Press Releases

For media inquiries please contact Rachel Cohen: racohen78 [at] gmail.com

Rocky Shoes sweatshop abuses shed light on failed trade model

Unrest at footwear factory exposes consequences of NAFTA-style trade deals as presidential candidates make appeals to displaced Ohio manufacturing workers
02/28/08

Human rights and labor organizations in Ohio today called on presidential candidates and Governor Ted Strickland to adopt “sweatfree” purchasing policies to stop tax dollar support for sweatshop abuses that have sent thousands of Ohio jobs overseas. The call comes as the groups exposed workplace abuses in a Rocky Shoes-contracted facility in China, where as many as 4000 workers went on strike last month to protest non-payment of wages.

A celebration in the name of dignity

02/11/08

Press release No. 5

This February 14, while sweethearts in the US and Europe give flowers, the workers in Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, and other flower-producing countries will celebrate the 7th annual International Flower Workers’ Day, with municipal festivals, and education sessions in schools and daycare centers where workers’ children study.

VIOLENCE AGAINST UNION MEMBERS CONDEMNED

02/07/08

The Cambodian League for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (LICADHO) condemns the violent crackdown by authorities against workers on strike outside a Phnom Penh garment factory yesterday.

At least 10 members of the Cambodia Confederation of Apparel Worker Democratic Unions (CCAWDU) were injured in the violence. Four were struck by vehicles leaving the factory at high speed, and the remainder beaten by police or military police officers.

Chicago Auto Show Sponsor, Bridgestone, Uses Child Labor in Liberia

Stop Firestone Coalition Decries Conditions on Tire Company’s Rubber Plantation
02/06/08

The 2008 Chicago Auto Show starting February 8, 2008 will be partly sponsored by Bridgestone Firestone. While Bridgestone enjoys the public attention from the show, workers on the company’s rubber plantation in Liberia continue to be exploited. Since 1926, Bridgestone Firestone has operated the world’s largest rubber plantation in Harbel, Liberia where there is child labor, widespread abuse of workers’ rights and environmental damage. Workers on the plantation earn just $3.19 per day – less than the cost of admission to the Chicago Auto Show.

Is Chocolate Safe to Eat on Valentine's Day?

02/01/08

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Bama Athreya, bama.athreya [at] ilrf.org (bama.athreya[at]ilrf.org)



Chocolate industry still a long way from meeting its promises for child labor free chocolate

While people across the country celebrate Valentine’s Day by purchasing chocolate for their loved ones, the chocolate industry continues to be tainted by child labor on cocoa farms in West Africa.

Indian court cases against Dutch and Indian organisations withdrawn

01/29/08

Agreement reached between Clean Clothes Campaign / India Committee of the Netherlands and Indian clothing manufacturer

Amsterdam / Utrecht, January 29th, 2008

Today, the Indian clothing manufacturer Fibre and Fabrics International

(FFI) and subsidiary JKPL have withdrawn all court cases against the Clean Clothes Campaign, the India Committee of the Netherlands, a number of local Indian labour rights organisations and internet/ADSL-providers Antenna and XS4ALL.

NAACP, Teamsters Call on Major League Baseball to Help End Discrimination at New Era Cap

01/28/08

View YOU TUBE VIDEO OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond and Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa asked Major League Baseball (MLB) to intervene with the MLB’s exclusive on-field cap manufacturer, New Era Cap, in an effort to end racial discrimination and worker rights violations in New Era’s distribution center in Mobile, Alabama. The NAACP also released today its report of the investigation it recently undertook at the request of workers at the facility.

Stop Firestone Coalition Celebrates Victory As Liberian Supreme Court Decision Approves Union Election on Firestone Plantation

12/21/07

After a lengthy strike by workers on a rubber plantation owned by the Firestone Natural Rubber Company in Liberia, the Supreme Court of Liberia ruled today that recent union elections held in July 2007 on the plantation were indeed legitimate. The first free, fair and independent union elections to take place on the plantation in its 81 year history in Liberia ushered in a new union leadership, but the previous company-controlled union challenged the elections through the legal system.

Pakistan’s Declaration of a State of Emergency

11/08/07

The International Labor Rights Forum condemns General Pervez Musharraf’s declaration of a state of emergency in Pakistan. In recent days, Pakistan’s government has detained, beaten and tear-gassed opposition party leaders, lawyers and human rights advocates and has clamped down on the media. Of particular concern to ILRF are Musharraf’s assaults on labor organizations and workers’ rights.

ILRF Questions Wal-Mart's Ethical Sourcing Practices on Anniversary of Wal-Mart CEO's Speech

10/24/07

On the second anniversary of the “21st Century Leadership” speech made by Mr. Lee Scott, Wal-Mart CEO, the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) releases its research report on the Ethical Standards and Working Conditions in Wal-Mart’s Supply Chain. In an effort to raise awareness and educate people about the harsh working conditions that many Wal-Mart worker’s suffer worldwide, ILRF conducted an analysis compiling information from Wal-Mart’s Ethical Standards Program from 2003 through 2006.

ILRF and Global Exchange Congratulate Cargill on New Cocoa Certification Commitments

Over 40 organizations and fair trade companies release new statement on ethical cocoa sourcing
10/12/07
The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) and Global Exchange congratulated Cargill today on their new agreement to certify its cocoa beans to the farm level in West Africa. This week, Cargill, Heinz Benelux, Ahold, UTZ Certified, Solidaridad and Oxfam Novib announced a new certification program to ensure to the farm level that cocoa is grown in a sustainable manner in Ivory Coast.

Trade Union Repression Highlighted in New GSP Petition

06/25/07

WASHINGTON, DC: The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) filed a petition against the Philippines under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program on Friday, June 22. The complaint submitted to the Office of the United States Trade Representative alleges that the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) systematically denies workers the rights of freedom of association, the right to organize

ILRF Welcomes Investigation of Drummond for Paramilitary Links

03/20/07

March 20, 2007

Concerns raised about safety of key witness in Drummond trial

The International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) welcomes the announcement that law enforcement officials in Colombia will investigate the murder of three trade union leaders working at a coal mine owned by US-based Drummond after allegations that company officials paid right-wing paramilitaries to conduct the assassinations.

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