Labor is Not a Commodity

Iris Munguía Receives SOLIDAR Silver Rose Award

Edited translation of Iris Munguia's acceptance speech for the prestigious SOLIDAR Silver Rose Award, reposted from Banana Link

Childhood on Banana Plantations

I was born on 13 December. My father was a banana plantation worker and my mother was a housewife, just as the majority of women at that time in my country, Honduras. So I spent my childhood, my adolescence and my youth ‐ a large part of my life ‐ on the banana plantations.

An Interview with Iris Munguia in Honduras, November 2011, by Banana Link.

Life

My full name is Iris Yolanda Munguía, I graduated as a bookkeeper and public accountant. Alongside studying and working, I looked after the family – a practice which implies a great amount of sacrifice in Honduras. Some women cope with this better than
others.

I am a single mother with four children; two boys and two girls. I have been a banana worker myself on the Chiquita plantations for 33 years of which I was the union leader for the last 32 years.

Work as a Union Leader

Getting to this point in my life hasn’t been easy. I experienced some very challenging situations before I became responsible for the Coordination of Women’s Work for the Coordinating Body of Banana and Agroindustrial Workers Unions (COSIBAH) in Honduras, suffering the macho attitudes of my male colleagues who have always had access to power and who have little trust in women in leadership positions. I went through various processes of formation and training, studying, reading, learning how to talk and to listen to others, to be analytical and critical and to look for means to understand men, women and myself.

For everyone, beginning to be empowered as a leader is difficult, especially in the case of a woman working with male leaders. And today I still smile when I hear the words, “Iris is going to speak to us now”... because the most satisfying thing about working with women is to realise that you can actually contribute to making women’s lives better.

Fair Trade USA's Draft Farm Workers Standard

By Tim Beaty, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
 
Workers at the Core of FTUSA’s New Model

Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) is redefining its business plan to expand the supply of fair trade certified goods produced on estates (particularly coffee). In addition to increased scale, FTUSA says that certifying goods from estates will “empower” farm workers on those estates through management compliance with fair trade standards. The draft FTUSA standard (Version 1.0 www.transfairusa.org/certification/standards ) is specific to “Farm Workers” but will also set a precedent for any other products produced with employees. And it will have implications on fair trade certification of other parts of a product’s production or supply chain beyond the source farm or factory. Our vision of fair trade is a sustainable food supply chain where all workers have fair treatment and access to their labor rights.

FTUSA’s new approach makes the fair treatment of employees (in addition to small growers/cooperative producers) the core consideration to determine whether a FTUSA certified product is fairly produced. There are already some FLO certified goods from ‘for hire’ situations like bananas, cut-flowers and tea. Coffee is 70% of the fair trade market in the US.  The implications of this “worker empowerment” goal are far reaching and call for careful analysis of FTUSA’s new labor standards, monitoring mechanisms and governance structures. This change has important implications for fair trade consumers in the USA, workers in producer countries and workers along the food supply chain. 

FTUSA and FLO’s current fair-trade certifications apply to the primary producer, be it plantation or small holder, but from the Teamster perspective; a union representing workers in transport, warehousing, food processing and retail sales, we have raised with FLO and now raise with FTUSA that companies transporting, processing, warehousing and selling fair trade label products also have a responsibility to fair trade consumers to apply fair trade principles in their enterprises. We are aware of several cases where chocolate (i.e. Theo Chocolate) and coffee companies are anti-union but still sell their goods with a fair-trade label. An initial step in this direction would be transparency in reporting on the entire supply chain; from field to retail sale.

Fair Trade and Labor

The labor movement and fair trade consumers are allies in the struggle for social justice. We share core beliefs in the dignity of work, human rights, democracy, solidarity, ending poverty, and equitable and sustainable development. We also share the concerns of fair trade consumers that an increasing number of certification schemes (i.e. Rainforest Alliance, UTZ) are created by corporations who do not share our core beliefs and whose labels are motivated by capturing the fair trade premium, not to improve the livelihoods of folks along production chains.

We in labor are very grateful for the solidarity of the anti-sweatshop movement in the global garment industry. On campuses, in churches, in local government and at the retail store, consumers have told major labels that they don’t want to buy goods at the cost of labor rights. There are growing signs that this movement has reached a tipping point; that many major brands may seek to ensure union representation and fair treatment at their garment factories around the world. Is this an opportunity for a coalition of labor and fair trade/organic/kosher/halal/vegan consumers to do the same thing in the food industry? 

