Labor Alerts: a service of Campaign for Labor
Rights
Posted August 30, 2002
Table of Contents:
Noboa (Bonita Brand) Bananas in Ecuador
More than 1400 workers on seven plantations producing for the Noboa
Company in Ecuador went on strike on February 25th to call for their
basic labor rights and the right to a union. Despite a powerful and
growing international campaign against the Noboa Corporation (owner
of Bonita bananas) its chief owner, Alvaro Noboa (who is the leading
candidate for President of Ecuador), has still not agreed to negotiate
with workers on his plantations. Nearly two months after admitting
to hiring hundreds of armed thugs that violently attacked striking
workers on the Los Alamos plantations in Ecuador, workers report that
the Noboa Corporation has not only refused to reach any settlement
with their unions, but has also begun to form a company-biased negotiating
committee, in an effort to block meaningful negotiations. The fight
of the Ecuadorian banana workers is being watched carefully by banana
unions throughout Latin America, whose wages and benefits are threatened
by the dominance of non-union, low-wage Ecuadorian banana exports.
After a U.S. national letter-writing campaign, Costco, one of the
largest U.S. purchasers of Noboa's Bonita bananas, contacted the Noboa
Corporation and expressed their concern about the situation in Ecuador.
And on August 15, Univision's news magazine, Aqui y Ahora, aired a
television report on the violent attack of the workers. The internationally
shown footage included shots of the second attack that forced the
remaining banana workers off the plantations on the evening of May
16th and the bloody aftermath of the attacks. After watching the program,
or organizing screenings of the footage in their communities, activists
throughout the hemisphere contacted Noboa to demand that he negotiate
with the unions on his plantations.
Campaign for Labor Rights, along with our partners US/Leap and STITCH,
are tentatively planning a speaking tour of Noboa workers and other
banana workers from the region along the west and east coasts of the
U.S.
~If you are interested in hosting this tour in your community, contact
Daisy Pitkin at Campaign for Labor Rights: clr@clrlabor.org,
202-232-5002.
~ TAKE ACTION NOW! Demand that Alvaro Noboa stop his effort to deny
workers their basic rights, to fire those responsible for the attacks,
and to negotiate with the unions in good faith, as required by law.
Mr. Alvaro Noboa Ponton, Noboa Corporation. Fax: 011-593-42-444-093,
email: banoboa@bonita.com,
or mail: Grupo Noboa Inc. 555 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019.
~ For more information, clr@clrlabor.org,
202-232-5002, or visit US/LEAP in the web at: www.usleap.org
Samsonite * Light House Factory in Thailand
On 16 July, over 200 protesting workers from the Light House Labour
Union in Thailand presented a letter written in their own blood to
the Thai parliament in protest of events at the Light House production
plant. The Light House workers produce luggage that is sold in the
U.S. and around the world by the Samsonite Corporation, along with
other major luggage retailers. The workers were driven to these desperate
tactics by events which began in October 2001 with the dismissal of
600 workers (out of a total workforce of 1400), and the slashing of
benefits and wages for the remaining workforce -- wages for the remaining
workers were cut by 25% to $3.60 per day. Then, in June 2002, the
company fired all 20 elected union representatives at the plant. When
849 workers held a work stoppage to protest, all were immediately
fired. Samsonite distributes its merchandise in over 100 countries
and has production sites around the world, including factories in
China and Mexico. Samsonite boasts annual sales of over $730 million
and calls itself the "sole global player within the fast-growing luggage
market."
On July 23 -- in a huge step toward a resolution of the situation
-- Light House management, Thai government officials and Light House
union leaders reached an agreement that would provide for the reinstatement
of all dismissed workers who were willing to continue working with
the company. But this important agreement has not been fully implemented!
