
2. What are some of the physical symptoms and health risks lived by the Maquila
workers that they attribute to their jobs?
- being single mothers needing to support for their children
- Low wages
- Size of family and its dependence on the mother
- Women were chosen because:
o Greater social responsibilities that create loyalty to the job despite poor working
conditions
o Apparent increased agility because of smaller hands
o Women are more docile and submissive to poor working conditions
- Lack of control
- Seeing others suffer is contextual for more chronic stress
- “which of the following is not something that would exacerbate chronic stress”
3. How might the chronic stress of working in these jobs be exacerbated by subjective
and contextual factors?
- The size of the family and dependence
- Female dependent market
- No down time; no security; insecurity for robbery and entry at night
- repetitive factor; dehumanizing; not a part of the process just a part of the machine
- Kids are being born more and more with health problems to maquila-working mothers
- Kidney damage (no water, can’t go to the bathroom)
- Spots and sores all over one lady’s body due to exposure to chemicals
- Metales y Derviados (abandoned factory in Tijuana) was abandoned, and they left it with
chemicals, plastics, leads, and tarps, lead is brought down people’s lungs via wind
4. Describe social determinants of poor health in the workers’ neighborhoods
- Mom couldn’t get the uniform dry and therefore the kids would miss school
- Electrocute; physical risk to peoples live; aka the daughter got electrocuted
- Constant contamination
- No running waters
- Natural water bodies became worse as the maquilas continued to produce, with chemicals in them
- One lady gets sore all the time and hives all over her son’s body
- Labour adds time to day, don’t have time to spend with kids
b. Which of these determinants can be modified through medical interventions or by
those at risk making “healthy choices”?
- access to mental health care, protected gear, interventions that could change things
- social/political intervention: recognize deserve to live a life
- infirmaries where they encourage you to report injury to a company’s doctor and not a
local doctor to prevent the government documenting things like that
- washing stations
- more information about what they are getting into  more protective equipment that can
bring to work
5. What impact, if any, are the promodoras (community advocate) having on social
determinants of health in Tijana machila workers’ lives?
Social Capital:
- Refers to the quality and level of social relation, networks, norms, trust and
reciprocity between individuals that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit.
- More than 4000 factories by the endow the 1990s, more than 1million macula workers
- Impact to clean up landfield of lead
- Raising awareness about workers’ rights
- Big factor  improve physiological wellbeing, showing they’re not alone
- Greater capital = bigger impact on environment and people’s health
- Government promised (after receiving a loan) institutions that their wages would not go up
- Factory waste water released into streets of neighbourhoods as soon as it starts to rain, cutting
off the street by creating a river
- Electric wires on the ground, some guy’s girl fell in the water and got electrocuted
- Social capital is as important or more important to move forward in life, through this
learn to negotiate
- Refers to quality and level of social relations, networks, norms, trust and reciprocity
between individuals that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit
6. In your understanding, what accounts for the inability of full-time workers at
maquilas to pull themselves out of poverty?
- Impact to clean up landfilled of lead
- Raising awareness about workers’ rights
- Big factor: improve physiology wellbeing showing they are not alone
- Harassed and pressured
- Exposed to chemicals, like burned chemical; your clothes reeked
o Her nose started to bleed, kidney problems, no washroom, no drinking water
- They just wanted to pay less and make more
- When Sanyo left, didn’t even pay workers severance;
- The river by her house started changing colours as soon as the presence of factories came
- All their chemicals end up in the neighborhood, because they are higher up and live
below the companies
- As an advocate you promote the law, participate in US activist tours,
- Women make 80% of workforce and choose women because they have agile hands.
- They just objects of labour
- Do not inform you of how toxic the material is for you; working for Panasonic she has
been getting spots on her body
- You make $11 USD a day!
- The birth defects are because of the pollution
- Everything is so expensive
- To buy jug of water, you need to work 1 hour
- To buy a jug of milk toy need to work over 2 hours
- There aren’t many other opportunities for employment
For those of you who didn’t watch the movie, here are individual people’s notes.
Joeya
 Exposed to chemicals
 Presssures
 Burned plastic clothes smell liek it
 Nose used to bleed
 Had kidney trouble bc they didnt let us drink water or take water breaksers
 Work hot moved to indonesia bc labour is cheaper
 Didnt pay them
 Many factories on the border  
 Factories made water change color made it black and foamy with crustals
 Chemicals end up in neighbourhood
 People have fotten sore on legs bc of water
 Water as a weird smell, nlocs nose
 Have spots
 Promote the law as prootoras
 Wome nwere 80% of factory bc they didnt expect much money
 Woman factor is a commiditiy
 Fee; ;oke objects of labour
 Got lawyers that vaour company by the government
 Lead contamination the lead we breathe everyday is the prblem in working for panasonic
 Compant doesnt inform of the chemicals that you will be exposed to
 She started getting sports and sores on body
 Have risl for leukemica
 Cant wash clothes with kids clothes bc then chemicals will be on them too
 Doesnt get eough sleep heads out to work
 Maquila work makes 11 a day
 To get water need to work an hour, to get milk work a little over two hours
 Cant get basic needs from the money they wrok for
 Birthd defects bc of pollution
 Abandoned ield of bborken tcs with lead, sulfuric , plastic all contasminating water and e
nvironment
 People passed by got lead on shoes brought into their homes
 Cant clean the field bc government doesnt have neough money
 Dont let you have a union get fired if you do
 Institutions force mexico to break its own laws, they make nexico sign off that the salary
of workers will not rise
 Electrical cables are so exposed around the envronment, child and many other shave
gotten electrocuted
Sachin
1. List the working conditions in maquilas that fall under the definition of poor
working conditions
 Good job according to Raphael: “security, adequate conditions (pace and stress),
opportunities for self expression and individual development at work, participation
and work life balance
 Pressure on family time
 Lead is really toxic even in small amounts
 Not sleeping (bad for cardiovascular system)
 Increased risk of injury
 No bathroom/water breaks
  Freedom of speech taken away
 Bringing chemicals home (not just at workplace)
 Not seeing safety organizations   
2. What are some of the physical symptoms and health risks lived by the maquila
workers that they attribute to their jobs
 Sores on feet, spots because of chemicals in rivers
 Hives
3. How might the chronic stress of working in these jobs be exacerbated by
subjective and contextual factors for the women we meet through the film
 Size of family and dependence
a. Describe social determinants of poor health in the workers neighborhoods
b. Which of these determinants can be modified through medical
interventions or by those at risk making “healthy choices”
5. “In your understanding, what accounts for the inability of full time workers at
maquilas to pull themselves of of poverty”
a. Lots of things in social/political environment which allows people to have
options
6. What impact if any, are the promotoras having on social determinants of health in
Tijuana maquila workers lives
Mandy
1, List the working conditions in maquilas that fall under the definition of poor working conditions
What are some of the physical symptoms