A Trade Union is the Path to Worker Empowerment

FTUSA’s new emphasis invites business partners who are motivated by profit maximization an opportunity to make adjustments that will provide access to the growing fair trade consumer market. That market is made up of consumers who are willing to pay a premium if the product reliably reflects their social justice values. FTUSA must set high standards, iron clad monitoring and enforcement mechanisms and insulate itself from the inevitable pressures on the FTUSA governance structures to weaken standards from the new business partners. The business partners FTUSA seeks to engage now will undoubtedly remain true to their profit maximization goal. Thus, if an opportunity presents itself to cut corners while keeping prices high, they will cut the corner. FTUSA needs to establish a bulwark against these pressures.

The U.S. – Colombia FTA: a bad deal for workers and labor rights

By Eric Gottwald, International Labor Rights Forum

After five years of struggle, the U.S. Congress passed the U.S. trade promotion agreement with Colombia on October 12^th.  The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) has opposed the passage of any FTA with Colombia until the Colombian government demonstrates the political will and capacity to make meaningful, lasting improvements to its dismal record on enforcing internationally-recognized, fundamental labor rights.  

For over a decade, Colombia has been the world’s most dangerous country to be a trade unionist. According to the Solidarity Center of the AFL-CIO, roughly 4,000 Colombian trade unionists have been murdered in the past 20 years.  Fifty one Colombian unionists were murdered in 2010, more than the rest of the world combined.  Shockingly, virtually no one is prosecuted or convicted for these crimes, with an impunity rate of approximately 96 percent.

In 2009, the ILRF submitted written comments to the United States Trade Representative outlining a set of labor rights benchmarks that the Colombian government should meet before the U.S. considers the passage of any FTA, including:

•  Demonstrate a dramatic and sustained reduction (and eventual elimination) of violence and threats against trade unionists and other human rights defenders.
•  Demonstrate a dramatic increase in the rates of investigation and successful prosecution of those who commit acts of violence against trade unionists, including exploring alleged links between paramilitary groups, multinational corporations, and Colombian security forces.    
• Enact labor law reforms to bring Colombia in compliance with the 8 ILO Core Conventions it has ratified and close the loopholes in Colombian law that allow employers to use “labor cooperatives,” temporary contracting, and other schemes that undermine Colombian workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively.  

Mars Inc. Joins the Fairtrade Movement

Julie Kaszton- Free2Work 

Mars. Inc., one of the world’s largest food companies generating $28 billion in annual global revenue, announced a strategic partnership with Fairtrade International yesterday.   Mars has dominated the chocolate industry for years and with recognizable brands such as M&M’s, Snickers, Dove, Galaxy, Milky Way, and Twix, the company’s decision to support Fairtrade’s efforts to positively impact the lives of more cocoa farmers is monumental.  

In addition to introducing the first Fairtrade Mars product, MALTESERS®, to stores in the UK and Ireland in 2012, the agreement enables Fairtrade and Mars to work together to make supporting sustainable livelihoods for cocoa farmers a standard in the cocoa industry.  Part of Mars’ commitment is to scale its purchases of Fairtrade cocoa as well as explore how to effectively empower other confectionary companies to do the same.  

ILRF promotes Fairtrade in cocoa because these programs include requirements that drive toward the root cause of farmers’ poverty and their dependence on child labor.  These requirements include: the establishment of a minimum price for goods produced, the implementation of democratic organization, and offering robust support for small farmers.  By choosing to don the Fairtrade (FLO) label for MALTESERS®, Mars is sending a clear message that upholding these standards is particularly important given the nature of the issues that plague the cocoa sector in West Africa. 

Join ILRF in DC on Aug. 11 for a Screening of a Film about Labor Rights in Banana Production

Mitch Ellmauer, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum

The International Labor Rights Forum, TransAfrica Forum, the Institute for Policy Studies, and the Center for Food Safety are sponsoring the the DC premeire of The Big Banana, a new documentary about the dirty secrets and workers’ rights violations of the banana industry and the struggle of a few brave farmers in Cameroon who stood up for their rights and took on took on a multinational fruit corporation. Check out the trailer below and find all the details online here.

The Big Banana examines working conditions at the Plantation du Haute Penja in Cameroon. PHP’s 6,0000 farm workers earn just $50 a month working 15-hour days in inhuman conditions. Many of these plantation workers were once independent smallholders whose land was stolen by PHP and the Cameroonian government. When the farmers try to organize a union they are met with intimidation, violence, and unlawful termination.