Today, 73 workers, who are also members of the Light House union,
remain locked out of factory. Light House is hiring new workers to
the plant * filling jobs that belong to the 73 workers who maintain
a picket line outside the plant. ~ TAKE ACTION NOW! Write a letter
to Samsonite. Tell CEO, Luc Van Nevel to: respect the rights of Light
House workers to form a union and collectively bargain and rehire
all the fired workers at the Light House plant in Thailand. Fax your
letter to: 303-373-6300.
~ For more information contact Campaign for Labor Rights, clr@clrlabor.org,
202-232-5002.
Boycott Taco Bell * Farmworker Struggle
in Florida
Campaign for Labor Rights is working with the Coalition of Immokalee
Workers (CIW), a farmworker organization based in Immokalee, Florida,
on their national boycott of Taco Bell. The members of CIW pick tomatoes
for Six-L's Packing Co. -- one of Taco Bell's principle partners for
the year-round supply of tomatoes -- receive sub-poverty wages, stagnant
piece rates, no right to overtime pay, no health insurance, no sick
leave, no holiday leave, and no pension. Six-L's pays today what the
industry paid as a standard piece rate over 20 years ago-40 cents
per 32-pounds of tomatoes. And Taco Bell has the power and responsibility
to change this situation for the workers who plant, cultivate, and
harvest the tomatoes from which they profit. If Taco Bell were to
pay JUST ONE PENNY MORE per pound for the tomatoes it buys from Florida
growers, and the growers were to pass that extra penny on to the workers,
the rate paid to workers could nearly double!
CLR is workign closely with the Student Farmworker Alliance on the
student arm of the boycott, affectionately called "Boot the Bell."
Students across the country whose dining halls are run by the food-service
provider, ARAMARK, are mobilizing to get ARAMARK to end its agreement
with Taco Bell which allows for Taco Bells to exist on their campuses.
In a letter that was delivered to Taco Bell executives at their headquarters
in Irvine, CA, dozens of college, university and high school students
announced their intent to kick Taco Bell off their campuses and out
of their dining halls. Students engaged in "Boot the Bell" are gearing
up for another semster of organizing, which will include sign-on letters,
speaking tours, a Thanksgiving gathering, and nationally coordinated
days of action on ARAMARK and Taco Bell.
~ For more information, contact Campaign for Labor Rights, clr@clrlabor.org,
202-232-5002, or visit the Coalition of Immokalee Workers at, www.ciw-online.org
Farm Workers Escort Burton Bill to Governor's
Office
United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez, union co-founder Dolores
Huerta and dozens of farm workers escorted an historic farm labor
bill--and a giant replica of a pen--to Gov. Gray Davis' office in
a procession from the office of Senate leader John Burton (D-San Francisco)
on August 26th. The UFW-sponsored bill allows binding arbitration
when growers refuse to sign union contracts. The day before, 5,000
farm workers and supporters completed a 165-mile, 10-day "March for
the Governor's Signature" from Merced to Sacramento.
~ For more information and ways to support this important bill,
visit www.ufw.org.
Farm Labor Organizing Committee Makes
Gains in Mt. Olive Boycott
The Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) scored a major victory
as the Wal-Mart in Bowling Green, Ohio, as well as the Walmart in
Durham, North Carolina, decided to stop carrying Mt. Olive Pickle
products. FLOC supporter and University of Toledo student Anjilina
Melendez says "It is huge for Wal-Mart, which markets itself as a
store that sells what's cheap to make a sales decision based on human
rights&it inspires us to believe that we really can help North Carolina
farmworkers win the contract they deserve." By dropping Mt. Olive
pickles, the Bowling Green Wal-Mart has joined every other known store
in the area in respecting the national Mt. Olive Pickle boycott, which
FLOC will maintain until Mt. Olive sits down with the North Carolina
farmers and farm workers to negotiate a fair contract. 3000 farmworkers
have already signed authorization cards asking FLOC to represent them.
~ For more information on the Mt. Olive Boycott, visit www.floc.com.
