[central_va]

You are missing the point. The labor in making the shirt was 12 cents. As a percent of the retail cost, that is .009%.

Worst case scenario we open the factory in New Jersey and pay union workers $40.00 per hour, how much would that move increase the labor cost and by how much?

Let's say for argument that is takes 5 minutes to make one shirt(probably less time than that but we will go with 5 minutes of labor). the labor per shirt in Bangladesh is basically free. The labor per shirt in out New Jersey union factory per shirt is 1/12 hour times $40.00 = $3.33 per shirt.

So now the shirt would cost about 3 dollars more. Approx $17.00. OK that sounds like a lot but if you reduce the duties and shipping costs that would reduce the price a dollar to $16.00 per shirt. To me the 15% increase is offset by the decrease in social costs of the lower IQ chronically unemployed....

[expat_panama]

To me the 15% increase is offset by the decrease in social costs of the lower IQ chronically unemployed.

--and to everyone else it's better to buy the shirt for $2 less, provide a living wage for hundreds of workers, and still have funds left over to feed the "lower IQ chronically unemployed" in Jersey.

[Lumper20]

And most likely machines would do the work. Yes, they would need some workers.