‘It’s A Stretch To Pin This On WalMart’: Fox Host Says Bangladesh Fire Victims Should Be Thankful For Their Jobs

Fox Host Charles Payne says that the victims of the Bangladesh garment factory fire should be “thankful for their jobs.” Speaking with Neil Cavuto on Fox News, Payne excused Sunday’s fire as a “rare event,” saying that those who criticized the factory’s unsafe conditions are just trying to pin the fire on WalMart and other major corporations.

On Monday, Payne noted:

It is tragic. I don’t think something like this will happen again. Don’t think that the people in Bangladesh who perished didn’t want or need those jobs, as well. I know we like to victimize everyone in this country, particularly when it comes to for-profit motivation, which is being assaulted. But, you know, it is a tragedy but I think it is a stretch, an amazing stretch, to sort of try to pin this on WalMart but, of course, the unions in this country are desperate.

The Bangladeshi factory, operated by Tazreen Factories, made garments for retailers such as WalMart, JC Penney, and H&M. The factory had no functioning fire extinguishers. When the fire broke out, managers allegedly locked the doors and told factory workers to “go back to their stations.” And clearly this is not a one-time event, since over 200 people have died in Bangladesh garment factories since 2006 in direct consequence of substandard safety precautions. Some believe that companies like WalMart, whose clothing brands were found in the burnt factory, would move if production at the facility were more expensive.

In other words, the factory is reportedly trying to produce as much clothing as possible on as little money as possible.

During his defense of the factory, Payne referred to himself as “a spokesman for capitalism and the American Dream” and said “for a lot of people, this [WalMart business practice] is a step in the right direction.”

Many victims of the Bangladesh fire had to jump from building windows to escape the flames.

It is still unclear how many of the 2,000 workers made it out of the factory made it out alive.

Do you think that the companies who employ Tarzeen Factories should be held responsible for the fire?