Week Of Film Screenings And
Noboa Sign-On Letter
Labor Alerts: a service of Campaign for Labor Rights
Labor Alert posted March 25, 2002
In this alert:
[ Information in this Labor Alert provided by Witness and US/LEAP
]
"Behind the Labels: Garment Workers in US Saipan", is a new film by
WITNESS and Director/Producer Tia Lessin. It exposes how thousands of
Chinese and Filipina women pay huge fees to work in the garment factories
on the Pacific island of Saipan - the only U.S. territory exempt from
U.S. federal minimum wage and immigration laws. The clothing they sew,
bearing the 'Made in the USA' label, is shipped duty and quota free
to the U.S. for sale by the GAP, J. Crew, Polo, and other retailers.
Hidden camera footage and garment worker's personal stories, reveal
a world of indentured labor on the US territory of Saipan, where 14
hour shifts, payless pay days and lockdowns are routine. "Behind the
Labels" takes the story from the sweatshop floor to the streets, where
protesters across the US and throughout the U.S. and throughout the
world, wage an ongoing battle against irresponsible globalization.
Among the themes touched on in the video:
- *GAP contracts with garment factories in Saipan and in the Global
South.
- * The complex, international apparel industry.
- *Women in the Global Economy.
- * Human Trafficking.
- * Labor and Human Rights and Multinational Corporations.
Campaign For Labor Rights -- along with WITNESS, United Students Against
Sweatshops, Mediarights.org, UNITE!, and Behindthelabel.org -- is organizing
a coordinated week of screenings of this important new film. The week
of actions is called, "Looking Behind the Labels Week." During the week
of April 25 - May 1 there will be over 50 screenings across the country
on campuses and in communities, as well as a national media outreach
campaign. Members of Congress on Capitol Hill may also screen the film.
Groups participating in Looking Behind the Labels Week will be sent
screening guides, action materials, and sample press materials to use
in their local communities.
Use this film as an organizing tool!
- * To launch a discussion and build awareness around sweatshop issues
in your local community or on campus.
- * To deepen and grow the group of people in your area working on
these issues.
- * To build coalitions with between groups in your community.
- *To mobilize and organize around a specific campaign or action.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to organize
a screening in your community. TAPES COST $50. Send an email with your
contact information and address to Campaign for Labor Rights, clr@clrlabor.org.
To receive a tape, send a check for $50 to Campaign for Labor Rights,
and mail it to: CLR/Looking Behind the Labels Week,1470 Irving Street,
NW, Washington, DC 20010. Please also outline details of your proposed
screening including venue, date, expected attendance, interest in linking
with other groups in area, and action plans - if known at this stage.
For more information on WITNESS and to view an excerpted version of
'Behind the Labels' online go to www.witness.org.
In couple of weeks, we will send you another Labor Alert including
a schedule of screenings across the country.
As part of the campaign to support the Noboa banana workers in Ecuador
who are fighting for respect of basic labor rights including the right
organize a union, the banana workers' union and its local support organization,
FENACLE, are calling for an organizational sign-on letter from North
America and Europe. This letter will be an important tool to gain local
press for the workers' campaign -- fill out the form below to add the
name of your organization to the list of signers.
We understand that while members of the press were present at the
march held by over 300 workers after the firing of 120 union supporters,
nothing has actually been reported in Ecuadorian newspapers or television.
The local organizers plan to use this sign-on letter in a paid ad in
Ecuadorian newspapers to force the local media to bring this important
case to light. [The text of the letter is below.]
With workers out of a job creating an immediacy of the issue, the
time line for this letter is swift with a deadline of the evening of
Tuesday, March 26th.
Because the close deadline of the FENACLE and banana union paid ad
may exclude some from being able to sign on, a second paid ad sponsored
by international organizations (not FENACLE and the union) will be posted
shortly afterwards with a similar message. The deadline to sign up for
the second ad is Monday, April 1st.
To sign on, please email US/LEAP the form below with the subject heading
"Banana Worker Paid Ad". Email it to: usleapja@mindspring.com
FENACLE and the union are requesting (though not requiring) a $25
donation from endorsing organizations to cover the cost of the paid
ad. Donations from U.S.-based organizations should be made out to US/LEAP,
and that group will forward the money to the banana union and FENACLE.
Send checks to: PO Box 268290, Chicago, IL 60626.
~For more information about this campaign, check www.clrlabor.org,
or www.usleap.org
YES! We endorse the letter to FENACLE and the banana union in Ecuador
supporting worker rights:
Organization's name:
Organization's name in Spanish (I understand that if I don't provide
this, my org's name will appear in the ad in English):
Organization's location:
Name of person representing the organization (optional):
Title:
Organization listed for identification purposes only? Yes or No.
You can contact me with questions at:
Dear Fenacle and General Union of Plantation Workers of Haciendas
Yanayacu 1 & 2, Rey Rancho 1 & 2, La Nueva, Zapotal, & La Teresa:
A few weeks ago workers at the Alamos plantations owned by the Noboa
Company began with your support to organize a union in order to address
issues of pay, benefits, and working conditions.
As religious, human rights, solidarity and trade union organizations
in North America and Europe, we wish to publicly express our support
for your efforts to gain dignity and justice for Ecuadorian banana workers.
We also pledge to take actions to support your effort to form a union.
We will, with respect, ask both Mr. Alvaro Noboa, owner of the Noboa
Company, and the government of Ecuador to ensure respect for your right
to form a union.
Unfortunately, it is commonly known that Ecuadorian banana workers
are paid very low salaries and almost no social benefits. And despite
being the world's largest exporter of bananas, with hundreds of thousands
of banana workers, Ecuador has by far the fewest number of unionized
banana workers compared to all other leading exporting countries in
Latin America. We believe that Ecuadorian banana workers must be free
to exercise their right to organize in accordance with ILO conventions
87 and 98, the Ecuadorian constitution and Ecuadorian labor code so
they can seek to improve their own working conditions.
Consumers in the U.S. and Europe are increasingly concerned about
the treatment of workers in the Latin America who produce the goods
they purchase. We hope to be able to report to these consumers that
1,400 banana workers in Ecuador at the Alamos plantations do indeed
have the right to form unions and negotiate with their employer in good
faith.
We pledge to stand with you during your very important struggle.
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