Legal Definitions - Hazantown agreement

A Hazantown agreement is a specific type of collective bargaining agreement primarily used within the garment industry. It establishes the terms and conditions governing the relationship between a "jobber" and the independent manufacturing "contractors" who produce garments for that jobber. A jobber typically designs, markets, and sells clothing but outsources the actual manufacturing process to various contractors.

Crucially, this agreement does not regulate the relationship between the jobber and its own direct employees (e.g., designers, sales staff). Instead, it focuses on ensuring fair labor practices and conditions for the employees of the contractors who are manufacturing the garments. These agreements often include provisions requiring the jobber to use only unionized contractors, to ensure that contractor employees receive appropriate wages and bonuses, and to contribute to employee benefit funds established for the contractor's workforce.

• Scenario: A well-known fashion label and its manufacturing partner.
  Imagine "Chic Apparel," a popular fashion label that designs and sells trendy clothing but does not own any factories. Chic Apparel acts as a jobber, outsourcing all its production to various manufacturing facilities. One of its primary manufacturing partners is "StitchRight Inc." To ensure ethical production and maintain good labor relations across its supply chain, Chic Apparel enters into a Hazantown agreement with StitchRight Inc. This agreement stipulates that Chic Apparel will only use StitchRight Inc. if StitchRight employs unionized workers and that Chic Apparel will contribute a certain percentage of its order value to a health and pension fund specifically for StitchRight's factory employees. This demonstrates a Hazantown agreement because it governs the relationship between Chic Apparel (the jobber) and StitchRight Inc. (the contractor), focusing on the labor conditions of StitchRight's employees, not Chic Apparel's own staff.

• Scenario: A large retailer with private label brands.
  Consider "Global Threads," a major retail chain that develops its own private label clothing lines. Global Threads acts as a jobber for these lines, designing the garments and managing sales, but contracting out the manufacturing to several independent workshops. To standardize labor practices and ensure fair treatment across its diverse manufacturing base, Global Threads establishes Hazantown agreements with each of its contractors, such as "Textile Craft Co." and "Fabrication Hub." These agreements mandate that Global Threads will ensure that Textile Craft Co. and Fabrication Hub pay their garment workers wages and bonuses that meet or exceed industry standards, and that Global Threads will contribute to a shared benefit fund for all workers employed by these contractors. This illustrates a Hazantown agreement by showing how a jobber (Global Threads) uses it to influence and regulate the labor conditions of employees working for its manufacturing contractors, rather than its own retail staff.

• Scenario: A new sustainable clothing brand.
  "EcoWear," a startup specializing in sustainable and ethically produced clothing, designs its unique garments but relies on a specialized factory, "Green Seams Manufacturing," for production. EcoWear, as the jobber, wants to ensure that its commitment to ethical practices extends to the factory floor. They establish a Hazantown agreement with Green Seams Manufacturing. This agreement includes a clause where EcoWear commits to using Green Seams only if Green Seams maintains a collective bargaining agreement with its employees' union, and further, EcoWear agrees to contribute a set amount per garment produced towards a professional development and training fund for Green Seams' workers. This example highlights a Hazantown agreement's role in defining the terms between a clothing brand (jobber) and its manufacturer (contractor), specifically regarding the welfare and union status of the manufacturer's employees.