Labor is Not a Commodity

Demonstrators draw attention to “Canada’s Ugly Secret” on Canada Day

By Liz Haight, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum

Demonstrations to ban asbestos were held on Canada Day (July 1) outside Canadian embassies in Washington, DC, Paris, Sydney and Birmingham, UK.  In Washington, a group of individuals from the environmental and public health community demonstrated in front of the festivities at the Canadian Embassy. These demonstrations aimed to “end the shame of Canada’s asbestos export,” “put people’s lives ahead of political ambition” and support the C-399 Bill to ban asbestos.

Many countries around the world have banned asbestos but Canada has not. Asbestos continues to be mined and it is the second largest exporter of the mineral following Russia. Canada is the last country in the developed world to still sell asbestos. Canada exports mainly to developing countries with less stringent health and safety regulations. Every year Canada ships thousands of tons of asbestos to developing countries. The Canadian Broadcasting Company recently came out with a documentary, “Canada’s Ugly Secret,” that exposes the Canadian asbestos industry and its exportation of this deadly product to the developing world. The documentary shows workers in India handling asbestos fibers wearing only bandanas over their mouths, not the protective clothing and respirators that the warning labels recommend.

Will Obama visit cocoa farmers in Ghana?

Tim Newman, Campaigns Assistant, International Labor Rights Forum

At the end of this week, President Obama will be visiting Ghana.  Organizations in the US and Ghana have used the opportunity to propose changes to US policy in Africa based on principles of human rights and social justice.  The farmers Kuapa Kokoo, a Fair Trade cocoa cooperative in Ghana and co-owners of Divine Chocolate, have invited President Obama to visit them during his trip.  Cocoa is a major export for Ghana and as ILRF has highlighted over the years, many cocoa farms struggle with poverty due to the low prices they are offered for their cocoa beans and their lack of influence and power in relation to the multinational companies that control the cocoa trade.

On the other hand, Kuapa Kokoo is an example of how cocoa farmers can join together to improve their lives.  As Mr. Paul CK Buah, President of Kuapa Kokoo said, "We wish to show Mr. Obama how cocoa farmers have joined together to build our communities, invest in education, clean water and health. We urge him to join our call for fair and dignified trade so that we farmers can be a greater part of the solution to problems facing Ghana and all of Africa."

Check out this short video for more information about Kuapa Kokoo and Divine Chocolate.

Immigration Rights are a Labor Issue

By Catherine Ammen, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum

Economic crises are one of those times that predictably drum up anti-immigrant fears. The usual charges vary from overwhelmed social services, taking Americans jobs - or for the ambitious immigrant, taking down the economy. Not only are these statements ingenious, they are simply false.

Even though the economic benefit of exploited labor misses the point, these claims are disputed by the Immigration Policy Center with an exhaustive catalog of studies.  Some snapshots include:

• Urban Institute, 2007:  “less than 1 percent of households headed by undocumented immigrants receive cash assistance for needy families, compared to 5 percent of households headed by native-born U.S. citizens.”
• White House Council of Economic Advisers, 2007:  “concluded that immigration increases the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by roughly $37 billion each year.”

The net positive effect on the federal budget could be used to compensate the costs that states incur.  This net positive effect is due, as noted above, to the relatively low use of social services, sales tax  and even social security tax payments – which undocumented workers do not get back. 

Fair Expectations: Rainforest Alliance v. Fairtrade

This article was originally published on the website of the Organic Consumers Association here.

By Justin Trauben, Organic Consumers Association

McDonald's, Chiquita, Mars, Wal-Mart, and Kraft apparently now all have products certified "sustainable," sharing, among other things, the little green frog label of the Rainforest Alliance. On the other side of the labeling world, we have Fair Trade, the original product certification initiative aimed at building equitable and sustainable trading partnerships and creating opportunities to alleviate poverty.

Fair Trade and "sustainable" labeling organizations, are private non-profits that have no stockholders, and are therefore not legally obligated to provide information to the public. Combined with the fact that the state lacks the power to ensure that certifiers comply with their own standards, consumers must rely on independent evaluation to assess these labeling initiatives. Can consumers trust that the labels that make our food more expensive actually make a difference?

Moving Toward Transparency in the Electronics Industry

By Tim Newman, Campaigns Assistant, International Labor Rights Forum

ILRF has recently been working with human rights organizations and socially responsibly investors to address a range of abuses occurring in the mining of metals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that are used in many of the electronics products we use here in the US.  Minerals like coltan, cassiterite, wolframite, tungsten and tin are necessary parts of many products like cell phones, iPods, computers, cameras and more, but they are also mined under exploitative labor conditions and the proceeds from the sale of these minerals often ends up funding conflict in the Congo.

In order for electronics companies to institute stronger labor, environmental and human rights standards in the production of the metals they use, it is necessary for the companies to be able to determine the location of the mines these metals come from.  The supply chain can be complex, but some companies are starting to research their metals sourcing more closely.

