[ Information in this alert provided by the Coalition for Justice in the Maquilas, Thai Iryo Garment Workers Union, Par Garment Workers Union, the Textile Garment and Leather Federation of Thailand, the Paper and Printing Federation of Thailand, All State Enterprises Workers Federation, State Railway Workers Union, Labour Coordinating Center, Thai Labour Campaign, Center for Labour Information Service and Training, and Student Federation of Thailand. ]

DURO STRUGGLE UPDATE:

In August 2000, Mexican government officials granted official registration to the Duro Bag Workers independent union. This was the first registration for an independent union to be granted in the State of Tamaulipas, a bastion of the (formerly) ruling PRI party and of its pet-union, the CTM. It represents an important breakthrough in the struggle for democratic unions in Mexico. Having won legal existence for their union, the workers immediately began getting signatures on a petition for an election to win the right to represent the Duro workers and renegotiate their contract. With the help of the FAT (Authentic Workers Front), they presented over 400 signatures to the Conciliation & Arbitration Board (CAB) in Mexico City on September 28, 2000. However, the government is stalling on setting an election date. Once the election is scheduled, the workers will vote on who will represent them: the independent union or their current union, the National Paperworkers Union/CTM (The case number is IV-257/2000).

Meanwhile, the intimidation against the workers has increased. The workers are still in the permanent "planton" or demonstration with their banners and signs, demanding justice for Duro workers and mobilizing their fellow workers, the majority of whom are women. During the week of October 23rd, the workers were giving out flyers to all of their fellow workers in front of the factory with messages like "The Struggle Was Not in Vain, We Got Our Union!" and "It Is Not a Crime to Demand Better Working Conditions-It Is Our Right!"

As the clock runs out on the PRI government, the workers hope the CAB will schedule the election before the new PAN government of President-elect Vicente Fox takes office.

Support is needed to pressure the CAB to schedule an election. Please sign onto the letter of support in this alert.

UNION LEADER'S HOUSE BURNED DOWN

"Leader of Duro Workers Suspects Duro Management Burned His House" - This was the headline of the newspapers the day after the burning of the home of Eliud Almaguer, leader of the Duro workers. Eliud and his wife, Evilia, declared that they suspect the manager of Duro Bag Manufacturing in Rio Bravo masterminded the burning of their home. "We don't have any other enemies than the managers of Duro Bag Manufacturing because we haven't ceased our struggle for the union since the massive firing of many of our fellow workers."

On October 31st at 1:00 in the morning Eliud was informed that his house was on fire. When he arrived, it was already completely demolished. The neighbors had called the police and told them that Eliud's house was burning up, and the police said, "If it is Eliud's, then let it burn." Forty-five minutes later, the firefighters arrived when there was nothing left to extinguish.

Eliud Almaguer has stated on the burning of his family's home: "If something terrible happens to my family after this, I will hold Duro management in Rio Bravo responsible, because on three occasions unknown individuals have entered and robbed my house. I presume that they were looking for the union papers, but we don't have anything of value here. Fortunately they didn't find anything because we have the papers in a safe place. I suspect they sent someone to burn down my house because I have publicly denounced the injustices that happened in the company."

ACTION REQUEST

Please copy, sign and send the following letter to Lic Antonio Montes Pena, President of the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board, and please send the few lines of confirmation below (not this entire alert!) to Campaign for Labor Rights by email < clrchicago@afgj.org mailto:clrchicago@afgj.org > or fax (773) 583-7738.

I have responded to the November 15, 2000 Duro alert.
NAME:
CITY & STATE (or COUNTRY if not U.S.):
ORGANIZATION (if applicable):

Lic Antonio Montes Peña
President of the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board
FAX 01152 (5)7228702
E-mail: amontes @ stps.gob.mx

Dear Sir:
(We) [I AM OUTRAGED TO] have learned that Eliud Almaguer, one of the representatives of the workers at Duro Bag Manufacturing in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas has received continual threats and intimidation for having led a movement to get union recognition at the Duro Bag Company. The Duro Bag Workers Union has filed a petition for union recognition to replace the National Paperworkers Union (CTM) as the representative which negotiates the collective agreement. Furthermore, there have been massive firings of the workers, and, most recently, Eliud's house was burned down as a final act of intimidation just after his wife and several other workers refused the severance payment that the company was offering. Management is pressuring the workers to accept termination so they won't be able to vote in the union election. It is urgent that the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board set the date for the election for the case # IV-257/2000 of the Duro maquila in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas before there are more tragedies. I urge you to find an immediate solution to the conflict. This can only happen if you do not delay the process and set the date for the election. Sincerely,

BACKGROUND ON DURO STRUGGLE

Duro is a maquiladora located in the city of Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas bordering Pharr, Texas, and about 15 minutes from Reynosa (across the US border from McAllen, TX). Duro assembles gift bags for different corporations such as Hallmark and Neiman Marcus. The company is a privately held, family-owned company and is based in Ludlow, Kentucky Duro workers put up their strike banners on June 18 after going out on strike on June 12 in order to establish an independent union and force the reinstatement of their elected leaders who were illegally fired. The workers demanded a union willing to negotiate better conditions such as: medical attention inside the plant, life insurance, bathroom breaks, basic safety equipment and sanitary conditions in the bathrooms and cafeteria. The governor's office has acknowledged that Duro has some of the worst working conditions of any of the maquiladoras (factories producing for export) in the area.

