Award-winning journalist John Bowe came to the UW-Oshkosh campus on Wednesday to speak of how the pursuits of “everyday low prices” have enslaved the employees of big corporations.
Bowe’s event, “The Dark Side of the New Economy,” was hosted in Reeve Memorial Union by the University Speaker Series.
Bowe has contributed to well-known magazines such as The New Yorker, The New York Times and GQ. Bowe has also written a book called “Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy” Bowe spoke mostly of his book.
“The book isn’t about the typical rich people are bad, poor people are good issue,” Bowe said. “It’s more about people who have a dime are trying to enslave people with a nickel.”
Bowe’s book takes a look at three different examples of slavery within the United States.
The first section of the book is about orange farmers in South Florida who sell their oranges to big corporations like Tropicana and Minute Maid according to Bowe. These people cross the border from Mexico to try and get work in the United States.they end up working for their boss, who Bowe said they call “El Diablo.”
“El Diablo” would use force and threats against these workers. Bowe said the bosses would say things like, “We will kill you and your family if you leave.”
These workers are enslaved for years, trying to make a living on $40 dollars a week according to Bowe.
“Being enslaved in these circumstances doesn’t necessarily mean being tied up, but they aren’t free to leave their job because someone else gets power over them and threatens them if they leave,” Bowe said.
When Bowe tried to call representatives of these large corporations, he said they were very reluctant to give up information. They claimed they knew nothing.
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