Reader Response Essay - Slave Purchases and Breeding: Unruly Slave :: Reader Response Essays

Reader Response Essay - Slave Purchases and Breeding: Unruly Slave My initial response to G. B. Wallace’s letter was one of confusion. As I reread the piece given the title â€Å"Slave Purchases and Breeding: Unruly Slave, Wallace, G.B† I realized that it was nothing more than a business letter between a slave owner and an associate of his that could presumably help him out of his situation. The language of the letter created a small barrier, since it was out of date in comparison to contemporary American language, but with a little effort, I could see the author’s intentions. For example, I have never heard the word â€Å"aforesaid† used before. Using the context of the letter, I could deduce that it simply means mentioned earlier or said beforehand. This reaction doesn’t surprise me because I rarely read literature from this time period, and anything you don’t do often takes a little time to get used to. I adjusted to the language easily, because the letter was short and simple, thus requiring little patience to understand. As far as my reaction to the actual subject matter of the letter, I was not overly shocked or repelled by the inhumanity concerning the slaves. I don’t support slavery or reconcile any prejudices. I think human property is very wrong. Americans should be ashamed to bear its disgraces as part of our history. The truth should be known, though; that is part of our history, and many horrible things happened because of it. This short letter, however, did not arouse any of the anger that comes with the portrayal of such injustice. I am a sensible person, but I am also very sympathetic and sensitive to the needs of others. When extreme prejudices occur, such as slavery, and I read stories or watch movies about it, it really does sadden me. I didn’t feel this way at all after reading this letter about slave trading. Maybe it is because nothing in the letter, such as the tone or word usage, led me to believe that these slaves were being mistreated. Obviously, slavery in itself is mistreatment, but it was also part of the southern culture of that time period. I mean, just because someone owned slaves doesn’t necessarily mean he is a horrible person. People do things that I consider to be immoral all the time, but I don’t condemn them as bad.

Discrimination and Retaliation

Betty Dukes was a cashier who used to work at Wal-Mart. For nine years Ms. Dukes worked hard and aspired to move up the ranks in the company. She thought that if she became loyal and dedicated to her job she will one day move to a higher position in the company. The time came that she felt that she was ready for the next challenge. She came up to her immediate supervisor and asked to be trained for the higher job (Daniels, 2004). Unfortunately she was denied being given the training needed to move up the order.This incident triggered what now is the biggest class action sex discrimination lawsuit in the United States. Widely known as the Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Inc, this lawsuit charges Wal-Mart of committing sex-discriminatory practice against their employees especially women. Upheld in June 2004 to be a class action lawsuit, this case covers over 1. 5 million current and former employees at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart appealed the district court’s decision but on February 2007, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the court’s class certification.The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC helped in this case. The commission is the federal arm of the government with the sole agenda of ensuring that equal employment opportunity is given to every individual. The EEOC has the power of prosecuting work related discriminatory cases against companies or employers who have been accused of doing such a thing. They enforce the laws that protect employees from discriminatory practices. Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Inc. is basically a sex-discrimination case.This lawsuit accuses Wal-Mart of choosing which employee will be given the chance to move up the corporate ladder. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is prohibited to give employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin (U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2004). Any person who has the ability and capability of advancing in the company should be treated fairly. This sense of fairness is what Ms. Dukes did not felt while working at Wal-Mart. Another act which Wal-Mart violated is the Equal Pay Act of 1963.Under this law, women and even men are protected from sex-based wage discrimination. Men and women who basically do the same job should also have the exact same amount of wage. Wal-Mart is being criticized for violation this act. The company clearly showed its bias towards its male employees by giving them higher wage against their female counterparts. Ask Ms. Stephanie Odle about this since she experienced this discrimination first hand. Ms. Odle accidentally found a W-2 form lying around the office which belongs to her male officemate, an assistant manager just like her.They have basically the same job but the wage of the male assistant manager was significantly higher than her wage (Daniels, 2004). There are many other discriminatory practices that Wal-Mart exercises, but based on the two above examples, EEOC has every right to prosecut e Wal-Mart. On my opinion a fair settlement on a case like this is give the victims what they are really due. Wal-Mart must pay each individual who have been victim of its bias towards its male and white workers. No ifs or buts for Wal-Mart because the money really belongs to their underpaid workers.Since we are talking about multi billions of dollars, it is also fair to give Wal-Mart a feasible amount of time to pay. I think it is fine to let Wal-Mart pay in installments. Another option for Wal-Mart is to give their victims a few thousands of dollars worth of gift certificates every month which can be used at Wal-Mart and all of its other subsidiaries. Lastly I think Wal-Mart also owes all its victims an apology for all the wrongdoings and hurt that they have caused. Discrimination should not be happening in the first place but since we are not living in a perfect world, discrimination will always be there.In an organization, the best way to battle discrimination is prevention. If an organization prevents it from happening then class action lawsuits like the one discussed above may never happen again. Organizations can fight discrimination by having a stronger policy against it. Companies should setup its own committee which will look for the welfare of their employees. This committee will also be responsible for hiring and promoting employees instead of giving this task to a single person which is the complete opposite at the scenario at Wal-Mart.At Wal-Mart, managers have the sole power of hiring and promoting. With this privilege, a manager can be bias consciously or unconsciously on making decisions based on his or her preferences (Parloff, 2007). It’s hard to fight discrimination but it is not an unbeatable foe. Every person must just have an open mind, a mind that will look beyond color, race, sex or religion. Discrimination has no place in the school, community, work place or wherever. Discrimination should just cease to exist and let no one fel l prey to it ever again.

Economic Effects Of Labor Abuse - 1267 Words

Economic Effects of Labor Abuse Many companies state that labor exploitation is necessary in order to increase corporate profits however; the amount of increased profits is small. According to David Barboza (2008), a writer for the New York Times and winner of the Pulitzer prize for international reporting, â€Å"In 2007, factories that supplied more than a dozen corporations, including Wal-Mart, Disney and Dell, were accused of unfair labor practices, including using child labor, forcing employees to work 16-hour days on fast-moving assembly lines, and paying workers less than minimum wage. (Minimum wage in this part of China is about 55 cents an hour.)† The amount of savings seems huge with minimum United States wage around eight dollars an hour; however, very little of the price increase makes it to the consumers. According to B. Powell and M. Zwolinski (2011), professors at the University of Boston and San Diego respectively, estimate that â€Å"for US and Mexican firms, a 100% wage increase would o nly require a 2–6% increase in the retail price of the garments. U.S. consumers were generally willing to pay between 15 and 25% more to ensure that products were not made under sweatshop conditions.† The small amount of price increase to the consumers illustrates how companies will not be significantly affected by the increase in labor cost, since the exploitation of laborers is only for a small personal gain the conditions in which people work need to be more strictlyShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book Stiglitz A Recipient Of The Nobel Prize Economics, And Andrew Charlton930 Words   |  4 PagesStiglitz, a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics, and Andrew Charlton, a fellow economist, propose a new, radical solution to world trade problems – a solution that brings equilibrium to the trading relationships between the poorest and richest countries. The book contains an in-depth, college level understanding of fair trade and its theoretical application s on third world countries. 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