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"The loss of the garment industry is part of a cycle": an interview with Fei Yi Chen, community organizer for the Chinese Progressive Association.

Article Excerpt
I came to the United States from Fu Dou, Guangdong, in December 1998, when I was 35 years old. My aunt first applied for my mother beforehand, and my mother later sponsored me. I have five brothers and sisters. Each one of them was overage to be sponsored. My older brother, two of my older sisters, and my younger brother were married. (2) So, I was the first one to come to the United States among them. But I had to wait seven years before I got my visa! I then moved to Broadway Street in Chinatown.

My mother was working at a sewing company, so that was my first job. My mother introduced me to Win Fashion sewing company) Wins is very famous because Wins is currently under a lawsuit about the compensation to their workers' salaries. (4) The company had a total of three sites, at 1st Street, 5th Street, and 3rd Street. There were about 300 workers when I was there. They didn't receive about four months of salary.

The environment of Win Fashion sewing company was very bad. Our chairs were made out of wood, but I had to sit on boxes on top of mine to adjust to the height of the machine. It was horrible, stuffy, and dusty! There were no masks, so we made the masks ourselves. But we still often...

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