Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, is no longer selling Milwaukee Tool-branded gloves on its online marketplace — responding to allegations that a subcontractor for the Brookfield, Wisconsin-based tool company relied on forced Chinese prison labor.
Author Archives: Zhen Wang / Wisconsin Watch
Zhen Wang joined Wisconsin Watch as a Fund for Investigative Journalism fellow in January 2023. She has worked as a reporting intern since May 2021. At UW-Madison, she earned a master’s degree in journalism. She previously worked for the Guardian Beijing bureau and China Daily. Before joining the journalism industry, she worked in various sectors and obtained a master’s degree in international relations in New Zealand. She speaks Chinese and is a member of Asian American Journalists Association.
Posted inJustice & Safety
Why I investigated Milwaukee Tool work gloves — and what we learned
The tip came into Wisconsin Watch: Milwaukee Tool, an internationally recognized brand, was using forced prison labor in China to produce work gloves.
Posted inJustice & Safety
Chinese prisoners: We were forced to make Milwaukee Tool gloves for cents each day
Chishan prisoners report being forced to produce work gloves for the Brookfield, Wis.-based tool company, which did not answer specific questions.
Posted inGovernment
Why some Wisconsin residents with mental disabilities lose voting rights — and how they can restore them
In Wisconsin and most states, judges may determine someone is ‘incompetent’ to vote. Here’s what people with mental disabilities should know about their rights.
Posted inEconomy
In rural Wisconsin, former employees lift curtain on troubled crypto mine
An energy intensive Bitcoin mining operation in Park Falls can’t replace a once vibrant paper mill, but it has created new conflicts and a cautionary tale.
Posted inEducation
They escaped the Taliban. Now these women in Wisconsin face a new challenge: the high cost of college.
Ten female students at the UW-Milwaukee thought they had full scholarships. Now the Afghan evacuees are scrambling to pay for school.
Posted inHealth & Welfare
Workers, employers struggle as Long COVID sidelines thousands of Wisconsinites
Federal government assistance for paid time off due to COVID-19 has ended, but some employers accommodate ailing workers amid a lingering labor shortage
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Living with Lyme
Wisconsin’s ‘chronic Lyme’ patients embrace alternative treatments, rack up big bills
Sufferers say they go down ‘rabbit holes’ to diagnose a condition that many doctors say does not exist.
Posted inEconomy
‘They can bring so much’: Despite barriers, Afghan evacuees enrich Wisconsin’s workforce
Wisconsin is in a labor crunch. Evacuees and other immigrants can help — if they can navigate transportation and other obstacles.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Living with Lyme
Doctors debate, patients suffer: The fight over chronic Lyme disease in Wisconsin
Mainstream medicine says the tick-borne infection is a short-term ailment. But some patients insist they have Lyme-caused symptoms that last for years.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Living with Lyme
The history of Lyme disease has a Wisconsin chapter. It’s still being written.
From the first case documented by a Milwaukee dermatologist to ongoing research at the University of Wisconsin, the state has played a big role in Lyme disease.
Posted inGovernment
‘I don’t know what will happen’: After months at Ft. McCoy Afghan family resettled in separate states
Living 120 miles apart, family shares hopes and anxieties while navigating ‘chaotic’ resettlement process