It’s almost unbelievable. In a Los Angeles suburb last month, 70 Thai workers were found locked in an apartment complex that was surrounded by razor wire.

Paid 69 cents an hour, the workers were threatened with death and rape to sew clothing 17 hours a day.

They were told it would take 3-4 years to pay their captors the $4800 it cost to be smuggled into the U.S.

It’s horrifying that sweatshops are a booming business in our country.

Eighteen U.S. retailers (who claimed to know nothing about the underground operation) handled clothing produced in the L.A. sweatshop.

Fortunately, federal regulators are doing something about the problem. Labor Secretary Robert Reich has scheduled a Sept. 12 summit meeting for major U.S. retailers to offer solutions.

The U.S. Department of Labor should realize that illegal aliens are not likely to cooperate with efforts to uncover sweatshops.

The department works closely with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, an organization that undocumented immigrants avoid at all costs.

It is up to retailers to aid investigations and to take the issue seriously. Hopefully, summit representatives will help make the “Made in America” clothing label worthy of its patriotic name.