Press Releases

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

New ITUC Report: Global Food Crisis Set to Worsen

03/30/09

A new report released by the International Trade Union Confederation predicts a worsening of the already serious global food crisis unless urgent action is taken by governments and international agencies. The number of people without enough to eat increased by 150 million in 2008, and the global economic crisis is likely to result in a further 200 million falling into absolute poverty.

Iran: Repression Escalates Against Trade Unionists

03/10/09

The ITUC strongly protests against the latest wave of repression that has targeted the Haft Tapeh union in Iran, which is a member of the Global Union Federation IUF. Several trade unionists have been subject to heavy-handed arrest, and subsequently released but Ali Nejati, the president of the union, arrested on 8 March, is still detained. This arrest follows a court proceeding against five trade union leaders from the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Plantation.

Cadbury Dairy Milk commits to going Fairtrade

03/04/09

Cadbury and the Fairtrade Foundation today announced plans to achieve Fairtrade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk, the nation’s top selling chocolate bar, by end of Summer 2009. This groundbreaking move will result in the tripling of sales of cocoa under Fairtrade terms for cocoa farmers in Ghana, both increasing Fairtrade cocoa sales for existing certified farming groups, as well as opening up new opportunities for thousands more farmers to benefit from the Fairtrade system.

Divine Chocolate Leads as Catalyst for Change in Chocolate Market

03/03/09

Unique to Divine Chocolate, one of the leading dedicated Fairtrade companies in the UK and the USA, is the amazing story of how smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana came to own 45% of a chocolate company. A company that has pioneered the market for Fair Trade chocolate; a company with products in all the major retail markets that delivers profits to the farmers of the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative; a company that aims to change the way the chocolate industry works forever.

Hundreds of Faith, Labor, Human Rights Leaders Urge Restrictions on US Military Aid to the Philippines

02/09/09

Contacts:

Rev. Larry Emery, (916) 284-6986, wgcpc[at]hotmail.com: (West Coast)

Katrina Abarcar, (410) 998-9802, katarungan[at]comcast.net: (East Coast)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, February 9, 2009— 236 leaders of faith-based organizations, union and labor rights groups, Filipino-American associations and academics sent a letter of concern today to members of Congress protesting human rights abuses by the Philippines, funded by US foreign military assistance.

Super Bowl Halftime Sponsor Bridgestone Firestone Continues to Exploit Workers in Liberia

01/29/09

This Sunday, millions of sports fans around the world will watch this year’s National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl Halftime show sponsored by Bridgestone and featuring Bruce Springsteen. Meanwhile, the halftime show’s title sponsor will continue its long history of exploitation of workers and the environment in Liberia.

JC Penney Drops Oak Harbor Freight Lines as Shipper

12/09/08

National retailer JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) has stopped using Oak Harbor Freight Lines to ship its merchandise in the western United States. This decision comes on the heels of a report by the International Labor Rights Forum, which found that Oak Harbor Freight Lines has violated international labor rights standards. Teamster members employed by Oak Harbor Freight have been on strike since September 22 because of violations of federal labor laws that protect workers’ rights, such as coercing and threatening employees, and making unlawful changes to working conditions.

ILRF Reports Numerous Labor Rights Violations Committed by Oak Harbor Freight Lines

11/25/08

International Labor Rights Forum released a new report finding that Oak Harbor Freight Lines violated international labor rights standards. Oak Harbor is a trucking firm headquartered in Auburn, Washington, that provides over-the-road transportation and delivery services for many commercial clients, including the company’s the Gap, Inc., the Maytag Corporation and others.

Onslaught Against Trade Unions Claimed 91 Lives in 2007

11/20/08

The publication of this year’s ITUC Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights Violations reveals an appalling record of union-busting, anti-union laws, intimidation and violence against workers’ representatives in 2007. A worldwide total of 91 trade unionists were murdered for defending workers’ rights, with Colombia, where 39 lost their lives, by far the worst offender yet again.

New Report Shows the Cost of the Global Pineapple Industry to Workers and Communities

10/20/08

INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUM

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

October 20, 2008

Contact:

Bama Athreya, ILRF, (202) 701-3051

Eva Seidelman, ILRF (202) 347-4100, ext. 105

Victor Quesada or Omar Salazar,

ASEPROLA, Costa Rica, 011 (506) 285 1344, direccion [at] aseprola.org

Analea Escresa, EILER, The Philippines, alescresa [at] yahoo.com

New Report Shows the Cost of the Global Pineapple Industry to Workers and Communities

Swaziland: Trade Union Leader Arrested

08/21/08

The ITUC strongly protests against the arrest of Jan Sithole, secretary general of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), by the Swazi authorities.

According to the information received by the ITUC, Sithole has been subjected to intense harassment following a recent march organized by trade unions and other civil society groups against the participation of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and King Mswati III of Swaziland in a meeting of Southern African Development Community (SADC), which took place in Johannesburg on the 16th August 2008.

Social Investors and Human Rights Activists Pressure Government of Uzbekistan

08/15/08

Socially conscious shareholders, pension funds and human rights advocates have joined together to demand that the government of Uzbekistan stop using forced child labor in its cotton harvest. Every year, the government of Uzbekistan reportedly mobilizes hundreds of thousands of children - many from ten to fifteen years old - for the manual harvesting of cotton.

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