An Algebra Activity on Linear

Programming and Budgets where the

Math class meets Social Justice

By: Mrs. Livermore

Holy Family Catholic High School
Select one by clicking in the link

Which country will bring the clothing

manufacturer the most profit?

Can the workers live on their proposed

wages?
 Students formed groups and chose one of
the following countries: Honduras,
Guatemala, China, Ethiopia, Madagascar,
Nicaragua, and United States.
 Their mission was to create a report for
the CEO of a clothing manufacturer to
determine the maximum profit their
particular country could obtain by using
the information provided.
The company already owns the equipment needed
for the factory. They know that the new factory
needs 100 workers to run the equipment to create
their products. They plan on selling their
sweatshirts for $50 each and long-sleeved t-shirts
for $40 each. The material needed for each
sweatshirt costs $4 each and the t-shirts are $3.50
each. The company has budgeted $15,000 for
labor costs. Each sweatshirt takes approximately
14.4 minutes and each long-sleeved t-shirt takes
approximately 9.18 minutes to create.

Source: http://www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=103).
 Honduras

 Guatemala

 China

 Ethiopia

 Madagascar

 Nicaragua

 United
States
 Summary of all countries
.24 x .153 y 26400

The workers in Honduras make 75 cents per hour

and work 6 days a week in 11 hour shifts
Source: www.nlcnet.org

Constraints:
Time
0.24 x 0.153 y 26400
Worker Pay 0.75(0.24 x 0.153 y ) 15000
Number of Sweatshirts
x 0
Number of T-shirts
y 0
 Maximum Profit
$4,771,244
Long-sleeved t-shirts in 10,000s

Making 83,333
long-sleeved t-
shirts and 0
sweatshirts

Graph Key:
Time – Blue
Worker Pay - Red
Sweatshirts in 10,000s
.24 x .153 y 26400

The workers in Guatemala earn $1.12 per hour and work

12 hour shifts 5 days a week.
Source: www.nlcnet.org

Constraints:

Time 0.24 x 0.153 y 24000

Worker Pay 1.12(0.24 x 0.153 y ) 15000
Number of Sweatshirts x 0
Number of T-shirts y 0
 Maximum Profit
$3,195,027
Long-sleeved t-shirts in 10,000s

Making 87,535
long-sleeved t-
shirts and 0
sweatshirts

Graph Key:
Time – Blue
Worker Pay - Red
Sweatshirts in 10,000s
.24 x .153 y 26400

The workers in China earn $0.32 per hour. They have 80

hour work weeks.
Source: www.nlcnet.org

Constraints:

Time 0.24 x 0.153 y 32000

Worker Pay 0.32(0.24 x 0.153 y) 15000
Number of Sweatshirts x 0
Number of T-shirts y 0
 Maximum Profit
$7,633,975
Long-sleeved t-shirts in 10,000s

Making 209,150
long-sleeved t-
shirts and 0
sweatshirts

Graph Key:
Time – Blue
Sweatshirts in 10,000s Worker Pay - Red
.24 x .153 y 26400

The workers in Ethiopia earn 25 cents per hour. They work

80 hour work weeks.
Source: www.zmag.org

Constraints:

Time 0.24 x 0.153 y 30000

Worker Pay 0.25(0.24 x 0.153 y ) 15000
Number of Sweatshirts x 0
Number of T-shirts y 0
 Maximum Profit
$7,156,847
Long-sleeved t-shirts in 10,000s

Making 196,078
long-sleeved t-
shirts and 0
sweatshirts

Graph Key:
Time – Blue
Sweatshirts in 10,000s Worker Pay - Red
.24 x .153 y 26400

The workers in Madagascar earn $0.33 per hour. They

have 90 hour work weeks.
Source: www.zmag.org

Constraints:

Time 0.24 x 0.153 y 36000

Worker Pay 0.33(0.24 x 0.153 y ) 15000
Number of Sweatshirts x 0
Number of T-shirts y 0
 Maximum Profit
$8,588,231
Long-sleeved t-shirts in 10,000s

Making 235,294
long-sleeved t-
shirts and 0
sweatshirts

Graph Key:
Time – Blue
Sweatshirts in 10,000s Worker Pay - Red
.24 x .153 y 26400

The workers in Nicaragua earn 41 cents per hour and work

8 hour days. They work 6 days a week.
Source: www.nlcnet.org

Constraints:

Time 0.24 x 0.153 y 19200

Worker Pay 0.41(0.24 x 0.153 y ) 15000
Number of Sweatshirts x 0
Number of T-shirts y 0
 Maximum Profit
$4,580,385
Long-sleeved t-shirts in 10,000s

Making 125,490
long-sleeved t-
shirts and 0
sweatshirts

Graph Key:
Time – Blue
Sweatshirts in 10,000s Worker Pay - Red
.24 x .153 y 26400

The workers in the United States earn $6.00 per hour and
work a forty hour work week.

