Victory for Human Rights

72 Thai garment workers were liberated on Augst 2, 1995 as part of a pre-dawn multi-agency raid of the slavery compound in El Monte, California that included Thai CDC, the federal marshals, the State of CA Labor Commission, the CA Occupational Safety and Hazards Administration, the State of CA Employment Development Department, the US Department of Labor, and the El Monte Police. 
- photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times

 

Thai CDC played a pivotal role in over half a dozen major human rights cases involving 2,000 Thais and over 400 direct victims of human trafficking and modern day slavery in the United States, including the famed El Monte Case, that brought Thai CDC international media attention.  As a result of our campaign for redress and restitution on behalf of the victims, we were instrumental in transforming victims into agents for social change and in influencing legislation to reform the garment industry and to provide adequate protections and legal status for victims of trafficking.  Our unwavering pursuit of justice in these cases won us much acclaim and recognition.  However, there still remain too many men, women and children around the world victimized by human trafficking every day.  Los Angeles, California continues to be a major hub for human traffickers.  We hope the following resources will aid your knowledge and understanding of  human trafficking and we can all stand up for human rights together.
WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?

 

THAI CDC'S ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY PROGRAM HISTORY 
  • 1995 El Monte Case - Play a pivotal role in the first modern day slavery case in U.S. history, to liberate, resettle and empower 72 Thai garment workers from the infamous El Monte Slave Shop
  • 1996 Thai Garment Workers' Case - Came to aid of another case of Thai garment workers
  • 1997 Thai Sexual Slavery Case - Came to the aid of Thai women trafficked for sexual slavery
  • 1998-2000 Thai Domestic Workers' Case - Redress and restitution for Thai domestic worker escapees
  • 2003 T-Visas were granted to trafficked Thai domestic and sex workers
  • 2001-2006 Thai Welders' Case - Help Thai welders reach a $1.2 million settlement against Trans Bay Steel Corporation for civil rights violations.  This case is the first recognized male legal contract labor case in modern day slavery
  • 2003-Ongoing Thai Farmworkers' Case - Redress and restitution for the Thai farmworkers.  This case is the largest human-trafficking case in U.S. history, which involvs more than 400 Thai legal contract workers

 

NEWS
  • Los Angeles Times:  Thai Workers Describe being Lured into Slavery in U.S., Sep. 10, 2010 ((Thai Farmworkers' Case)
  • CNN: Thai Man Says He Was a Modern-Day Slave,  Sep. 8, 2010 (Thai Farmworkers' Case)
  • Mother Jones: Bound for America, May+June 2010 (Thai Farmworkers' Case)
  • LA Times: Human Trafficking Case Ends for 48 Thai Welders, Dec. 8, 2006 (Thai welders case)
  • LA Times: Program to Fight Human Trafficking is Underused, Dec. 19, 2005 (Thai domestic workers case)
  • LA Times: From Virtual Slavery to Being Boss, Oct. 25, 2001 (El Monte slavery case)
  • PBS: Slavery in America, March 8, 2001 (Thai domestic workers case)
  • LA Times: Speaking Up for the Silent, Aug. 23, 1995 (El Monte slavery case)

    

RESOURCES
  • Asian and Latino Immigrants in a Restructuring Economy: The Metamorphosis of Southern California Edited by Marta Lopez-Garza and David R. Diaz
  • Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy by Kevin Bales 
  • Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy by John Bowe
  • Sweatshop Slaves: Asian Americans in the Garment Industry Edited by Kent Wong and Julie Monroe
  • Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant Women Workers Take on the Global Factory by Miriam Ching Louie

 

       

       Our Projects

Small Business Program
Affordable Housing
Victory for Human Rights
Live Work & Play in East Hollywood
Thai Town Development
Research

 

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