Labor Alerts: a service of Campaign for Labor
Rights
Posted June 27, 2002
Table of Contents:
Tainan - Gap Factory in El Salvador
On April 26th the management of the Tainan factory in El Salvador
announced that the factory's doors would be permanently closed and
that workers who had been suspended would NOT be returning to their
jobs. The workers in the Tainan factory have been organizing a union,
Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria Textiles (STIT), for almost
two years. STIT obtained legal recognition in July 2001 and had just
submitted a request to the Labor Ministry for collective bargaining
rights when the management made the announcement that it would close
the factory. Tainan then began to dismantle machinery in the factory
and initiated the legal process of dissolving the company. The company
had been suspending workers since last August claiming lack of orders,
though the union has evidence that the factory was receiving work
and sending it to other factories. Suspensions escalated sharply at
the beginning of April after a meeting between the Labor Ministry,
the company, and the union in which the company announced that it
would offer full severance benefits to anyone who would voluntarily
resign. If workers didn't resign, they would be suspended. Tainan
El Salvador produces for a number US retail companies including the
Gap, Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, Columbia Sportwear, and others.
Tainan Enterprises operates factories in China, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Taiwan, and El Salvador. It has operated the factory in El Salvador
for two years. Just as the union in El Salvador requested permission
for a collective bargaining agreement, the parent company claimed
it had insufficient orders for its Salvadoran plants and is closing
the one facility that has an active union organizing campaign. At
the same time, Tainan's other plants are operating at full production
with overtime work at some. The workers at Tainan El Salvador suffer
forced overtime, harassment, and low wages at the factory. Those who
support the union hope that a union will empower them to both speak
out and end the on-going violations of their rights.
On June 13th, Campaign for Labor Rights organized for an international
day of action on Tainan. Along with actions in El Salvador and Taiwan,
activists in the U.S. leafleted in at 24 Foot Locker outlet stores.
Foot Locker has been a customer of Tainan and had not responded to
pressure to contact Tainan about the abuses in El Salvador. This highly
coordinated international day of action (which took place on 3 continents!)
was a huge success. Not only did Foot Locker agree to contact Tainan,
but also Tainan Enterprises agreed to meet with the union and some
of its international supporters. We will keep you posted on these
negotiations over the course of the next few weeks. Thanks and congratulations
to those who participated in the day of action.
~ For more information, contact Campaign for Labor Rights, clr@clrlabor.org,
or US/LEAP, www.usleap.org
Noboa (Bonita Brand) Bananas in Ecuador
More than 1400 workers at 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. Since the strike, 120
banana workers have been fired and a police force has been stationed
on the plantation. In response to this anti-union intimidation, 300
banana workers marched in protest in nearby Guayquil on March 12th.
These new anti-union activities place renewed responsibility on the
Noboa Company and its owner, Alvaro Noboa Ponton - who is expected
to run for president of Ecuador in the next election - to demonstrate
respect for Ecuadorian law and internationally recognized worker rights.
There are over 220,000 banana workers in Ecuador! The Noboa Company
is the fourth biggest banana company in the world (after Chiquita,
Dole and Del Monte) and owns the Bonita brand.
The union has submitted to the Labor Minister an application for
legal registration. Assuming the Labor Minister approves the registration
of the new union, this will be the first independent banana workers'
union since the 1970s. 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.
~ TAKE ACTION NOW! Write a letter to the Noboa Company addressed
to its owner, Alvaro Noboa Ponton. Urge Noboa to (a) reinstate the
fired workers, (b) comply with Ecuadorian law concerning worker rights,
(c) recognize the union, and (d) negotiate the union's demands in
good faith. Send the letter to clr@clrlabor.org
We will forward your letter, along with the 100s of others we will
receive to the company.
~ For more information, clr@clrlabor.org,
202-232-5002, or visit US/LEAP in the web at: www.usleap.org
Fast Track
Congress members will be back in their home districts -- back in your
communities -- July 1 -7 for the July 4th recess. Let them hear you
demand a NO vote on Fast Track.
Once again, U.S. federal legislators are considering a bill referred
to as "Fast Track" that would give an unlimited amount of decision-making
power to the President in free trade talks. Fast Track is fiercely
undemocratic, and if passed, it will be used to accelerate negotiations
on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). FTAA has been described
as the expansion of NAFTA to the entire Western Hemisphere (except
Cuba). If it passes, it will be a devastating blow to workers and
labor rights around the world.