Constraints:

Time 0.24 x 0.153 y 16000

Worker Pay 6(0.24 x 0.153 y ) 15000
Number of Sweatshirts x 0
Number of T-shirts y 0
 Maximum Profit
$596,410
Long-sleeved t-shirts in 10,000s

Making 16,340
long-sleeved t-
shirts and 0
sweatshirts

Graph Key:
Time – Blue
Worker Pay - Red
Sweatshirts in 10,000s
 Honduras $4,771,244 for 130,719 long-sleeved t-shirts
 Guatemala $3,195,027 for 87,535 long-sleeved t-shirts
 China $7,633,975 for 209,150 long-sleeved t-shirts
 Ethiopia $7,156,847 for 196,078 long-sleeved t-shirts
 Madagascar $8,588,231 for 235,294 long-sleeved t-shirts
 Nicaragua $4,580,385 for 125,490 long-sleeved t-shirts
 United States $596,410 for 16,340 long-sleeved t-shirts

 Madagascar has the potential for the most

profit. The company should concentrate its
efforts on making only long-sleeved t-shirts.
The company has been contacted by a service organization
concerned about your potential employees’ well-being.
They heard what you were going paying your employees
and they maintain that the employees cannot sustain
themselves with that amount of pay working the hours you
are recommending. The CEO contacts you to investigate
this allegation because of your experience. You decide that
the best way to determine the validity of this allegation is
to figure out how much an employee would make per
month and compare that with a sample budget that
considers all living expenses. If an employee cannot pay
the living expenses on his or her wage, find the number of
hours he or she would need to work to do so and the
hourly wage he or she would need to make if his or her
hours remained the same.
 Honduras

 Guatemala

 China

 Ethiopia

 Madagascar

 Nicaragua

 United
States
 Summary of all countries
Source: http://icsc.un.org/col-csr.asp

If a worker were to live in a 3 bedroom apartment, he or she would need to

earn $1,551.53 a month. The workers make 75 cents per hour and work 6
days a week in 11 hour shifts (source: www.nlcnet.org). This translates to
$198 a month. A worker would need to make $5.88 per hour working 11
hour shifts 6 days a week. The worker would need to work 2069 hours a
month or 517 hours a week if he or she continued to make $0.75 per hour,
which is impossible.
Source: http://icsc.un.org/col-csr.asp

If a worker lived in a 3 bedroom apartment, he or she would need to

earn $1,472.69 a month. A worker in Guatemala earns $1.12 per hour
and works 12 hour shifts 5 days a week (source: www.nlcnet.org). This
translates to $268.80 per month. A worker would need to make $6.14
per hour working 12 hour shifts 5 days a week. The worker would need
to work 1315 hours a month or 329 hours a week if he or she
continued to make $1.12 per hour, which is impossible.
 Source: http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com

Rent: NT$10,000 = $301.61 US

Utilities: NT$1,750 = $52.78 US
Food: NT$7,500 = $226.21
Transportation: NT$700 = $21.11 US
Entertainment: NT$2,500 = $75.40 US

A worker would need to earn $677.11 a month. A worker in China

earns $0.32 per hour and works 80 hour work weeks (source:
www.nlcnet.org). This translates to $102.40 per month. A worker
would need to make $2.12 per hour working 80 hour work weeks. The
worker would need to work 2116 hours a month or 529 hours a week if
he or she continued to make $0.32 per hour, which is impossible.
 Source: http://www.justlanded.com

Housing 6000 Rand = $835 US

Food 4000 Rand = $557 US
Utilities 700 Rand = $98 US
Leisure 2000 Rand = $278 US
Transportation 1100 Rand = $153 US

A worker would need to earn $1921 a month. A worker in

Ethiopia earns $0.25 per hour and works 75 hour work
weeks (source: www.zmag.org). This translates to $75 per
month. A worker would need to make $6.40 per hour
working 75 hour work weeks. The worker would need to
work 7684 hours a month or 1921 hours a week if he or
she continued to make $0.25 per hour, which is impossible.
Source: http://icsc.un.org/col-csr.asp

If a worker lived in a 2 bedroom apartment, he or she would need to

earn $676.02 a month. A worker in Madagascar earns $0.33 per hour
and works 90 hour work weeks (source: www.zmag.org). This
translates to $118.80 per month. A worker would need to make $1.88
per hour working 90 hour work weeks. The worker would need to work
2049 hours a month or 512 hours a week if he or she continued to
make $0.33 per hour, which is impossible.
Source: http://icsc.un.org/col-csr.asp

If a worker lived in a 2 bedroom apartment, he or she would need to

earn $1749.78 a month. A worker in Nicaragua earns $0.41 per hour
and works 8 hour days 6 days a week (source: www.nlcnet.org). This
translates to $78.72 per month. A worker would need to make $9.11
per hour working 8 hour days 6 days a week. The worker would need
to work 4268 hours a month or 1067 hours a week if he or she
continued to make $0.41 per hour, which is impossible.
 Housing = $1000
Food = $400
Utilities = $300
Leisure = $300
Transportation = $500

A worker would need to earn $2500 a month. A worker in

United States earns $6.00 per hour and works 40 hour
work weeks. This translates to $960 per month. A worker
would need to make $15.63 per hour working 40 hour
work weeks. The worker would need to work 417 hours a
month or 104 hours a week if he or she continued to make
$6.00 per hour.
 None of the workers in the proposed countries can
afford the cost of living working the proposed number
of hours and hourly wage.
Country Hourly Hours work Monthly Needs Hourly wage Monthly
Wage per month Wage with current hours with
hours current
wage

Honduras 0.75 264 198 1551.53 5.88 2069

Guatemala 1.12 240 268.80 1472.69 6.14 1315
China 0.32 320 102.40 677.11 2.12 2116
Ethiopia 0.25 300 75 1921 6.40 7684
Madagascar 0.33 360 118.80 676.02 1.88 2049
Nicaragua 0.41 192 78.72 1749.78 9.11 4268
United 6.00 160 960 2500 15.63 417
States
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