Portworkers Fight for Contract * Activists
Respond with Support
The ILWU longshore contract with the employer group, the Pacific Maritime
Authority (PMA), expired on July 1st of this year. The large corporations
who use the ports most - including Wal-Mart, Payless Shoes, Home Depot,
Target, Gap and Best Buy - are pushing the federal government to intervene
militarily in negotiations. These corporations, as well as the PMA,
have formed the West Coast Waterfront Coalition as a way to lobby
policy makers and recruit other retailers in an anti-worker/anti-union
campaign. On August 28th, Jobs with Justice, Alliance for Sustainable
Jobs and the Environment, Community Labor Environmental Alliance,
Portworker Solidarity Committee, Campaign for Labor Rights, and others
held a National Day of Action to tell the retailers: U.S. troops don't
belong on the backs of workers! The ILWU is known partly for its strong
solidarity with people around the world: refusing to unload cargo
from apartheid South Africa and toxic waste sites, defending the rights
of workers throughout the world, shutting down west coast ports in
support of the WTO actions. It is time to support the ILWU!
~ For more information, visit www.jwj.org
Indonesian Workers Protest at Nike Headquarters
On August 8, 2002, 300 Indonesian workers launched a demonstration
in front of NIKE's Indonesian headquarters in Jakarta. They represent
6,888 workers in the PT DOSON factory, threatened by Nike's decision
to stop orders to DOSON. They fear the cuts will lead to the closing
of the factory, mass unemployment of DOSON's workforce and will have
a significant negative impact on the surrounding community. They also
stated that Nike's course of action at PT DOSON is a violation of
the OECD Guidelines for Multi-National Companies - failure to give
reasonable notice of a shutdown.
~ For more information, visit Educating for Justice at www.nikewages.org.
Garment Workers Shot During Protest
in Indonesia
On August 19, over 15,000 garment workers marched through Bandung,
the capital of West Java in Indonesia, to protest anti-union labor
legislation currently being deliberated by the Indonesian House of
Representatives. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Indonesian
government are backing the legislation which they say will make it
easier for Indonesia to attract foreign investment -- but that unions
say will crush workers rights and bring more sweatshops to Indonesia.
While the protest was largely non-violent, things quickly turned sour
when two of the leaders of the rally were shot by police. Both men
were taken to the hospital where they were treated for their wounds
and later released. Other protestors present at the rally also reported
abuse at the hands of police. About 30 workers were arrested and interrogated
at police headquarters in West Java. After the interrogations, they
allegedly showed evidence of beatings and torture, including some
whom had parts of their heads shaved during questioning.
~ For more information, visit www.behindthelabel.org.
Salvadoran Government Fires Workers
Resisting Privatization
On August 1, government agencies in El Salvador fired two union activists
from the electricity workers' union STSEL and eleven from the health
care workers' union STISSS. In total, more than 230 activists from
the two unions have been fired, and STISSS Secretary-General Ricardo
Monge has received death threats against himself and his family. Public
sector unions represent a serious threat to the free trade agenda
of the government, leading the fight against the privatization of
public services, and against CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement)
and the Plan Puebla-Panama that would turn the region into a giant
free trade zone. The two unions have begun a series of protests, marches,
and community education campaigns.
~ For more information and ways to take action, visit the Committee
in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador at www.cispes.org.
The Worker Rights Consortium, Washington
D.C.
The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) is seeking applicants for Fall
2002 Internships. The WRC is a non-profit organization created by
college and university students, administrators and independent labor
rights experts. The WRC's purpose is to assist in the enforcement
of manufacturing Codes of Conduct adopted by colleges and universities;
these codes are designed to ensure that factories producing college
logo goods respect the basic rights of workers. Interns will assist
the WRC in office and program work and will be based in Washington
D.C.
~ For complete announcement, visit www.workersrights.org.
For questions call 202-387-4884.
