While I'm sure Dave Zirin's concern for the people of Liberia is sincere, his recent opinion piece
regarding Firestone Natural Rubber operations contains a host of
unfounded allegations and paints an unfair picture of the situation in
Liberia.

It is important to set the record straight.

Firestone has a long-standing partnership with the Liberian people that
is built on mutual respect. We are working very hard to help the
Liberian people recover from a devastating civil war that claimed as
many as 300,000 lives and destroyed the country's infrastructure and
social services. Let me address Zirin's points head on.

First, the International Labor Rights Fund has brought a lawsuit
against the Firestone Natural Rubber Co., but the fact of a filing does
not mean that the claims contained in a lawsuit are truthful or
accurate. Zirin should have mentioned that last June a federal judge
dismissed outright 11 of the 12 charges brought by the ILRF. Firestone
will continue to defend itself against these allegations, and we will
not allow this litigation to distract us from the important work we do
in Liberia.

Second, Firestone Natural Rubber has a zero-tolerance policy against
child labor. Our policy of hiring only workers who are at least 18
years of age actually exceeds the Liberian labor law requirements by
two years. Firestone does not hire or employ anyone under 18 and has a
strict zero-tolerance policy against child labor that also prohibits
parents from bringing their children to work. Employees who violate the
policy are subject to dismissal.

Third, the average work day for a tapper at the Firestone operation is
about eight to 10 hours, not the 21 Zirin cites in his opinion piece.
That number is based on an off-the-cuff, imprecise comment I made
during a live interview conducted by "Inside Africa." I was speaking
conversationally, not literally, about the short time it takes to tap a
rubber tree. The reference was turned into a crude (and false) math
calculation in the production booth, and then I was not given an
opportunity to clarify that comment on the air. The ILRF was
irresponsible to continue to claim the figure as fact.

Fourth, Firestone is currently making a substantial investment to
construct a new wastewater treatment plant to ensure that any water
discharged from our operations will be re-routed away from the
Farmington River, through equalization and clarification tanks, and
into constructed wetlands for treatment. This project is now under
construction and will meet the environmental standards for water
quality in the United States or any other developed country.

Fifth, we are committed to protecting the health and welfare of our
employees. Firestone Liberia uses common fertilizers and other products
to nurture the trees. These products are used in a safe and effective
manner. We will continue to operate in a manner that focuses on and
improves the safety and health of our employees and our Liberian
neighbors.

Sixth, the Firestone Agricultural Workers Union of Liberia does have a
newly elected leadership. There was a legal challenge to that election
by another faction of the union (not by the company), and a lower court
nullified the election results. The matter was then appealed by one
group of the union to the Liberian Supreme Court, which overruled the
lower court. As we fully respect the rule of law, we stated publicly
that we would recognize whichever representative group was ultimately
successful before the Supreme Court. Now that the Supreme Court has
ruled, we stand ready to negotiate with new union leadership to reach a
labor agreement that's in the best interest of both sides. In fact, the
first meeting with the new union leadership has already occurred.

Finally, even Firestone Liberia's lowest-earning workers receive more
than three times the monthly average wage of other Liberian workers.
Employees are paid regularly — in U.S. dollars — and are provided many
other benefits, including vacation, pensions and healthcare fully paid
by the company. We believe so strongly that the best place for children
is in school that we currently operate 23 schools, including a high
school, with approximately 15,000 students who attend free of charge.

We are proud that our sister company is sponsoring the Super Bowl
halftime show. The show is at the center of a game that is the pinnacle
of sporting events. But we play the game of our lives every day just to
keep our people safe in Liberia. Firestone is one of a handful of
companies that have remained in Liberia despite the widespread chaos
that followed a bloody, devastating war. We're working side by side
with the Liberian people to help rebuild their country and their
economy. Despite difficult and dangerous circumstances, we're making
real progress. It is painful to face such unjustified criticism when
you know how hard you're working to make things better. We will
continue to do the right thing for our friends in Liberia. We encourage
Zirin to visit our Liberian operations and witness this progress for
himself.

Dan Adomitis is president of the Firestone Natural Rubber Co.

I suppose I should thank Dan Adomitis for believing that my concern
for workers in Liberia is sincere. However, I don't believe that Mr.
Adomitis holds the moral authority to judge anyone's concern or, for
that matter, their sincerity.

Adomitis writes that my piece contains "a host of unfounded
allegations" regarding his company's alleged practice of child labor
and environmental degradation. Far from unfounded allegations,
affidavits are readily available from child laborers who toiled on the
Firestone plantation. Their heartbreaking testimony has never been
disputed. And despite a heavy dose of clever corporate spin, his
response challenges absolutely none of the essential points of my piece.

He writes, "Firestone Natural Rubber has a zero-tolerance policy
against child labor." No one doubts that this is official policy. The
problem is that, according to the affidavits, this policy isn't worth
the paper it's printed on. Families are enlisting their spouses and
children while the overseers at the plantation look the other way. This
has been documented extensively. The affidavits recently filed in the
advancing lawsuit detail instances of Firestone managers encouraging
workers to bring their children to work and sending them running if
cars or photographers approach.

This gap between policy and reality continues as Adomitis writes that
"the average work day for a tapper at the Firestone operation is about
eight to 10 hours, not the 21 Zirin cites in his opinion piece." Once
again, I don't doubt for a second that this is in the employee
handbook. But that doesn't match the stubborn reality on the ground.
Because of the onerous quotas, and the 50% reduction in wages if quotas
are not met, an eight to 10 hour work day just doesn't meet reality.
Most work 12 hours, and in the affidavits, there is sworn testimony
that even some children work from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m.

But it's on the environment that Adomitis really tips his hand. His
letter is simply not a serious refutation but an exercise in PR.
Firestone's wastewater treatment plant comes after 81 years of dumping
toxic waste into rivers used by the Liberian people for bathing,
fishing and drinking. Now the area around the Farmington River is home
to a host of health problems. The meticulously documented truth is that
toxic-waste dumping has been regular practice for years. The fact that
the Liberian Environmental Protection Agency — a government
organization — cited Firestone is particularly damning, given the very
sweet relationship between Firestone and the government.

In conclusion, Adomitis writes that "even Firestone Liberia's
lowest-earning workers receive more than three times the monthly
average wage of other Liberian workers. … We believe so strongly that
the best place for children is in school that we currently operate 23
schools." Notice Adomitis ducks the fact that if quotas aren't met,
that wage advantage goes down the tubes. Also, according to the ILRF,
"only people born on the plantation grounds are eligible [to attend
these schools]. To prove eligibility, one must produce a birth
certificate that can only be produced with exorbitant fees also charged
by the plantation."

At long last, either child labor is used or it is not. This is not
officially denied once. There is a reason for this. We should take
moment to think about it during this Sunday's halftime show.

Dave Zirin is the author of "Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports."