The term “maquiladora” has been equated with “sweatshop.” According to the workers active in the CFO, It is a place where workers get no respect, where they are treated like machines, not humans, where often their tasks in a time pressured work day they have to use toxic chemicals without proper safety equipment.  The toxic work environment sometimes makes them sick or causes grave injury or even death.   Sick workers are often told they are crazy, the chemicals “aren’t making you sick.”  Some working women get sexually harassed or lose benefits or get suspended without pay for taking time off to care for a sick child or family member.   In many a maquiladora ,workers usually cannot organize collectively in order to seek better wages or working conditions.  Typically the worker who complains is labelled “busca-pleitos” (troublemaker).   She is fired, and then she is blacklisted as someone not to hire by all the maquiladoras in town.

Read more about the maquiladora industry and its impact on women.