Labor is Not a Commodity

Child Labor and Employee Free Choice

By Trina Tocco, International Labor Rights Forum

As the new Congress settles in, there is sure to be one piece of legislation that will cause anxiety for many members new and old alike.  The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is an essential policy to pass this year given the significant challenges that workers in the U.S. and around the world when it comes to their rights to organize, form a union, and negotiate a fair contract in a reasonable amount of time.

I wanted to call your attention to a letter sent by the Child Labor Coalition on February 5, 2009 to all members of Congress in support of EFCA.  This letter was signed by the National Consumers League, International Labor Rights Forum, Americans for Democratic Action, Ramsay Merriam Fund, Population Project of the General Board Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, and the National Education Association.

The letter firmly states:

We believe that workers in the United States should have full rights to form unions that can represent their interests and negotiate on their behalf. Unionized companies tend to be workplaces in which child labor and other egregious labor abuses do not exist. It is time for Congress to address the needs of hard working Americans on Main Street and not just the interests of Wall Street.  

The Right to Organize

Why Congress should pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

By Jake Blumgart, Campus Progress
February 26, 2009

Workers in Pittsburgh rally for their right to unionize. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is the subject of one of the most contentious debates in Washington right now. The act would strengthen workers’ rights to organize a union, which would then represent their interests in the workplace. At first glance, this issue might not appear relevant to the average, non-unionized American. But consider this: The only era in which the United States has enjoyed broadly shared prosperity was between the late 1930s and the early 1960s, the heyday of the American labor movement. It can be argued that unions have pulled more Americans into the middle-class than laissez-faire economics ever have. Now, at a time when the country’s economic policies aren’t working out well for most Americans—except, of course, the privileged few—unions are a must. But unions have been in decline for decades. In fact, a little less than 13 percent of U.S. workers are unionized, compared to one-third in the 1950s. And that’s exactly why the EFCA is such an important bill.

Vice President of Colombia speaks at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Carol Hansen, Intern, USLEAP

Tuesday February 24, I had the opportunity to attend a speaking event in Chicago featuring Francisco Santos Calderón, Vice President of the Republic of Colombia. The event was sponsored by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, which seeks to influence the discourse on global issues through contributions to opinion and policy formation, leadership dialogue, and public learning. The event was entitled “The Future of U.S.-Colombia Economic Relations and Cooperation.” Vice President Calderón centered his speech on progress and investment to support why Colombia is a reliable and worthy business partner to U.S. companies and, therefore, why the U.S. should reconsider the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

When I first arrived, there was a group of protesters holding signs quoting the number of displaced and impoverished citizens in Colombia and passing out flyers highlighting the issues of labor and human rights violations. One flyer, produced by the Chicago Religious Leadership Network (CRLN) and the 8th Day Center for Justice, laid out myths and facts about the situation of violence in Colombia, the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement, the issue of displacement and the Afro-Colombian struggle for territorial rights. Interestingly, many of the myths from the CRLN and 8th Day flyer were some of the main arguments and points of Vice President Santos’ speech. The protesters included representatives from the U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project (USLEAP), Chicago Religious Leadership Network (CRLN), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Auto Workers (UAW), 8th Day Center for Justice and religious labor supporters.

Economic Crisis, Buy American, and Sweatfree Organizing

Liana Foxvog, National Organizer, SweatFree Communities

As the financial and employment crisis deepens, it is crucial that we respond by addressing the causal roots of the mess. Multinational corporations have undermined local economies with the help of lax government regulations and trade agreements that favor capital over people. In the search for cheap labor, multinationals have moved millions of jobs that supported U.S. working families overseas and now exploit other workers the world over, moving from country to country, wherever labor is cheapest and workers' movements are weakest. Of the jobs remaining in the U.S., many have been eroded: employment is increasingly part-time, short-term, contracted-out with limited benefits, if any. Solutions to this global problem must be global in nature, involving cross-border union organizing, solidarity activism bringing added people power to back up workers' demands, and cultural change that builds unity for structural change.

This Just In: Senate Confirms Solis as Labor Secretary

Tim Newman, Campaigns Assistant, International Labor Rights Forum

By a vote of 80-17, the Senate has finally confirmed President Obama's pick for Secretary of Labor,  Hilda Solis.  After a long process filled with delays, we finally have new leadership at the Department of Labor.  At a time of crisis for workers, we hope that Solis will usher in a new day for labor rights in the US and globally.  Congratulations to Secretary Solis!