 Maquiladora came out in 1960a

 1960s the US and initiated mawuilidora with a treaty
 Foreign countries for for tax break and cheap labour
 Tijuana worldn capital of mawuildpra
 Worked due to near and environment
 Issue with worker safety and harassment
 Won’t let bathroom breaks or water breaks
 Issue of pay less make more -> didn’t pay severance
 Workers empty handed
 Filed labor claim -> ask for severancec
 1994 NAFTA, tijuana became more for factories
 End of 1990’s nearly 4000 factories made -> maquila workers more than 1 million
 Environment are being polluted by fatories
 “Industrial” is on the mesa
 Chemicals end up in their neighbourhood
 Gotten sores on legs -> from the water
 Putrid colour and smell -> struggle to breathe
 Affecting the health of the  people living in neighbourhood below
Promotoras
 Women who have worked in factories and learned about rights as workers
 See things differently -> clear new paths
 Makes changes in daily lives and communities in workplacec
 Big responsibility
 Promote law
 Colour of smock says your rank and what you do
 Back when started women represented 80% of work force
  Work agile and docile hands
 If commoditiy e.g.  starts to defend her rights globalization looks for someone
else
 They’re just objects of labour
 Government gives lawyer who is bias to company
 $68 per week
 Can’t wash your clothes with kids, can’t see kids because it affects them
 Maquila work make about $11 US per day
 Buy a jug of water work about an hour
 Milk -> little over 2 hours
 Maquila needs not enough to buy basic needs
 Mutations form, more cases and cases
 birth  defects because of pollution -> due to the waste left
 Most unions ghost unions
 Union protects the employers
 Fire anyone who tries to start a union
 Labour board does nothing
 Promised the IMF with loan that worker’s wage would not go up
 Governmentent corruptied by multinationals
 Drain pipes direct into the factory
 Issue is lack of sewage lines
 government  apparently collects in order to pay for public services
 Factories close -> many unemployed
 2 uears 350,000 jobs dissapeared
 Tijuana no more attractive -> asian countries more attractive now for work
 Now difficult to find a job
List the working conditions in maquilas that fall under the definition of poor wokring conditions  
 Good job according to Raphael: “security, adequate conditions (e.g. pace and stress),
opportunities for self-expression and individual development at work, participation, and
work-life balance
 Feeling pressured and harassed
 Cannot spend time with kids
 Lead contamination
 No time to sleep -> increase risk of injury, bad for CV system
 Lack or water, etc (psychological stress)
 No self expression at work ( Can’t create unions)
 No follow up, can be fired at any moment
 Breastfeeding -> chances of spreading the disease
 Poor working conditions