The workers were forcefully and illegally removed from the Duro premises by police armed with machine guns on the first day that they put up their strike banners. Mexican law grants workers the right to strike and to seal (close) the production facilities with such banners. Since then they have been occupying an encampment in the city plaza in Rio Bravo.

On August 11, the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico announced that the independent union formed by the Duro workers would receive its registration: "We are not giving you the registration because of international pressure, but rather because the governor wants to help the workers." So spoke the Director of Labor on August 11 to Eliud Almaguer, leader of the independent union, when granting the registration for the union at Duro Manufacturing.

FORMER NIKE EMPLOYEES PROTEST NIKE WORKING CONDITIONS IN THAILAND

It is estimated that there are over 70,000 workers that produce sport shoes and apparel for Nike in Thailand. Most of the workers receive only minimum wage with no other welfare benefits. These workers must work 10-12 hours every day, sometimes until midnight. Many workers have their labor rights suppressed and violated. In some cases, workers were laid off from the factory and the work was subcontracted to factories where workers receive lower wages and have no legal protection. Instead of receiving legal overtime pay, workers at the Lop Buri factory, piecework. One worker who wished to remain anonymous stated: "I have to leave my daughter at my parents' house because children are not allowed in the dormitories. I only see her every two weeks because I cannot afford to take time off to travel," she said.

In addition, thousands of Thai migrant workers are producing Nike products under abysmal conditions in Taiwan. Workers often have to work for years just to pay off their traveling and installment costs. From interviews with Thai workers that worked for Pou Chen in Taiwan (a factory that produces Nike shoes), workers have made statements such as: "We can tolerate the hardship, but we cannot stand the behavior of supervisors that are very cruel and like to yell and scold at us unreasonably".

Many women workers also face pain when urinating. For example, one woman stated: "I was so much in pain and suffered from kidney infection because I always suppress my urination. I requested the supervisor to send me to the hospital, but I have to wait for nearly one hour until there were two more sick workers to fill the car before it can take off to the hospital. I have to stay in the hospital for six days without any visit from the company management. During my sick leave, the company paid only 50% of my wages. As soon as I returned to work the company forced me to work over-time until 11 PM or midnight every night, although I tried explaining to the supervisor that I need to rest but, however, the supervisor forced me to work and I had to work."

Thai workers receive only enough to survive each day, they cannot save, and Thailand has no unemployment compensation scheme. At the same time, Nike spends nearly a billion dollars each year on advertising and sponsorship deals, such as the $440 million deal with Manchester United football club in England, announced last week. And in September, Tiger Woods, U.S. golf champion, signed a sponsorship agreement with Nike for 5 years worth $100 million. With all winnings and endorsement earning this year, Tiger Woods will get $55,000 a day. A Thai worker would have to work for 14,000 days, or 38 years, to receive the same amount.

This money comes from the sweat of 500,000 workers, mostly in Asia, producing shoes and apparel for Nike. Workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively are trampled, in order to give Nike more money for advertising and big endorsement contracts.

Many leaders of Par Garment Workers Union -- as well as active members -- have been dismissed since the forming of the union (1990). Thai Iryo and Iryo Garment that have produced Nike products for many years. Over 1,000 workers were laid off since September 15. Much of the production has been shifted to non-unionized suppliers affiliated with the Iryo group.

Recently, factories producing for Nike in Thailand have been shifting production to sub-contractors and non-union facilities and to the provinces where wages and benefits are even lower. For example, unionized workers formerly producing for Nike at the Thai Iryo Garment factory in Rangsit were laid off while Nike production shifted to the Garment Tech factory in Bangkok and VT Garment in Sathupradit. Many workers have been laid off from the unionized Lian Thai and Phar Garment factories just to wind up producing the same products for subcontractors and receiving lower wages without legal protection.

It is conditions such as these that workers, student, and activists gathered at Bangkok's plush hotel, Shangri La, on November 14th to stage a protest and appeal to Tiger Woods to push Nike to improve factory conditions. The group called on the golf champion, who has a US $100 million contract with Nike, to press Nike to improve working conditions in Thai factories. Woods was at the Shangri La to receive an honorary doctorate of philosophy in sports science.

"We are calling on Tiger Woods to address the plight of Thai workers because he is a Nike spokesperson; this has nothing to do with the fact that he is part Thai," said Junya Yimprasert, coordinator of the Thai Labour Campaign.

"Nike must take responsibility for the welfare of workers producing their products no matter whether it is a factory or subcontractor and no matter the nationality of the employee," said Savit Kaewvarn, vice secretary general of the All State Enterprise Worker Federation.

Thai workers are demanding that Nike take responsibility for the basic living requirements of these workers:

• Nike has to set the same standard for their workers' living and provide labour protection to every worker throughout the world.
• Nike has to pay living wage that enables a worker and 2 dependents to be able to live like a human being.
• Nike has to respect workers union rights and provide protection to labour leaders and respect the collective bargaining rights.
• Nike has to stop using sub-contracting and sweatshops that are not protected by law.
• Nike has to comply with Occupation Health and Safety safe working environment conditions.