National Organizers Alliance
The National Organizers Alliance's mission is to advance progressive
organizing for social, economic and environmental justice and support,
and to challenge and sustain the people who do that work. The NOA
is seeking applications for the following positions: Organizer; Justice
Pension Plan Coordinator/Organizer.
~ For full descriptions and qualifications, visit www.noacentral.org.
AFL-CIO, American Center for International
Labor Solidarity
The Solidarity Center is seeking applications for the following positions:
Program Assistant; Program Officer I - Exchange Program; and Program
Officer I - HIV/AIDS Program.
~ For full descriptions and qualifications, visit www.unionjobs.com
Local Day of Action for the Colombia
Mobilization
The National Mobilization on Colombia is calling for a National Day
of Action on September 27. The purpose of this day is to encourage
groups to organize local actions in their communities and/or regions.
These events will educate the public and media about US military aid,
aerial spraying of poison, US training of Latin American soldiers
at the SOA/WHISC, and the shift to counterinsurgency policies that
are fueling the violence in Colombia, devastating the environment,
and displacing tens of thousands in the name of the "war on drugs
and terror" and "protecting US oil interests."
~ For more information and organizing resources, visit www.colombiamobilization.org.
50 Years is Enough Network Teach-in
Tour on the IMF/World Bank
On September 28 and 29th the joint annual meetings of the World Bank
and IMF will take place in Washington, D.C. Thousands of activists
will be calling for an end to the policies and practices of the IMF
and World Bank. As a counter action to these meetings 50 Years is
Enough Network announces a Teach-In tour on the impact of and the
resistance to the IMF, World Bank, and corporate domination. If you
are interested in hosting speakers from the Global South and helping
educate people in your community about the effects of globalization
on workers in the US as well as abroad, email organize@50year.org.
~ For more information, visit www.50years.org.
Coalition of Immokalee Workers Mini-Tour
of the Northeast
The CIW, a farmworker organization in southern Florida, will begin
this tour in late September. The tour should be the catalyst for a
string of actions at Taco Bells from Washington, DC, to Boston, MA.
If you are in located in the Northeast and interested in hosting the
tour in your community, email julia@ciw-online.org.
~ For more information on CIW's ongoing boycott of Taco Bell, and
the success of previous tours, visit: www.ciw-online.org
October 2002 STITCH Women's Language
School Delegation
The STITCH women's delegation to Guatemala, October 12-20, combines
excellent Spanish instruction with an in-depth look at the economic
situation facing women workers in the Guatemalan maquila and banana
sectors. Participants spend their mornings at the language school
La Union in Antigua Guatemala, and their afternoons talking with women
fighting for better conditions in the booming apparel-for-export (or
maquila) industry nearby. This delegation is open to women only. Scholarships
are available. Applications due by Sept.10, 2002.
~ For more information, visit www.stitchonline.org,
call 202-265-3790 or email stitchdc@earthlink.net.
Call for October 12th Actions
The Latin America Solidarity Coalition in alliance with the American
Indian Movement and the International Indian Treaty Council, call
for local actions on October 12, the 510th anniversary of the first
invasion of the Americas to demand: No to the Free Trade Area of the
Americas agreement; No to Plan Colombia/Andean Initiative; Close the
School of the Americas/WHISC; Close US military bases in Vieques and
throughout Latin America; End the Drug War's assault on people of
color and the poor; Free Leonard Peltier and all indigenous political
prisoners; Respect indigenous treaty, land, and cultural rights; Bring
to justice those responsible for the genocide in Guatemala.
~ For more information on actions, organizing materials and endorsements,
visit www.lasolidarity.org
Call for October 12th Mobilization Against
the PPP
More than 1000 delegates from over 350 organizations in Mesoamerica
and other friendly nations, met for the III Mesoamerican Forum in
Managua, Nicaragua from July 16 * 18th. The Mesoamerican Movement
for Popular Integration Against the Puebla-Panama Plan calls for mobilizations
and struggle the 12th of October to demonstrate the rejection of the
PPP (Puebla-Panama Plan), which will carve a major transportation
and industrial corridor from Puebla, Mexico to Panama. The mobilization
will coincide with different expressions of struggle on the day of
Mesoamerican resistance.
