Milwaukee Tools used forced prison labor to make tools, lawsuit claims

This statement was made by a former political prisoner.

For years, there has been a heated debate among home mechanics about which tool company makes the best power tools. The respective camps include the folks at DeWalt, those who live and die by Snap-On, smart nerds like me who run Ryobi, and those who bleed Milwaukee blood.

No one is brave enough to admit that each of them probably has a place in your toolbox, and a combination of big brands is probably what you want. I have a Ryobi and a Milwaukee myself, the latter being one of the biggest brands that helps me with all sorts of garage work on my motorcycles, a Honda Ridgeline and a Can-Am X3.

However, a lawsuit was recently filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin — Milwaukee Branch — accusing Milwaukee Tools of using forced prison labor in China to produce its gloves.

This is not good, people.

According to Wisconsin Public Radio, “The lawsuit alleges that Milwaukee Tool and its parent company purchased work gloves made using forced prison labor in China. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in the Eastern District of Wisconsin on behalf of an individual who said he made the gloves while imprisoned in China for human rights activism. That individual is listed in court documents under the pseudonym Xu Lun. The lawsuit alleges that the company knew or should have known that the Milwaukee Tool-branded work gloves were being assembled using forced prison labor.”

The lawsuit itself names both Milwaukee Tools and Techtronic Industries, Milwaukee’s parent company, which also makes Ryobi and Hart power tools and is based in Hong Kong. The company also makes Hoover, Oreck and Dirt Devil cleaning products and has manufacturing facilities in China, Vietnam, the United States, Mexico and Europe.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff states: “It is a well-documented fact that the manufacturing industry in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) is permeated by the use of forced prison labor. Companies, including U.S. ones, that outsource manufacturing to the PRC often claim that their products are not tainted by such practices, touting their companies’ environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) practices.”

They added: “The defendants are one such company. They publicly say they do not tolerate forced labor. They point to their internal policies against modern slavery and human trafficking. They claim to regularly and thoroughly audit and investigate their suppliers. But the defendants have done nothing of the sort.”

Accordingly, while the plaintiff was incarcerated in Hunan Chishan Prison in China, “on or about February 23, 2022, the plaintiff began to be subjected to forced labor. Specifically, he was forced to produce various textile products, including work gloves with the distinctive “Milwaukee” logo. He continued to work on Milwaukee Tool gloves until his release from prison on July 21, 2022.”

And they describe grueling conditions, with no air conditioning in the summer and no heat in the winter. Dust from fabrics was not properly removed, leading to respiratory problems, along with 13-hour workdays with no regard for safety or any form of safety training. The plaintiff further describes prisoners being repeatedly punished and intimidated for non-compliance, including beatings and the use of electric batons.

The full text of the lawsuit can be read here.

Suffice it to say, the lawsuit is devastating. But this report comes on the heels of yet more revelations that other manufacturers in China have used forced or slave labor to produce many of the conveniences and comforts of modern life. This is by no means an isolated incident.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens with this lawsuit, but federal authorities have been looking into these reports recently and more could be done soon. As for whether the industry will stop using Chinese operations to build its tools, that remains to be seen, although given that DIY has seen a resurgence in recent years as inflation has devastated everyone’s bank accounts, demand for tools likely won’t drop.

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