3. How might the chronic stress of working in these jobs be exacerbated by subjective and
contextual factors?
 assumption  women more docile
 Partially because they have a greater social responsibility
 Loyalty to poor conditions  
 No downtime
 Not a lot of security
 Women alone at night in the house
 Are their children safe
 When you don’t have control that is a stressor
 everyone around seems not to be able to get out of the situation either
  Even if in a job may not get break
 Maquila groups can have they’re break taken away
4. Describe social determinants of poor health in the worker’s neighborhood
 Water hypercontaminated
 Kids missing school -> E.g. uniform can’t wear a specific  date
4b. Which of these determinants can be modified through medical interventions of by those at
risk making “healthy choice”?
 Having more safety gear, mental health care
 Health care that extends beyond the workers
 More information -> workers know what they’re going into
5. Building womens social capital
Challenge things in their life, recognize in justice
Gaining skills, learning new things
6. Lack of education
Tax increases
 Not enough to pay to meet living standards of their communities
 Tax increases
 Can’t leave the maquila because of lack of education
 Life or death situation -> need to support family
 Not easy -> lots of factors in the social factor and resource factor

Jingyan
1. List the working conditions in the maquilas that fall under the definition of poor working
conditions.
 Feeling pressured and harassed
 Cannot spend time with kids
 Lead contamination
 No time to sleep → increase risk of injury, bad for CV system
 Lack of water, etc (psychological stress)
 No self expression at work (can’t create unions)
 No follow up, can be fired at any moment
 Bringing chemicals home, transmitting the chemicals to their children etc
 Breastfeeding → chances of spreading the disease

2. What are some of the physical symptoms and health risks lived by the maquila workers
that they attribute to their jobs

3. How might the chronic stress of working in these jobs be exacerbated by the subjective
and contextual factors
 Size of families and dependence
 Recruitments is majority for women (attention to detail, small hands)
 Actually because women are more docile, more likely to stay in a bad job, loyalty
to bad conditions
 No down time to relax
 Risks to children
 People feel happier when they have control over their lives, and when they don’t
have control that is a source of stress
 Unable to escape their situation
 Even in a job they can’t take a break
Kids missing school because family could only afford one uniform, uniform was washed but
couldnt be dried in time, not allowed at school without uniform
Water hypercontaminated

4b.
 Heaving more safety gear, mental health care
 Health care that extends beyond the workers
 More information so they know what theyre getting into

5.
Building womens social capital
Challenge things in their life, recognize in justice
Gaining skills, learning new things
6. Why cant the workers pull themselves out of poverty
 Lack of education
 Tax increases
 Cant leave maquila because of lack of education
 Life or death situation → need to support family
 Social environment, political environment, legal environment
 Systemic issues (objective conditions)
 Historical and ongoing norms of exportations for lower classes in Mexico and globally
 Nobody cares if someone doesn’t show up, they are disposable and replaceable

