Labor is Not a Commodity

Rights for Working Women on International Women's Day

By Michelle Petrotta, Program Officer, International Labor Rights Forum

As the world celebrates the 100th International Women's Day, the United Nations Commission on Women is in New York, reviewing progress of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action that was agreed upon in 1995.  Fifteen years after the international communities committed to take all necessary measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and the girl child, women are still not free from discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace.

Women often make up between 70-90 percent of the total work force in export processing zones in developing countries throughout Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. While increased access to employment has provided new economic opportunities for women, the work they perform remains precarious as they are systematically denied rights to regular pay, working hours, equal pay for equal work, safe and non-hazardous work environments, and permanent contracts where their right to organize in labor unions is respected. Sexual harassment in the workplace is especially atrocious and widespread form of discrimination against women that completely impedes their economic empowerment and autonomy. Forced pregnancy tests as a pre-condition for employment are another form of discrimination that reduce a woman's ability to demand a living wage and break out of poverty. Women working in the garments, agricultural, and light manufacturing industries face overwhelming barriers as they attempt to earn a living wage to support themselves and their families.

Attend Public Hearing on DC Sweatfree Purchasing on March 23

Maggie Smith, Sweatfree DC Coordinator, International Labor Rights Forum

Join the ILRF Sweatfree DC campaign, SEIU Local 32BJ, and others in supporting responsible contracting with strong labor standards in the District NOW! 

This is your money, have your voice be heard!  On MARCH 23 at 10:30am a public hearing will be held to discuss procurement reform in DC.  This is our chance to make the case for labor standards and enforcement in all contracts with DC.  We must tell DC government that we DO NOT WANT OUR TAX DOLLARS SUPPORTING COMPANIES THAT VIOLATE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LABOR STANDARDS!  Show your support by attending the hearing or testifying on behalf of responsible contracting (written testimony, in lieu of spoken, is also encouraged)!

SIGN UP TO ATTEND THE HEARING AT www.unionvoice.org/laborrights/events/SweatfreeDC_Hearing/details.tcl.

The International Labor Rights Forum launched the Sweatfree DC Campaign on Tax Day 2009.  The campaign is calling on Mayor Fenty and our local elected officials to join the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium and pass a strong sweatfree purchasing policy to end tax dollar support for sweatshops.  A sweatfree purchasing policy would stipulate that apparel purchased by the district could not be produced using substandard labor practices, such as sweatshop labor.  The Consortium would help to enforce the policy and monitor factories here in the U.S. and abroad.

Twenty-one Locked-In Apparel Workers Die in another Factory Fire in Bangladesh

By Bjorn Claeson, Director of SweatFree Communities

How many more workers will have to pay with their lives to absorb the terrible cost of apparel companies’ low-road, bottom-price business model?

Close to 10 p.m. on Thursday, February 26, 2010, twenty-one workers died when the Garib & Garib Sweater Factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh, caught fire for the second time in six months. Local news media reported thick black smoke caused by burning acrylic yarn spreading throughout the building.  Lasting nearly two hours, the fire consumed the oxygen in the air, suffocating the workers.  The smoke could not get out because the building was poorly ventilated.  Workers could not escape because exits were locked.  Fire fighters had to cut the window grills to get in, hampering rescue efforts.  The factory’s own fire-fighting equipment, they report, was "virtually useless."

Swedish news media quoted a surviving worker, Abdul Momin, who lost an aunt in the fire:

Everyone who worked on the top floor died, because the exits were locked.  All of them were women.  They were trapped and they suffocated.

Garib & Garib makes sweaters for major apparel brands and retailers, including Swedish H&M, Canadian Mark’s Work Wearhouse, and Italian Terranova.  These retailers assure consumers their brands are safe-to-buy, pointing to codes of conduct for factory suppliers, factory auditing, and ethical sourcing programs.

