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Labor Alerts: a service of Campaign for Labor RightsPosted August 9, 2002
In this alert:
[ Information in this Alert provided by Thai Labour Campaign, www.thailabour.org www.thailabour.org/ ; US/Leap, www.usleap.org ]
LIGHT HOUSE WORKERS STILL NOT REINSTATEDLast month, Campaign for Labor Rights alerted you that over 800 workers had been fired from a Samsonite supply factory in Thailand called Light House. Over 200 Light House workers had written a letter in their own blood to the Thai parliament in protest of the company's union busting activities. The luggage produced in the Light House factory gets sold in the U.S. and around the world by Samsonite and other luggage retailers. Hundreds of letters have been written to the Samsonite Corporation as a result of that Alert. Samsonite responded to your letters with a statement from their Denver headquarters which read, "We understand that the situation has now been resolved to the satisfaction of both the union and Light House, and the workers, including the Union representatives, are back at work." But the situation has not been resolved. 75 workers are still locked out of the factory and have not been reinstated to their jobs. Most of these workers, all of whom are women, have eight to fifteen years experience in the factory. These 75 are among the most vocally supportive of the union. Additionally, the 20 union leaders, who were reinstated to the factory along with 37 other workers, have not been allowed to return to their original jobs. Instead, they have been given quality control positions outside the factory which inhibits them from interacting with other workers in the plant. Light House is reportedly in the process of hiring new workers to the plant - filling positions that should belong to the 75 union supporters who maintain a picket line outside the factory. ~ For more information and background on this campaign, contact Campaign for Labor Rights: clr@clrlabor.org, 202-232-5002, and visit www.thailabour.org and www.icftu.org
TAKE ACTION NOW!Contact Samsonite and other U.S. luggage retailers that are supplied by Light House - Atlantic Luggage and Beverly Recardo Hills. Demand that the retailers contact Light House and urge the company to (1) reinstate the 75 workers who are still locked out of the factory, and (2) end all other anti-union intimidation within the factory. Send your letters to: ** Samsonite Corporation CEO Luc Van Nevel 11200 East 45th Ave. PO Box 39112 Denver, CO 80239 Fax: 303-373-6300 ~ Or call Samsonite: 303-373-2000 **Airway Industries, Inc. Atlantic Luggage Division President Rick Abraham 10th & Factory Avenue Ellwood City, PA 16117 Fax: 724.752.3444 **Beverly Ricardo Hills, Inc. Chairman of the Board, Robert Owen 15915 Canary Ave. La Mirada, CA 90638 ~ Or call Beverly Ricardo Hills: 714-523-9548 ** NOTE: Please let us know that you contacted the retailers-- mailto:clr@clrlabor.org clr@clrlabor.org - so that we can report back to you and the Light House union.
NOBOA ON UNIVISIONOn Thursday, August 15, at 9 pm central time, Aqui y Ahora, Univision's news magazine, is scheduled to air a television report on the violent attack of workers on Noboa banana plantations in Ecuador. This violence occurred on May 15 and 16 of this year when 400 hired thugs attacked workers who are striking for a collective bargaining agreement. The footage provided to Univision includes 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. Contact Alvaro Noboa after the airing of the program to demonstrate your support for the workers and their campaign to win a collective bargaining agreement! ~ For more information and background on this campaign contact Campaign for Labor Rights, clr@clrlabor.org, 202-232-5002, and visit www.usleap.org
WATCH THE SHOW, THEN CONTACT NOBOAAfter the airing of the Univision news show on the attack of the Noboa banana workers in Ecuador, scheduled for August 15th at 9:00 PM Central Daylight Time (check your local listing for schedule), contact Mr. Alvaro Noboa about seeing the show. The program will air internationally, and the request for this action is being sent to activists and labor rights supporters throughout North and South America. Internationally coordinated faxes and emails to Noboa will be an impressive demonstration of our broad-based solidarity with the Noboa workers struggle. Urge Alvaro Noboa, owner of the Noboa Corporation and the leading Presidential candidate in Ecuador, to respect basic worker rights, to fire those responsible for the attacks, and to negotiate with the unions in good faith. Remind Mr. Noboa of the importance of Ecuador's eligibility for U.S. trade benefits under ATPA.
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