Rana Plaza Bangladesh → april 24, 2013

 1130 workers killed
 Loblaws has [paid 5 million in comp and donations

Systemic: limited protection for worker health and safety

 “Many factories actively suppress data on workplace injuries and fatalities because,
under Mexican law, more workplace incidents mean higher payoffs to the Mexican social
security system and diminishing profits”
 Ex. 17,000 workplace injuries reported in Mexico in 2011, compared to 609,000 in
Canada (mexico’s population 3.5x Canada’s)
 In Canada some workplace injuries are very minor, and there’s less at stake for workers
in Canada
 Companies are not required to fund infrastructure around factories
 In 2012, 48.49% of the mexican population had no effective access to health services
 Hard to organize: In Mexico, independant unions must be federally approved and
approval rarely granted
 Overconsumption
 Goal: “ethical” garment manufacturing
Maquila solidarity network
 Training kit to facilitate dialogue with employers on workers rights
 Advocating for living wages - meet basic needs
 Access to child care
 Protection from sexual harassment
1960s treaty → work with imported material in the maquiladoras and then exported to the US

 harassed and pressured

 Nose used to bleed
 Didn’t allow them to use the bathroom or get water → resulted in kidney problems
 Sanyo didn’t want to pay workers severance when they moved flyback production to
indonesia
 Workers filed a labour claim
 Government supposed to provide legal aid, but provides lawyer on company’s
side
 Negotiations could take months or years
 Sanyo wanted to pay $860 but they owe $2400
 Ended up winning the settlement
 Had to quit her job because of the lead contamination
 More than 1 mil maquila workers
 The water in chinpasdkad used to be clean but as the factories were built the water
changed colours, and is destroyed
 Industrial is on the mesa
 Neighbourhoods below the factories are where all the chenicals collect
 Gotten sores on legs from the water
 Putrid colour and smell
 Learned about their rights as workers, see things differently
 “Promotoras”
 Took workshops on womens rights and the laws
 Have to defend rights being violated
 The colour of your smock tells your rank in the factory (eg blue is supervisor)
 People come to tijuana eager to work
 Women make up 80%of the labour force qhen maquilas first started
 Women seem as a comodity and if she is not working like she should be (starting to
defend her rights) they look for that comoduity elsewhere because it isnt good for
globaization
 US $68 per week working the night shift at Panasonic
 Good job (learn about computers), asides from lead contamination (breathe lead
every day)
 Panasonic and sanyo doesn’t inform workers about toxins in factories
 Cant wash clothes with kids, cant come near kids after work
 At risk for lukemia
 Sometimes no sleep, sometimes an hour or two because during the day she has
to take care of her kids
 Walk an hour to buy a jug of water
 A gallon of milk, over two hours
 A maquila salary is not enough to cover basic needs
 Learned abot problems through a health survey from San Diego Health Coalition
 A lot of birth defects occur
 Abandoned facotires are covered with torn tarps, not properly taken care of
 Lead is spread through the air and water, affects the communities, workers, and families
 Just want business people to clean up the factories, as its currently the mexican
governments job, but they dont have enough money to do it
 Ther union was only there for show, there is no union representative
 The union protects the emplyers notthe workers
 Company’s fire anyone trying to start a union
 Labour board doesnt do anything about it
 Law is good, but authorities wont uphold the law
 Institutions fore mexico to break their own labour laws
 Governent corrulted my multunationl or multinationsls who pay to corrupt the
government
 Factries have drain pipes that lead directly to the river
 Smell of thinner around factories, things falling from the sky thats like ash
 As soon as it starts to rain factories release their waster water and it blocks off the roads
 For a coalition for environmental justice
 Demonstration outside PROFEPA, wish to speak to government oficials in charge of
environment
 Built their own houses, made of old garage doors
 Water is a source of infection
 Lagunitas has no electricity so they hang ires from the lines and with the water,
someone could be electrocuted
 Kids have gotten electorcuted from falling into the water
 “Its all meetings and promises and then they do nothing” goernment collects raxes but
do nothing
 2001 global economic crisis and cheap labour in asia lead to job loss for many
 Many stay unemplyed for years
 In two years 350000 jobs dissapeared
 Labour cost is lower in asia than mexico
 They fight for clean environments agaisnt the governemnt etc