By International Labor Rights Forum

Today, ILRF brought a survivor of the Tazreen fire and a Bangladeshi labor rights leader to meet with Rep. George Miller in Washington, DC. Here's what Rep. Miller said following the meeting: 

Rep.
Miller Statement on Meeting with Survivor of Bangladesh’s Tazreen Factory
Fire and other Human Rights Leaders

WASHINGTON
– Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the House
Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today
after meeting with a survivor of the Tazreen factory fire and other human
rights leaders. Rep. Miller met with Sumi Abedin, a survivor of the
Tazreen fire in Bangladesh that killed 112 workers in
November 2012, Kalpona Akter, the executive director of the Bangladesh
Center for Worker Solidarity, and other international workers’ rights leaders.

“Sumi
has shown great courage in travelling to the United States in order to speak
out on the horrific Tazreen factory fire that took the lives of 112 of her
coworkers. Her stories provide real insight into the outrageous working
conditions that she and her fellow workers had to endure. There have been at
least 40 fires in Bangladeshi garment factories since this tragedy.  It’s
only a matter of time before the next Tazreen happens. I am increasingly
concerned that the response by most U.S. brands that subcontract with these
manufacturers has been woefully inadequate. When the cost to fix these fire
hazards is estimated to be a mere 10 cents per garment, global brands like GAP
and Wal-Mart need to be committing resources and entering into enforceable
agreements to protect the lives of workers who create the ready-to-wear clothes
they sell. Sumi’s coworkers who perished in this fire must not be forgotten.”