A man who was formerly imprisoned at China’s Chishan Prison alleges he, along with other prisoners, were forced to make four versions of Milwaukee Tool gloves under harsh conditions with little to no pay.
Xu Lun, the former prisoner who is named in a civil lawsuit under a pseudonym, alleges that he was subjected to forced labor for five months.
Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. and Techtronic Industries Company Limited, the parent company of Milwaukee Tool, are both named as defendants in the lawsuit filed Thursday.
The lawsuit claims Milwaukee Tool is in violation of the Trafficking Victim Protection Act, which allows victims of forced labor to file a civil action against whoever knowingly benefits from that labor.
“Milwaukee Tool cannot comment on active litigation. However, Milwaukee Tool takes allegations regarding the use of forced labor by a supplier very seriously and does not endorse such practices,” according to a statement from the company. “We empathize deeply with those affected by such practices and remain committed to ensuring ethical standards throughout our operations.”
Milwaukee Tool says that “despite rigorous investigations,” it has found no evidence of forced labor in the production of its gloves.
“Our commitment to transparency and accountability is underscored by multiple independent third-party and internal audits, none of which found any indication of such practices,” according to the statement. “Milwaukee Tool considers the claim without merit and the accusations will be vigorously defended.”
The specific models of gloves that were allegedly made with forced labor are the Demolition, Winter Demolition, Performance and FreeFlex models of gloves.
Chishan Prison has a series of manufacturing facilities, consisting of 11 wards, which are a short walk from the prison’s cell blocks, according to the lawsuit.
“Wards II and III were associated with the production of Milwaukee Tool gloves,” reads the complaint.
The production of Milwaukee Tool gloves started at Ward II, where various types of polyester fabric, including fabric with the Milwaukee Tool logo, were first received, according to the complaint. Once the fabric reached Ward II, it was cut into pieces. The pieces were then sent to Ward III to be assembled into gloves.
The complaint alleges that each prisoner was assigned a daily quota for cutting fabric of between 450 and 500 pairs of gloves. The daily quota for sewing was approximately 200 pairs of gloves. Prisoners were allegedly forced to work up to 13 hours a day, with only one to three days off a month.
“Prisoners were paid between $1.41 and $42.50 a month for their labor, according to the tasks they were assigned,” according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that while many American companies doing manufacturing work in China say they do not use forced prison labor, in practice, that is not the case.
“They (Milwaukee Tool) used and benefitted from forced labor, including that of the plaintiff (Lun), who was forced to make Milwaukee Tool gloves while imprisoned at Hunan Chishan Prison in Hunan Province (of China),” according to the lawsuit.
Milwaukee Tool investigation
While Milwaukee Tool claims to audit their suppliers, the lawsuit says representatives from Milwaukee Tool “have all but admitted their recklessness to at least one member of Congress after being investigated by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.”
“Milwaukee Tools’ representatives have admitted that they were unable to adequately audit their PRC (People’s Republic of China) suppliers, despite repeatedly claiming the contrary to the public,” according to the complaint.
Milwaukee Tool has ended its relationship with the accused supplier in this case and is no longer sourcing gloves from them. The company says it made this decision independently from the allegations in this lawsuit.
“During a hearing in 2023, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, acknowledged Milwaukee Tool’s actions,” reads the statement from the company. “He highlighted our proactive approach in severing ties with the accused supplier and commended our investigation. As Rep. Smith notes, as part of the investigations, Milwaukee Tool found multiple examples of unauthorized, counterfeit gloves originating in China and bearing the Milwaukee-brand name, which supports the likelihood that the gloves in question could be examples of unauthorized, counterfeit gloves.”
