The garment industry is not as large as it used to be in the state, said Roberta Wilson, labor market analyst from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

"There have been substantial losses (over time)," she said.

At one point, the apparel industry was the largest in the state and had an average of 80,000 workers, but it has diminished because of competition including foreign imports, said Arnold Delin, executive director of Atlantic Apparel Contractors Association Inc.

The association supports domestic apparel contractors and represented up to 40,000 apparel workers in the past, he said.

As of this January, there were 1,500 apparel jobs, 140,000 manufacturing jobs and 1,080,700 total jobs in the Pittsburgh region, Wilson said.

In recent years, the Pittsburgh area has lost some of its well-known apparel companies, he added.

Gateway Sportswear is one Pittsburgh-area company that has closed in the past year because of foreign competition, Wilson said. Two other Pennsylvania factories, Woolrich Inc. and Danskin, have laid off workers within the past few years.

If a plant closes because of foreign competition, a worker can file a petition and qualify for government assistance, Wilson said. Workers are entitled to special benefits until they find new work or can be trained in a new field.

According to the Bureau of Research and Statistics of the Department of Labor, there was an average of 59,000 workers in apparel and textiles in 1993, 48,400 workers in 1996 and 38,500 in 1998 in Pennsylvania.

The few apparel companies that have flourished in the state in light of foreign competition have established their own niche, such as producing a certain garment, Delin said.

Some groups have formed to fight cheap foreign labor, or "sweatshop," abuses being made by many manufacturers.

A sweatshop can be defined in many ways, but to the average person it is often a dangerous work site where workers are not paid enough to support themselves, said Trim Bissell, national coordinator for the Campaign for Labor Rights.

The group is a grassroots organization that tracks anti-sweatshop campaigns, Bissell said, and believes people should be given basic rights to form unions for collective bargaining.

When workers rise up, such as those in Indonesia who have demanded higher wages from Nike, the group supports them. Similar organizations have put pressure on Walt Disney Corp. for the treatment of its workers in Haiti.

Students can get involved by e-mailing the group at clr@igc.org to help support the campaign, Bissell said.