Press Releases

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

Firestone Plantation Workers in Liberia Reach Historic First Collective Agreement

08/11/08

Following four months of earnest bargaining between ICEM affiliate Firestone Agricultural Workers’ Union of Liberia (FAWUL) and management of the Firestone Rubber Plantation in the West African nation, the two sides reached a historic three-year collective agreement on 27 July.

The contract, the first between the two parties and one covering some over 4,500 workers, was signed on 6 August. Two days later, the FAWUL leadership team, together with officers of the newly-merged Liberian Labor Congress, briefed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on the agreement.

Group celebrates Mother’s Day at Home by Supporting Working Moms Abroad

04/29/08

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 29, 2008

CONTACT:

Trina Tocco, International Labor Rights Forum, Mobile (269) 873-1000, Trina.tocco [at] ilrf.org

Group celebrates Mother’s Day at Home by Supporting Working Moms Abroad

The International Labor Rights Forum is hosting the Mother’s Day Roses Raffle to offer people throughout the United States a chance to send a special gift to a loved one while also advancing the rights of women in the Latin American rose industry.

COSATU declares the Mugabe government illegitimate

04/23/08

The Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomes the statement by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman that the China Ocean Shipping Company which owns the An Yue Jiang, has decided to recall the ship because Zimbabwe cannot take delivery of the 77 tonnes of weapons and ammunition onboard.

If true, this is an historic victory for the international trade union movement and civil society, and in particular for the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, whose members refused to unload or transport its deadly cargo.

Firestone Agricultural Workers Union of Liberia Awarded 2007 George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award

03/05/08

In recognition of the extraordinary courage, strength and solidarity of Liberian rubber workers at one of the world’s largest rubber plantations, we are proud to nominate the Firestone Agricultural Workers Union of Liberia (FAWUL) for the 2007 George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award.

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.

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