Excerpt from article:

This Mother’s Day, remember the mothers in Colombia who grew, cut and trimmed the flowers you receive. Six days a week, Amanda Camacho and thousands of her co-workers at flower plantations in Colombia cut and trim at least 350 flowers an hour. In the weeks before holidays like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, the work extends deep into the night—all for about $8 a day, less than the cost of a bouquet of carnations in the United States.

Some New York Police Department dress uniforms were made by a company that had employees working long hours without overtime, investigators said.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the department had generally been interested in the quality of the work and fabric used and did not investigate labor conditions, the New York Post reported Thursday.

The New York State Labor Department says Forest Uniform Corp. and a subcontractor, Technical Garment USA Co., owe $500,000 to 16 workers. One man who allegedly worked 70 to 80 hours a week may be owed $30,000...

Some dress uniforms worn by NYPD cops were stitched together in a Garment District sweatshop where workers toiled up to 80 hours a week without overtime, state officials said yesterday.

The Police Department said it was surprised at the news, and immediately "suspended" the company, Forest Uniform, from its list of companies authorized to outfit officers.

"Our criteria is, we examine their workmanship and the quality of their materials," said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. He said the department had never checked on working conditions there...

By Bradley Brooks

Reports of debt slavery reached record numbers in Brazil last year, and most of the cases were connected to the nation's booming sugarcane ethanol sector, according to a report released Wednesday by a watchdog group.

The report from the Catholic Land Pastoral, indicated there were 280 cases debt slavery reported in 2008, a 6 percent increase over 2007.

The report - relying on government data - also showed that 36 percent of those cases were linked to sugarcane production, which drives Brazil's much-lauded production of ethanol.