Many of you fought long and hard last year to defeat Fast Track (H.R.
3005) in the House of Representatives. Last August, Campaign for Labor
Rights coordinated three days of action called, "Cell Phone Call-in
Days." Some of you used your cell phones, along with a packet of information
we sent you, to stop other members of your community on the street,
talk to them about Fast Track, and get them to call your Representative
to say, "Vote NO!" Despite our hard work and the hard work of thousands
of other activists and organizations, on December 6, 2001 Fast Track
passed the House of Representatives by only one vote after incredible
deal making and pressure to make members change their votes. Now Fast
Track has to go through what is called a "conference committee" where
the different Senate and House Fast Track legislation are merged into
one and the resulting Fast Track bill will be voted on again on the
full House of Representatives floor.
This second vote, likely to happen after the July 4th recess, is
our chance to beat this dangerous piece of legislation for good!
~ TAKE ACTION NOW! Call your Representative's office her/him to oppose
Fast Track - use the AFL-CIO toll free number: 877-611-0063.
~ For more information on Fast Track and for other ideas of actions
you can take, email us at clr@clrlabor.org,
202-232-5002, or visit www.tradewatch.org/fasttrack/action
~ For information on local contact information for your Congress people:
www.action.citizen.org/pc/dbq/officials
Struggle for Right to Organize at Brylane
Warehouse, Indiana
On February 26, 2002, at the first Central Indiana Workers' Rights
Board (a project of the Indianapolis Jobs with Justice) hearing, Brylane
warehouse workers and a crowd of more than 100 of their supporters
gathered at the Indianapolis Urban League to expose what they describe
as a management campaign of fear and intimidation aimed at dissuading
them from joining UNITE! (the Union of Needletrades Industrial and
Textile Employees). Workers spoke of the segregation of Latino employees,
discrimination against union supporters and even the firing of a union
activist. The National Labor Relations Board is currently investigating
charges that Brylane management threatened violence against pro-union
employees, interrogated union supporters, and promised promotions
and raises to workers if they stopped supporting the union. Brylane,
a subsidiary of French conglomerate P.P.R. (Pinault-Printemps-Redoute),
markets and distributes apparel and home furnishings for nine mail
order catalogs. With over $1.6 billion in sales it is one of America's
largest catalog retailers.
~ For more informaiton on this hearing: www.jwj.org/WRBs/Brylane.htm
~ For more information on the broader campaign against PPR: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=302910
Call-in Week for Justice in Burma
This week (June 24-28), make a phone call to The Children's Place,
a clothing retailer profiting from goods made in Burma. Call the company
about how their business ties to Burma are helping to perpetuate human
rights abuses under Burma's current military dictatorship.
Demand that Children's Place stop selling goods from Burma: 1-877
PLACE USA.
~ For more information on the boycott of imports from Burma, contact
the Free Burma Coalition: (202) 547-5985, www.freeburmacoalition.org.
Nine Detained at Union Rally in Haiti
On May 27, nine people who participated in a union rally at the Guacimal
plantation in Haiti were detained. As a large number of grassroots
organizations in Haiti pointed out in a press release dated 11 June,
the nine have been imprisoned because they tried to exercise their
legal rights to assembly and association as guaranteed in the 1987
Constitution, and because they demanded the minimum working conditions
and benefits as laid down in the country's Labor Code.
~ For more information, email the Haiti Support Group, haitisupport@gn.apc.org
South Korean Embassies Picketed Worldwide
On 27 June, only days before the football (soccer) world cup final,
union activists in over 20 countries will be protesting against the
repressive policies of Nobel Peace Laureate President Kim Dae-jung's
government by holding demonstrations outside Korean embassies worldwide.
During the 26 days since the world cup kicked off in South Korea and
Japan, 19 trade unionists were put in jail for activities that are
a basic right of workers, bringing the total of union leaders in prison
to 51. Protest actions launched by global union federations IMF and
PSI (International Metalworkers' Federation and Public Services International)
will raise awareness of the shameful policies of the Korean government
and demand an end to the Korean government's feudal approach to trade
unions.
