Adele Stock
History Major
From Cotton to Gold: Labor in a Global Context
It is not often we think about the human labor that goes into the goods we consume, or the laws that govern that labor. It is also not often we consider where, and how, our goods are produced. This summer, I gained a much deeper understanding of global labor issues through research on how consumer demand and poverty drive unsafe and unfair labor practices in Sub-Saharan Africa. My work as a Research Intern at Verité covered 50 countries, 30 commodities, and hundreds of sets of labor laws. I found that the more research I conducted, the more questions I had about the legitimacy and effectiveness of international labor guidelines. From a desk in Amherst, Massachusetts, my internship challenged me to analyze the role that American organizations have on shaping realities for workers around the world.