In the News

The Labor Agenda

The New York Times
12/28/2008

There is no doubt that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen a labor secretary who could be a transformative force in a long-neglected arena. The question is whether he will let her.

Hilda Solis, a United States representative from Southern California, is the daughter of immigrant parents with union jobs. She has been an unfailing advocate of workers’ rights during eight years in Congress and before that, in California politics.

Police uniforms could come at premium

Journal Sentinel
12/25/2008

 

It looks like the Milwaukee Police Department will get the new uniform style it wants, but it could come at a significant price.

The only supplier that made City Hall's first cut, Goldfish Uniforms, submitted the highest-cost bid by $340,000, a 33% premium compared with one of its main competitors, city records show.

Goldfish, for example, would charge the city $72 for each pair of navy-blue uniform pants, compared with the $53 or $59 bid by two competitors. The contract calls for 9,000 pairs over several years...

Renuka Chowdhury's call: Child labour free!

Daily News & Analysis (India)
12/15/2008

By Vineeta Pandey

New Delhi: NEW DELHI: Minister for women and child development (WCD) Renuka Chowdhury wants all products sold in India to declare it is child labour-free.

Advocating stringent punishment for employers of child labour, Chowdhury said the government may bring in an exclusive policy and Act to prevent exploitation of children. The ministry also plans to redefine children in various legislations by including everybody up to 18 years of age in the bracket. At present, child labour covers children below 14 years of age.

Detecting products made in sweatshops

Cleveland Plain Dealer
12/14/2008

Q: I found a rug at a local chain that looks to be very poor quality, and I'm afraid it was made in a sweatshop. The only label I can see is a piece of tape that says "made in India."

I asked the store buyer about it, and he said it wasn't made in a sweatshop. Things like that are harder to find out than I would have thought. I don't know what I expected - a tag that said, "Made by bonded children," perhaps?

- Bonita Kale, Euclid

A: It is hard to find out the conditions under which imported goods are made.

No sweat

Lansing City Pulse
12/11/2008

Rally at Capitol seeks to draw attention to state-supported sweatshops

Members of the group Sweatfree Michigan rallied at the state Capitol Wednesday against taxpayer support of sweatshops. The group collected over 1,000 postcards addressed to Gov. Jennifer Granholm calling for local and national efforts to end public purchasing of state employee uniforms from sweatshops.

Economy Complicates Labor Dispute

New York Times
12/11/2008

ADJUNTAS, P.R. — At a squat green factory here in the mountains of central Puerto Rico, workers stitch together camouflage uniforms for American troops. They arrive around sunrise, and the first thing they see is a banner that reads, “Say no to the union!”

It is the most visible sign of an intensifying conflict over sick days that has set mostly rural Puerto Rican workers against one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of military clothing. And in a sign of what may be to come in other depressed areas, both sides seem determined to use the faltering economy to gain leverage.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Trade Unionists Face Deadly Dangers

Inter Press Service
12/10/2008

By Raúl Gutiérrez

Central America has become the world's most dangerous region for trade unionists, due to the increase in threats, torture, disappearances and murders, says a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

These practices, absent from the region for a time, have reappeared, trampling on the rights of organised workers, the report indicates.

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