For more on this blog about Solis, check out these posts:

• "Let's get back to work and confirm Hilda Solis," 2/6/09
• "Stop playing politics with the Department of Labor," 1/29/09
• "More thoughts on Sec. of Labor-Designate Hilda Solis," 1/13/09
• "Hilda Solis needs a mandate," 12/19/08

Dress Sweatfree

By Shanika Yapa, ILRF intern

"We should all be able to walk into a shop and feel that the clothes we buy have been produced without damaging the environment or using poor labor practices, and that we will be able to reuse and recycle them when we no longer want them. I'm delighted that so many fashion companies have signed up to the sustainable clothing action plan and I look forward to seeing these actions come to fruition." Said the British Minister for Sustainability about “The Sustainable Clothing Roadmap”, a joint venture between the British government and high street fashion retailers, designers and manufacturers. Their goal is to educate the public about how they can be more energy conscience with their clothes and to promote the sales of sustainable clothing.

Will Gates Foundation Funding Help Cocoa Farmers?

Tim Newman, Campaigns Assistant, International Labor Rights Forum

In 2007, a Los Angeles Times series explored how the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's investments conflict with their stated goals for improving society.  The author, Charles Piller, wrote that the Gates Foundation "reaps vast profits every year from companies whose actions contradict its mission of improving society in the United States and around the world."  For example, the LA Times researchers found that in 2005, the Foundation "held investments totaling $189 million in four large chocolate makers: $146 million in Archer Daniels Midland Co.; $26 million in Nestle; $12 million in Cadbury Schweppes, the world's largest confectionary maker; and $5 million in Kraft Foods Inc."  ILRF has been tracking these companies for years for using cocoa in their chocolate that is harvested by child and trafficked labor.  There is an ongoing lawsuit in California against Nestle and ADM on child labor claims.  While many foundations have strong ethical standards for investment or participate in shareholder advocacy or at least proxy voting to improve the human rights and sustainability policies of companies in which they invest, the Gates Foundation does not.

It's been a while since we have heard anything about the Gates Foundation and its connection with the cocoa industry.  But yesterday, the Foundation announced that it had pledged $23 million in funding to the World Cocoa Foundation and $25 million to to the German development organization Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH aimed at helping cocoa and cashew farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to improve their incomes.  Unfortunately, this is a highly controversial step for the Gates Foundation and raises many questions for those concerned about labor rights.

Colombia: International Day of the Flower Worker

By Lupita Aguila, Program Coordinator, USLEAP

While many Americans celebrated St. Valentine’s Day with their loved ones, flower workers who were working on average up to 12 hours a day leading up to the holiday met this past Wednesday evening at their union office in Facatativa, Colombia, a 90-minute drive from Bogota, to talk about various issues at their flower plantations. I had the opportunity to meet these workers and hear their stories that contradict the image that the flowers growers association has been marketing in the U.S. this Valentine’s Day. Thirty-five women and men from 6 unions gathered for two hours discussing horrid working conditions and company violations on each and every plantation that produce specifically for the U.S. market for Valentine´s Day. Among their complaints, these flower workers are subjected not only to 12-hour work days, but late payment of wages, little or no access to healthcare for themselves and their families, exploitation of subcontracted workers, and lack of freedom of association.

David Bonior on Russell's Abuses in Honduras

Tim Newman, Campaigns Assistant, International Labor Rights Forum

We have written several blog posts here about Russell's violations of the right to union organizing in Honduras.  Because of its abuses in Honduras, Russell ended up on ILRF's list of corporations that violate freedom of association.  To speak out against these abuses, send an e-mail to Warren Buffett (whose Berkshire Hathaway Corp. owns Russell) by clicking here.  David Bonior, chairman of American Rights at Work and former member of the House of Representatives from 1976 to 2002, just wrote a great blog on the Huffington Post.

Here are links to other posts on this campaign from this blog:
Rein-In Russell 2009 USAS Worker Tour Update
Take action to provide working families in Honduras with something to celebrate this Christmas!

Check out Bonior's post from Huffington Post after the jump.

The Day of the Flower Workers

By Carol Hansen, Intern, USLEAP

Corporación CACTUS, a non-governmental organization in Colombia that supports cut-flower industry workers, first introduced the Day of the Flower Workers in 2001 to recognize and honor their rights. This February 14th, I think it’s important to remember not only all flower workers, but also the women of the flower industry. The flower industry in Colombia (and Ecuador) has long been criticized for the exploitation of its workers. It is important to remember that out of nearly 110,000 workers employed by the Colombia cut-flower industry, 66% are women.

Women are disproportionately affected by work in the flower industry, particularly due to the widespread disrespect for women’s rights, exposure to high levels of pesticides, unsafe working conditions, and violations of the right to organize. Men are the ones promoted to supervisor and managerial positions, even though women make up more than half the workforce. Women are not given opportunities for advancement and remain at entry-level positions. They are forced to move from plantation to plantation under short-term contracts, whereas men are provided training and usually work on long-term contracts.