~ For more information, visit the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
on the web: http://kctu.org/action%20alert/june27action.htm
General Strike in Spain
Spanish trade unions say an estimated 10 million people followed their
call for a general strike on Thursday, June 20. At the end of the
24-hour work stoppage, union leaders in Madrid said there would be
further action if the government did not back down over changes that
tightened unemployment benefits. The strike was the first of its kind
in nearly a decade. The two main unions involved, UGT and Comisiones
Obreras, reported that more than 80% of employees had stayed away
from work.
~ For more information and news articles: www.labourstart.org
Don't Lift U.S. Ban on Military Aid
to Guatemala
In recent months there has been an increase in threats, attacks, and
murders against human rights defenders in Guatemala. These intimidations
have occurred despite conditions placed on international aid to move
forward with the Peace Accords process. The situation could worsen
if the ban on U.S. military aid to Guatemala is lifted. Congress is
now considering lifting the ban on IMET -- International Military
Education and Training.
~ For more information and what you can do, visit www.nisgua.org
Help Campaign for Labor Rights Update
Our Database
Campaign for Labor Rights is known around the world as a powerful
grassroots mobilizing force within the anti-sweatshop movement. Help
us grow our organization and become even more effective - just click
on the link below, and fill out the form that appears. We will NOT
share your contact information without your permission.
~Find the form at: www.vidacom.org/clr/contact.html
New Book: Students Against Sweatshops
-- the making of a
movement. United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), heads a wave
of anti-sweatshop organizing that has reached over one hundred American
college campuses in the past two years. From the Northeast to the
Southwest, public and private, large and small, students at these
universities have one simple demand: clothing bearing university logos
must be produced under healthy, safe, and fair working conditions.
This short, punchy book is both a record of a new mass campaign, and
a tool for the realization of its goals. Written by USAS activists
and an expert journalist, it uses interviews, analysis and graphics
to consider issues at the core of anti-sweatshop organizing.
~ For more information, or to place orders, www.versobooks.com
Fifth Annual United Students Against
Sweatshops
Conference August 8-11, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts. The
conference is gearing up to be an educational and inspirational four
days -- there will be workshops on WRC campaigns, sweatshops worldwide,
building student power and your organizations, local living wages,
international solidarity, the FTAA, farmworker struggles, and lots,
lots more! ~ Register at www.InItTogether.org
or call for more information: 202-NO-SWEAT.
Students Transforming and Resisting
Corporations
(STARC) Conference August 9-12, Middle Tennessee State University.
Featuring the Carpet Bag Theater and Suzanne Pharr from the Highlander
Center. Travel scholarships are available. ~ Register online at www.starcalliance.org
or for more information email, lauraclose@yahoo.com
Student Action with Farmworkers Seventh
Annual
Symposium Sowing Seeds for Change Symposium, November 8-10,
California State University in Sacramento. Join students, farmworkers,
faculty and advocates in building a national coalition for change.
~ For more information or to submit workshop proposals, contact SAF,
phone: (919) 660-3660, farmworker_justice@yahoo.com
ICFTU Survey for 2002: 223 Assassinated
Trade Unionists
The Annual Survey of the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions (ICTFU) on trade union rights violations, which covers 132
countries and territories across the world, notes 223 cases of murdered
or "disappeared" trade unionists in 2001 (14 more than in
2000), with a terrifying record number of 201 assassinations or disappearances
in Colombia alone. Over 4,000 trade unionists were arrested, 1,000
injured and 10,000 sacked (fired). The survey identifies the stubborn
anti-democratic stance of certain states and fierce competition in
the global economy; trends that can only be combated by international
trade union solidarity.
For the full report: www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991216167&Language=EN
"World Bank Policies and Labour Rights"
A provocative analysis presented by Aksel Wahl, a member of the Our
World is Not for Sale network, at the World Bank-ABCDE conference
in Oslo recently. He argues that the increasing brutalization of labor
are not the result of inadequate or absent regulations and labor laws.
Rather it is first and foremost a question of power of capital over
labor it cannot be changed only by formally introducing labour standards.
He calls on the trade union movement of the North to support trade
union and labor rights in the South by struggling to limit the power
of own multinational companies and to regain the control of financial
capital. The struggle for labor standards, for trade union and labour
rights is of course important -- not only important, it is decisive
-- but only as a part of a real struggle to empower workers and to
strengthen trade unions, a struggle which is aimed at shifting the
balance of forces between labour and capital. That means fighting
market liberalism, not accepting it in exchange for formal minimum
labour standards. Market liberalism is a health hazard and a threat
against trade union and labour rights -- and the World Bank neoliberal
policy is not a part of the solution. It is a part of the problem.
