The new equipment had to fit the factories' cramped conditions. And it had to be inexpensive if the group had any hope of promoting it to Oakland's immigrant-owned contracting shops.
Janowitz called on Carl Zdenek, a former architect and founder of Bay Area-based Soma Ergonomics. Much like musicians, sewing machine operators engage in what ergonomists call "forward sitting." Zdenek had already helped design a two-part chair that tilts forward to accommodate that posture in cellists. The garment workers' ideal chair, he decided, would look similar. An Oakland cabinetmaker and a sewing machine mechanic from San Francisco rounded out the team. Together, they devised a footrest that factory owners can make themselves for as little as $5, and a sewing table extension -- which sells for $40 -- that raises and lowers to accommodate heavy fabrics that tire the women's shoulders.
Finding factories to take the test designs -- even for free -- was not easy. "Nothing is free in the Chinese culture," said Ken Fong, a longtime AIWA organizer who with Chan visited the same factories repeatedly to persuade them to take the chairs. "They thought there must be some conditions we were hiding."
At last, three signed on. On regular visits to the factories, Chan brought dim sum, needles to replace ones that broke, and other offerings to signal goodwill. Then, two years ago, the first chairs arrived.
Although the Oakland group is too small to be scientifically significant, Chan said, the majority of women in follow-up surveys have reported a reduction in pain. The preliminary findings led to the study now underway with 300 workers in Los Angeles County.
At W&S, a small factory in an unmarked Oakland building, the industry's harsh realities and the ergonomics project's tentative hope are both in evidence. On a recent day, about two dozen women hunched over machines -- many sewing satin pink and black Jessica McClintock evening gowns.
One woman who identified herself only as Lisa said she had grown accustomed to constant lower back and leg pain. Because she has no medical insurance, she has never gone to a doctor.
Now, her left foot rests on a wooden platform as her right works the sewing pedal. A simple cardboard toolbox keeps her from twisting and reaching for what were once the scattered implements of her trade. A cushioned sleeve protects her right knee. And a table extension means her left shoulder need not bear the full weight of the gowns. But the greatest relief, she said, has come from the chair.
