Blog

Bush's War on Workers

April 14, 2008

First, we already have a trade deal with Colombia.  This so-called 'free trade' agreement is just a different set of rules, to replace the current set of rules.  Not better or worse, and certainly no more 'free,' just a different set of rules.  Editorial boards of major papers should read the details before jumping in to suggest that we are somehow withholding access to our markets by failing to pass this particular deal.

Wal-Mart Speaking Tour visits Dover, OH

April 11, 2008

As a union member, I would like to thank Savin and Didier for having the
strength to come here and share their experiences. Giving people a face to put
with the stories that we hear about is very important as we try to educate local
communities of the inhumane conditions workers face everyday in other countries
so that products are available here in the US. Cheap goods come at a high cost
somewhere down the line even if we don’t see it. Big corporations are reaping
huge profits at the expense of workers and consumers.

We stand with Savin and Didier, and others like them, to continue their
struggle to organize and fight for fair, safe, equitable, and humane working
conditions all around the globe.

Sweatshop Workers Visit Goshen College

April 10, 2008

Our family has not shopped at Wal-Mart for many years for some of the very reasons we were hearing Sunday evening. The presentations both were quite convincing about the need to buy fair-trade items whenever possible, pressure international and domestic companies to treat workers appropriately and with a living wage, support local businesses, and purchase and eat locally grown and manufactured items to the extent possible. I'm grateful we had the opportunity to hear Savin and Didier, and that students have the chance to serve in internships with SweatFree Communities.

Firestone: Child Labor Continues in Liberia

April 9, 2008

Since the international campaign to stop Firestone's abusive of workers on their rubber plantation in Liberia began several years ago, Firestone has claimed that they do not hire children under the age of 18.  Meanwhile, they impose an unreasonably high production quota on workers which in order to be met requires them to bring their children and wives to work with them.  If they do not meet their quota, their low wages are halved.  If they do not receive their full wages, they will struggle to provide food for their families and many of the workers I spoke to told me that they have very little access to food already.  Since the children are not formal employees, Firestone is able to use word play to make it seem like their policies don't direc

Flower Worker Dora Acero Speaks on the Hill

April 9, 2008

Dora Acero has worked in the
Colombian flower industry for over 15 years. For the past 8 years, she has
worked at La Fragancia plantation, owned by Dole Fresh Flowers, a subsidiary of
Dole Food Company. At the briefing, she shared some her experiences she has had
while working at the flower plantation, such as the humiliation of always
having to ask permission to use the bathroom, and having to sacrifice her dignity
in order to support her family, as many women flower workers must do. Dora and
other workers in her union (Untrafragancia) continue to struggle to reach a
collective bargaining agreement with Dole. If they reach an agreement, they will
be the first independent union to have a labor contract in the entire Colombian

Sweatshop Workers Visit Govt Officials, Students, and Unions

April 9, 2008

Already, our guests have spoken to hundreds of people--students, union
members, elected officials, the media, sharing their personal stories
and inviting people in the U.S. to support their struggles:

Savin Phal, from Cambodia, is a mother of five who was recently fired
from her job at the King's Land factory sewing Wal-Mart brand clothing
because she tried to organize a union. Now she is the vice president of
a local union with the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers
Democratic Union (C.CAWDU).

Wal-Mart Sweatshop Workers Speaking Tour

April 4, 2008

Join SweatFree Communities and the International Labor Rights Forum for the 2008 Wal-Mart Sweatshop Workers Speaking Tour

From April 6-18, 2008, workers from Costa Rica and Cambodia
will visit ten cities in Michigan and Ohio, sharing their stories of
what it's like to work in the fields and factories that fill the
shelves of Wal-Mart. With your help we will educate our communities
about the high cost behind Wal-Mart's much publicized low prices, and
we will inspire action to improve working conditions at home and
abroad.

Cargill & ADM: Supporting Slavery?

April 4, 2008

Section 3105 of the Farm Bill, called Voluntary Certification of Child Labor Status of Agricultural Imports, would provide a method which producers of agricultural products could use to certify that their products are free of child labor and forced labor.  The Department of Labor, under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, is compiling a list of imported goods believed to be produced using forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards.

Is Free Trade Worth This?

April 3, 2008

It should be noted that most Colombian workers and their unions are against the proposed U.S.-Colombia trade agreement; unlike American investors, workers in Colombia have little to gain by further U.S. investment without real accountability for violence against unions and for other human rights abuses.

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