In the News

Riot police break up Zimbabwe protests as cholera deaths mount

Agence France-Presse
12/03/2008

Baton-wielding riot police broke up protests in Harare and detained dozens of unionists on Wednesday, as Zimbabwe's health and economic crises worsened with more than 560 people now killed by a cholera epidemic.

Trade unionists who staged a protest against limits on cash withdrawals from banks were beaten by security forces in central Harare.

Africa: Report Condemns Anti-Union Repressions

Daily Independent (Nigeria)
12/02/2008

The anti-union repressions in Africa have affected thousands of men and women who were calling for decent work and a future for their children.

ITUC's latest Annual Survey on Violations of Trade Union Rights has shown that the undemocratic nature of many political regimes, the absence of the rule of law and inadequate labour legislation in Africa have allowed many managers and employers to exert intolerable pressure on unions and their members

Labor Groups Release Sweatshop-Free Guide

Women's Wear Daily
12/02/2008

WASHINGTON — Two labor rights organizations released a consumer guide for companies that produce and sell sweatshop-free merchandise.

The “2009 Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide,” produced by SweatFree Communities (http://www.sweatfree.org/) and the International Labor Rights Forum, is a listing of apparel made under “ethical conditions,” according to the lists’ authors. The guide has been released annually for the past three years, said a spokeswoman for the International Labor Rights Forum.

Claeson, Raynor: Shop with a conscience

Athens Banner-Herald
11/30/2008

To the editor:

The start of the holiday shopping season also is the start of the most active time of year for charitable giving. But in the midst of an economic crisis, Americans are considering what, or even if, they can contribute to charity this year.

With that in mind, what about the notion that our shopping - the way we choose to spend our dollars - can create positive change? When you choose to buy a sweater for your son or socks for your sister, you can affect the world around you.

Colombia, Trade and Human Rights

The New York Times
11/22/2008

Re “Pass the Colombian Trade Pact” (editorial, Nov. 18):

You argue that rejecting the United States-Colombia free trade agreement “would send a dismal message to allies the world over that the United States is an unreliable partner.”

But the most dismal message we could send is that we are not concerned by the egregious and systematic violence against Colombian workers, near-total impunity for the perpetrators of that violence, and the failure of President Álvaro Uribe’s government to reform its labor laws.

Activists protest Drummond Co.'s employment practices, protection of union workers

The Birmingham News
11/21/2008

By Roy L. Williams

A group of Colombian union workers and peace activists on Thursday afternoon staged a protest in Linn Park against Drummond Co., accusing the Birmingham-based company of human rights violations and failure to protect union workers.

Drummond is a major supplier of coal, much of it from one of the world's largest open-pit mines, in La Loma, Colombia. The hour-long rally attracted about 50 people.

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