Milwaukee Tool Sued for Prison Labor

Milwaukee Tool faces allegations of utilizing forced labor in a Chinese prison factory to manufacture work gloves, where workers endured harsh conditions, including beatings and torture.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, asserts that the  company either knew or should have known that the gloves were produced through forced labor, contravening the U.S. Trafficking Victim Protection Act.

The plaintiff, identified by the pseudonym Xu Lun, was convicted of “subversion of state power” in July 2021, a charge frequently employed by the Chinese government against activists and human rights advocates. 

Also named in the suit, Milwaukee Tool's corporate parent, Hong Kong-based Techtronic Industries manufactures portable power tool brands including  AEG, Homelite, and Ryobi, along with floor care brands Hoover, Oreck and Dirt Devil.

Customs Action

In April 2024 U.S. Customs & Border Patrol  issued a Withhold Release Order against Shanghai Select Safety Products Company, Limited and its two subsidiaries Nantong and HK, based on information that reasonably indicates the use of convict labor in violation of 19 U.S.C. § 1307 in the production of Milwaukee brand gloves.

In May 2023 a Wisconsin Watch investigation found evidence that prisoners from Chisban Prison in Hunan Province were paid pennies to make work gloves bearing the iconic brand of Milwaukee Electric Tool Co.  That month WalMart announced they discontinued Milwaukee Gloves for ethical reasons.

The use of convict labor to produce goods imported into the United States in order to sell goods below market value is a violation of Section 1307, and "exposes consumers to the risk of making unethical purchases," according to CBP.