In mid-January, in a press conference in front of Target Corporation headquarters in downtown Minneapolis, over two dozen employees of retail cleaning companies that clean Target stores in the Twin Cities metro area announced OSHA complaints that were filed January 17th. The complaints allege that workers, who are employees of the cleaning contractors, are locked in the Target stores and must find a manager to unlock doors if there is a need to exit the building.

In September, at least 261 people burnt to death as fires swept through two factories in Pakistan, police and government officials said, raising all-too-familiar questions about locked windows and gates, lack of emergency exists, cramped work spaces, and trapping workers like rats.