Time to Strike and Time for Change: The Labor Protests in Egypt and Beyond

Dingxiaozi Ding, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum
 
On the very first day of my internship at ILRF, I attended this discussion panel on labor movements in Egypt. Being Chinese, I didn’t know much of what was going on in Egypt so this event provided an opportunity for me to learn from the experts.  It was co-organized by the Solidarity Center and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Dr. Joel Beinin as the speaker discussed the main findings of the Solidarity Center report The Struggle for Workers for Workers Rights in Egypt (The report is available online). He was joined by Kamal Abbas, who is an Egyptian labor rights activist, and Sarah Leah Whitson, the director Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa divisions.

This event was a useful way to learn about some key issues that are related to Egypt but that also connect to some other broader issues that all workers face. 

Dr. Joel Beinin analyzed the current situation of labor rights movements in Egypt, and highlighted its roots and the implication on Egyptian society and future labor rights activities. Since 2004, Egypt has witnessed a dramatic increase in labor protests, close to 1600 incidences.

Oprah's Godiva Love Fest

Tim Newman, Campaigns Director, International Labor Rights Forum

Earlier this week, Godiva achieved a major marketing coup.  Oprah Winfrey, the so-called Queen of All Media, re-designed the set of her popular show for the day using thousands of Godiva chocolate bars.  You can check out photographs of the set online here.  There's no doubt that Godiva must have dropped quite a bit of cash to get this level of brand exposure -- and to construct the set itself.

Unfortunately, the farmers and workers who harvest the cocoa that is the primary ingredient in Godiva products -- and likely in Oprah's special set -- do not share in the luxury promoted by Godiva.  As readers of this blog are well aware, abusive child labor, forced labor and trafficking are widespread in the cocoa industry.  Recently, the Free2Work.org gave Godiva a D- rating in terms of the company's efforts to address forced and child labor in its supply chain.  That makes Godiva one of the lowest rated of major chocolate companies.  

Demand that Your Tax Dollars Don't Support Sweatshops (and learn a thing while doing it!)

Maggie Smith, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum

Right now, in your country’s capitol Washington, DC, community members are fighting for the rights of workers around the world.  On tax day 2009 the Sweatfree DC campaign was launched.  Its goal: to make Washington, D.C. a sweatfree city.  What is a sweatfree city?  Well I’m glad you asked.

Those of you who are common readers of Labor is the Not a Commodity probably already know what sweatfree means as well as the different campaigns that aim to create a sweatfree world.  However for those of you who don’t visit us very often, I’ll give a crash course in what sweatfree means and how many of us aim to achieve it. 

First though before I go any further I want to remind you to do three things:

• Endorse Sweatfree DC!
  
• Send a letter to Mayor Fenty urging him to support a Sweatfree Policy! 
• Join our Sweatfree DC facebook group so we can keep you up to date on the campaign
  

The “sweat” part of sweatfree refers to sweatshops.  According to the U.S. General Accounting Office a sweatshop is “an employer that violates more than one federal or state labor law governing minimum wage and overtime, child labor, industrial homework, occupational safety and health, worker's compensation, or industry regulation” (Sweatfree Toolkit: “Answers to Common Questions”)  More generally though, the International Labor Rights Forum defines sweatshops as workplaces where basic worker rights are not respected.  However, these definitions fail to convey the tortuous nature of sweatshops which, for millions around the world, is a daily reality. 

Backlash Against Chevron helps to Raise Awareness about the Dangers of “Free Trade Development Models” and Corporate Accountability

By Maggie Smith, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum

For many in the United States the jury is still out on whether free trade is a problem given the increasing concerns of the negative consequences.  The concepts of corporate accountability and protection for those who live, and often die, by the hands of corporations are beginning to gain traction, even within the U.S. Congress.

The case of Chevron Corporation in the Ecuadorean Amazon is a prime example. 

