Firestone is correct that "the amount of work that each employee is expected to complete, as well as the conditions of that work, is established through negotiations between the company and FAWUL [the Firestone Agricultural Workers Union of Liberia." In fact, FAWUL and the company are negotiating a new contract right now. Consumers around the world who e-mailed Firestone are encouraging Firestone to use these negotiations as an opportunity to finally end the exploitative and unpopular system of transporting latex on the plantation.
We expect Firestone to continue to negotiate with the union in good faith. We encourage the company management to take a leadership role in implementing safer and less burdensome systems for workers.
Meanwhile, however, the company is sponsoring the Superbowl Halftime show this Sunday for the third year in a row (a deal believed to cost $10 million) instead of investing money in working systems that don't dehumanize workers. We know that Firestone is hearing our message, but we need to increase our actions in order to win improvements for workers.
In the lead-up to the Superbowl, you can take action in a few easy ways:
- Send an e-mail to Firestone here;
- Ask 5 friends to join you;
- Post this message on Twitter: "@BridgestoneINFO @NFL #Superbowl #Halftime sponsor #Bridgestone #Firestone: Stop exploiting workers in #Liberia! http://bit.ly/8taTuu #SB44"
- Post the link to the e-mail action on any social networking websites you use: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/Firestone2010