~ For more information on the PPP, visit www.acerca.org.
"In China, Harvard's Apparel Proves
Elusive"
August 9, 2002, by Amit Paley, staff writer for The Harvard Crimson
"There is no factory at 89 Yanping Road. In fact, there is no building
with that address at all. But there should be, according to the Fair
Labor Association (FLA), a non-profit organization that monitors the
labor conditions of factories that produce goods for more than 170
colleges and universities, including Harvard." In this article, independent
researchers attempt to track down Chinese factories that source Harvard
apparel, according to the FLA's records. The result * no factories
to be found.
~ For the full article, visit www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=253967.
"Poisoned Back Into Poverty: as China
embraces capitalism, hazards to workers rise"
August 4, 2002 by Philip P. Pan, Washington Post Foreign Service "DONGGUAN,
China -- Wang Xiao had been working in the sneaker factory for only
a few months when she noticed a strange tingling in her feet. Over
time, the sensation spread to her ankles, then her shins. Her fingertips
went numb next, and her appetite disappeared. Soon, the mother of
two was so weak she could barely climb the stairs to her factory dorm
room. At first, Wang, 33, thought it was just exhaustion from work,
or maybe stomach flu. After all, she recalled, she had been putting
in 17 hours a day, gluing together sneakers that would be shipped
from this industrial city in southern China to shops across Europe
and the United States& She never suspected that toxins in the glue
were slowly destroying her nervous system&"
~ For the full article, visit www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41140-2002Aug3.html
"No more slavery? Ask farmworkers"
August 11, 2002, by Miami Herald columnist Fred Grimm
"Slavery still flourishes in Florida's fields because it solves
basic problems for agribusiness." This piece exposes the use of indentured
servitude for farmworkers and was inspired by the case brought against
three Florida employers, after two years of investigation by the Coalition
of Immokalee Workers (CIW).
~ For the full article, visit www.ciw-online.org
or go directly to www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/columnists/fred_grimm/3834511.htm
Earthsummit.biz: The Corporate Takeover
of Sustainable Development
by Kenny Bruno and Joshua Karliner
"At a time when corporations can't be trusted to regulate themselves,
the U.N. Earth Summit in Johannesburg is asking for just that: calling
on the polluters to be their partners and voluntarily solve the planet's
most pressing environmental problems," says co-author Josh Karliner.
earthsummit.biz investigates how corporations, in partnership with
the United Nations, champion environmental sustainability and human
rights while hiding their polluting and exploitative practices with
sophisticated campaigns touting concern for a sustainable future.
~ For more information on the book, email nparker@foodfirst.org
or visit www.foodfirst.org/earthsummitbiz/.
"A World Without Water: Advocates Warn
of Thirst and Turmoil for a Parched Planet"
August 21 * 27, 2002, by Ginger Adams Otis of the Village Voice
"In 1995 World Bank vice president Ismail Serageldin made a much
quoted prediction for the new millennium: 'If the wars of this century
were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought
over water.' Serageldin has been proven correct much faster than he
or anyone else thought&"
~ For the full article, visit www.villagevoice.com/issues/0234/otis.php
Play FTAA Jeopardy Online
Visit www.polarisinstitute.org/jeopardy/ftaa_jeopardy.htm
Please send entries for next month's edition of Campaign for Labor
Rights' Monthly Index to: clr@clrlabor.orgclr@clrlabor.org
In Solidarity,
Campaign for Labor Rights Staff
Phone: 202-232-5002, fax: 202-544-9359
Daisy Pitkin, Coordinator, clr@clrlabor.org
Severina Rivera, Director
Web site: www.campaignforlaborrights.org