30,000 indigenous people living in the Ecuadorean rainforest have succesfully taken Chevron to court which, unto itself is an unprecedented victory, however having a guilty verdict levied against Chevron is not a sure thing.   As a Politico article explains, Chevron has gone to great lengths, launching massive public relation and media campaigns to try to portray and defend their side of the story.  Along with the PR and media efforts, it has launched a massive lobbying campaign which aims to prevent a ruling on the case.  One tactic it has employed on Capitol Hill is lobbying to have U.S. Trade policy, specifically the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences changed in regards to Ecuador.  The current system gives Ecuador preferential treatment for its oil exports under the 1991 Andean Trade Preference Act.  Chevron’s goal is essentially to compel the government of Ecuador to kill the case under pain of losing these preferences. 

A Dark Cloud Overshadowing the Legitimate Union Struggle in Colombia

By Diana Carolina Vega Higuera, Bogotá Regional Intern, US Labor Education in the Americas Project

Bogotá, Colombia- Colombians have a negative perception of trade unionism. Many even believe in the existence of collaboration between unions and guerrillas.

This perception could be attributed to simple ignorance about the serious human rights crisis in the country, labor rights and their violations. However, media also plays a key role in the construction of public opinion through the transmission of government statements and certain events.

For example, persecution and violence besiege unions, attempting to silence them. But, in this context, the media does not describe reality, so that worsens the situation because this does not help to dissolve the enormous dark cloud hanging over it: the impunity that currently marks the union activity in Colombia.

How to Truly Appreciate Your Valentine’s Day Flowers

By Lupita Aguila, Program Coordinator, US Labor Education in the Americas Project (USLEAP)

This February 14th, while the majority of my girlfriends will be out with their significant others, my good friend Judit and I will be having dinner for two at a hip and trendy restaurant located in downtown Chicago.  A few days ago, Judit wrote me a nice Facebook comment that said, "I just want to know if you prefer roses or chocolates…?"

Millions of U.S. consumers will be asking themselves that very same question in the next few days.  Luckily for Judit, she has a friend who can tell her a thing or two about the labor rights violations and exploitation of workers on the flower plantations of Colombia and in the cocoa industry of West Africa. 

If your sweetheart is unfortunately allergic to chocolate like I am (what a drag) or she or he simply prefers flowers, here are a few things you should keep in mind as you are preparing to buy your loved one a special bouquet this Valentine’s Day:

Is your Valentine's Day chocolate bitter or sweet?

Tim Newman, Campaigns Director, International Labor Rights Forum

All across the US, people will be spending millions of dollars this week on chocolate for their sweethearts for Valentine's Day.  But as readers of this blog know, child labor, forced labor and trafficking continue in the cocoa industry in West Africa.  Keep reading to find out the latest resources, updates and information you need to show your love for that someone special AND workers around the world!

Chocolate Company Ratings

We get a lot of inquiries about specific chocolate companies and their policies on child labor.  Now there is one website where you can go to find out how your favorite chocolate companies rate on their policies related to forced and child labor.  Check out the ratings on Free2Work.org, ILRF's collaborative website with the Not For Sale Campaign, online here.

Take Action!

ILRF has launched a new e-mail campaign focused on Hershey -- click here to send your e-mail!

Hershey is one of the largest chocolate companies in the US, but it has not agreed to institute any certification programs to ensure that abuses like child labor, forced labor and trafficking do not occur in the production of the cocoa it uses.

Here in the US, Hershey has been shifting production away from unionized facilities.  Recently, a worker died at a Hershey supplier in Pennsylvania.  Hershey's suppliers often do not have the same level of safety standards and the workforce is often temporary workers who do not have the same safety training, benefits and union protection that help to keep workers safe and their rights protected. Read this excellent recent American Prospect article for more information.

While the company recently announced it would be increasing its spending on advertising this year by 30%, we have to wonder if Hershey has a heart for its workers.  Given all of these labor problems, please join us the Valentine's Day in asking Hershey a simple question: How does Hershey monitor its global supply chain to ensure that worker rights are protected?  Click here to send your e-mail.