Fighting for Their Jobs, Eagle Workers & Allies Rally in New Bedford

By Kathryn Rehm and Bonnie Stinson, Interns, SweatFree Communities

The struggle to save a factory in New Bedford, MA began on May 29, 2009 when Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems (ATK), under contract with the U.S. Army to produce equipment for soldiers in Eagle Industries’ plant in New Bedford, announced its decision to close the facility and relocate to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. If successful, the plan will eliminate 350 jobs. According to Peter Howe of New England Cable News, “New Bedford faces plenty of other challenges, - crime, poverty, blight, and toxic PCBs in the river north of Route 195 that could take decades more to clean up.” In a town with an already sluggish economy that experienced a mass immigration raid in 2007, the factory shut-down will further increase pressure on the strained New Bedford community.

On June 6, 120 Eagle workers came together in a mass meeting to make plans to save their jobs. A rally on June 9 brought together workers, community allies and political figures to express their support for the efforts currently underway to save the jobs and keep the Army’s MOLLE contract (Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment) in New Bedford. On June 20, a follow-up meeting was held to continue the fight and provide a space for local politicians and Eagle workers to communicate with and support the community. The Eagle Workers Committee, Workers United, and SweatFree Communities worked together to plan these events.

Africa and the Global Economic Crisis

By Tim Newman, Campaigns Assistant, International Labor Rights Forum

While the global economic crisis began in the US, it is of course affecting people all around the world.  In developing global strategies to address the crisis and institute a just recovery, we need to examine how various groups of people around the world have been impacted by the economic policies that led to the crisis.  Yesterday, I attended a roundtable discussion in DC focused on the impact of the global economic crisis on Africa.

There were a lot of interesting ideas, analysis and solutions discussed.  Keep reading to find out more!

US Immigration: A Case Study for Labor Rights Abuses

By Stuart Coffey, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum

Being an immigrant in the United States is taxing and sometimes humiliating. As a recent immigrant with a graduate degree, finding a job is nearly impossible in the current economy and the process towards a legal permit is often degrading. Once the grueling process is over, immigrants are often left to work jobs that are underpaid and overworked.

There are many arguments over immigration policy in the US but one thing is for sure. The current US immigration system has proven ineffective at solving the undocumented people problem, which leaves the legal immigration process at worse ends. Getting a work permit in the US is a far from any hope of an “American Dream”. Many are shoved to the margins of exploitation. Basic human rights are outright abused. This leaves me thinking about my many other fellow immigrants who are battling for basic human rights in a land that is supposed to represent freedom.

Ethix Merch Interview with Bjorn Claeson of SweatFree Communities

[This interview was originally posted on the Ethix Merch blog here]

By Daniel Cardozo, Ethix Ventures

SweatFree Communities is the leading anti-sweatshop organization in the United States. Their Executive Director, Bjorn Claeson, answered some of our questions about the state of the movement, nearly halfway through 2009.

Ethix Merch: What has been the single most important development in the fight against sweatshops in the past year?

Bjorn Claeson:
Well, I would like to say it’s been the development of the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium because it creates a substantial market for decent working conditions as well as an effective tool for workers to enforce their rights. But, the Consortium is not yet far enough along to qualify as “the most important development in the fight against sweatshops.” (Ten cities and states have committed to join so far and with a little bit of luck it will start doing monitoring work within the year).

Considering the question through U.S. lenses I would have to say that the campaign against Russell has broken new ground as scores of universities have cut their contracts with Russell in the face of overwhelming evidence that it shut down a factory in Honduras rather than recognizing workers’ choice to have a union represent them. This campaign has certainly been the most visible anti-sweatshop campaign in the United States over the past year. I am somewhat reluctant to say this protest campaign has been “the most important” because I think we ought to be able to implement positive solutions of equal magnitude. However, the Russell campaign has succeeded in something very important: building consensus that cutting and running from workers who are organizing a union is unacceptable behavior. We can build on that.

Human Rights Activists Protest NBA-Linked Sweatshops

[This post was originally published by the Huffington Post]

By Peter Dreier

Many celebrities will be in the stands to watch the Los Angeles Lakers play the Orlando Magic in the NBA finals at Amway Arena tonight, and even more Hollywood stars and political types will be at Staples Center Tuesday night if a 6th game is necessary. But outside both arenas, human rights, labor, and student activists will be picketing to protest the NBA's links with a global corporation that violates workers' rights and subjects them to sweatshop conditions.

The protesters want the NBA to end its $125 million deal with the Russell Corporation, which owns Spalding and Huffy Sports, the official makers of NBA basketballs and backboards. Russell is also the NBA's official institutional uniform provider. The company, which had $562 million in sales in 2007, also makes uniforms and equipment for pro baseball and football teams as well as many high schools and universities. Russell is a subsidiary of Fruit of the Loom, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, headed by billionaire Warren Buffett.