DE SAM LAZARO: Joe Bozich founded the Knights Apparel company in 2001 and built it into the largest maker of licensed college sportswear. These shirts are made in a tiny corner of the Knights empire: a factory called Altagracia that pays people like Manuel Guzman a living wage. Unusual does not begin to describe the factory where Guzman works in the Dominican Republic, a Caribbean nation of nearly 10 million, where unemployment exceeds 15 percent. The factory atmosphere is relaxed, the music is loud.<\/p>\n
MANUEL GUZMAN: (through translator) There is no pressure here to produce all the time. People come here to train us, lawyers have taught us our rights. Also, we have a union that protects us.<\/p>\n
DE SAM LAZARO: Maritza Vargas is the union steward.<\/p>\n
(to Vargas) Are the wages sufficient?<\/p>\n
MARITZA VARGAS: Si.<\/p>\n
DE SAM LAZARO: Yes, she responded. Wages are based on the cost of living for a family of five, calculated by the country\u2019s central bank and adjusted every year for inflation.<\/p>\n