Your Comments are welcome.
For the full essay, email us at clr@clrlabor.org
Mexico Solidarity Network New Website
Check out this new, improved website for the MSN weekly news and analysis,
urgent actions, a calendar of activities, information on delegations,
current campaigns, and much more. ~ www.mexicosolidarity.org
"Fast Track's Trojan Horse"
The American Prospect, May 20.
When Fast Track -- also known as "trade promotion authority" -- passed
the House on December 6, many Beltway fortune-tellers expected it
to sail smoothly through the trade-friendly Senate. More than four
months later, though, the measure's fate remains uncertain. As one
Senate staffer told us, "The only thing I can tell you right now with
some certainty is that no one seems to know what's going to happen."
~ For full article: www.tradeobservatory.org/news/index.cfm?ID=3495
"Linking Textiles to Labor Standards:
Prospects for
Cambodia and Vietnam" Efforts to craft effective vehicles to
link trade and labor rights continue to be a major goal for fair trade
advocates and members of the global justice movement. Much of this
debate has focused on the issue of a social clause in the World Trade
Organization (WTO) and the appropriate use of sanctions as a policy
tool to advance labor rights. Alongside this debate, a different approach
linking trade and labor rights has emerged in the context of the textile
trade between the U.S. and Cambodia. The first trade agreement of
its kind, the 1999 U.S.-Cambodian textile compact links increases
in garment export quotas to improvements in labor conditions.
~ For full report, visit www.fpif.org/papers/txt-labor.html
Workers Remember Website commemorates
Workers Struggle
in China
A new web site has been launched as part of the Workers Remember campaign,
commemorating the struggle for independent trade unionism in China
in the Spring of 1989 and the bloody repression of June 4. The campaign
concerns the workers' involvement in the 1989 Democracy Movement,
the arrest and imprisonment of trade unionists and activists over
the past 13 years, and workers' struggles today.
~ www.workersremember.org
What is the G8 and Why Should You Care?
A multimedia introduction to the countries making up the Group of
8 (G-8), which begins meeting today (June 26) in Canada. Who are they,
what role do they play in global affairs, and what is their record
on key development issues?
~ For full report, visit www.oneworld.net/us/
"California Supreme Court says Nike
can be Sued Over
its Corporate Policy Statements" By Mike McKee, The Recorder, May
3, 2002 In a ruling that's sure to send a chill wind down Madison
Avenue, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that companies
can be sued for false advertising over policy statements made in public
relations campaigns. Voting 4-3 in a case involving Nike Inc., the
justices, relying on U.S. Supreme Court case law, said statements
by the Oregon-based shoemaker denying allegations that some overseas
factories are sweatshops were a form of commercial speech not protected
by the First Amendment.
"Because in the statements at issue here Nike was acting as a commercial
speaker, because its intended audience was primarily the buyers of
its products and because the statements consisted of factual representations
about its own business operations," Justice Joyce Kennard wrote, "we
conclude that the statements were commercial speech for purposes of
applying state laws designed to prevent false advertising and other
forms of commercial deception." The court's ruling did not decide
whether Nike's ads were false or misleading, instead leaving that
for the trial court, which had sided with Nike at the demurrer stage.
"FTAA- A Gamble Stacked Against Migrant
Communities"
By Karl Flecker of the Polaris Institute.
Tomas Ramirez is just trying to beat the odds. He has tried and failed
to cross the fence separating Tijuana from San Diego 8 times. Tomas
is one of 1.5 million Mexicans arrested every year trying to cross
the US border in hopes of finding better employment and make a better
future for himself. Tomas' attempt to defy the odds means trying by
whatever means possible to join the 125 million people worldwide who
move from one country to another. Tomas is part of the 40% of Mexico's
100 million people who live in poverty, 25% of whom live in extreme
poverty. No surprise really since the minimum wage is around $3.50/day.
The increased border industry that the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) brought did not include prosperity. Instead 8 million Mexicans
have fallen from the middle class into poverty during 8 years of NAFTA.
~ For the entire text of the article, www.polarisinstitute.org
Please send entries for next month's edition of Campaign
for Labor Rights' Monthly Index to: clr@clrlabor.org
In Solidarity,
Campaign for Labor Rights Staff
202-232-5002