The Big Banana will be showing at Busboys and Poets 5th and K St. NW tomorrow, August 11th, from 6:30 to 8:30pm. After the film, director Franck Bieleu will lead a discussion about workers’ rights and land rights in Africa.

Check out "The Harvest" - A New Film about Child Labor in US Agriculture

Mitch Ellmauer, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum

If you are in Los Angeles this week, you should check out The Harvest/ La Cosecha, a new documentary about child migrant farmworkers in the United States. We often view child labor as a problem for other countries; as something that happens far away, as an issue to be dealt with in developing economies where labor protections and poverty is widespread. But child labor is a problem here in United States as well.

Every year over 400,000 American children are torn from their homes to harvest the food we all eat. The children travel from Texas onion fields to Michigan apple orchards and then on to tomato fields in Florida; they work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week without the protection of American labor law.

The Harvest was directed by U. Roberto Romano and produced by Eva Longoria. It follows the travels of three young migrant farmworkers: Zulema Lopez, age 12, Perla Sanchez, age 14, and victor Huapilla, age 16, as they work through the 2009 harvest. Check out this preview of the film:

The Harvest/La Cosecha - Theatrical Trailer from Shine Global on Vimeo.

Behind the Kitchen Door: A Summit on the D.C. Restaurant Industry

By Elisabeth Springer, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum

On February 14th Eatonville Restaurant, located in the historic U Street district, hosted an event to discuss the findings of “Behind the Kitchen Door: Inequality & Opportunity in Washington, D.C.’s Thriving Restaurant Industry.” This report, conducted by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Washington, D.C., Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, and the Washington, D.C. Restaurant Industry Coalition, is the most comprehensive ever conducted on the state of the District’s restaurant industry and its implications for the economic development, public health, and working conditions of the community.

ILRF was eager to take part in this event and stand in solidarity with ROC members.  ILRF and ROC are both members of a new coalition called the Food Chain Workers Alliance and thus its important to connect issues of workers all along the food chain.

The Dank Smell of Roses

By Lucia Curiel, Volunteer, International Labor Rights Forum

This Valentine’s Day, as you pass by local street vendors, or go into a local shop, th    ere will likely be more flowers around than last month. A bold red rose might catch your eye. If you stop and inspect, you might appreciate its vivid color, evocative aroma and delicate form and petals. It’s hardly inappropriate that such a beautiful, graceful being should have come to symbolize love and affection.

Yet where did this and other flowers come from? We might imagine such a beauty to have grown in a tranquil garden or a lush and wild bed. But such a romantic image of this emblem of romance contrasts sharply with the bitter, painful circumstances surrounding the flower’s production and delivery. If we begin to trace that rose, or any other flower, back to its point of origin, it is suddenly not so pretty.

In reality, Linda Farthing, in her article, “Where Flowers Bloom So Does Hope: Colombia’s Troubled Flower Industry,” tells us, flowers sold in US supermarkets are very likely from Colombia because Colombia’s cheap labor has made imported flowers less expensive than those grown in the US. Over 60% of the flowers sold in the U.S. come from Colombia. There, in Colombia, about 100, 000 flower workers toil under unsafe, unjust labor conditions for poverty-level wages. According to Farthing, “Although flower workers earn more than most others in agriculture, they still generally only earn Colombia’s minimum wage. This approximately $12 a day covers less than 45 percent of estimated basic living expenses and contrasts dramatically with the estimated retail value of the flowers that just one woman picks daily - US$600–800.”

Stop trade-union repression in Dole Philippines’ plantation!

This statement has been issued by Elmer "Bong" Labog of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)

The Kilusang Mayo Uno labor center condemns the continuing harassment and repression of members and officials of the legitimate labor union in Dole Philippines’ plantation in Polomoloc, South Cotabato - the Amado Kadena–National Federation of Labor Unions–Kilusang Mayo Uno (AK-NAFLU-KMU). We call for an immediate stop to such harassment and repression and for a clean and honest certification election in the coming months. We demand that the trade-union and human rights of about 20,000 workers in Dole Philippines be respected and upheld.

The objective of the ongoing harassment and repression in Dole Philippine is very clear: to weaken, if not eliminate altogether, the pro-worker and militant union AK-NAFLU-KMU and to replace it with the pro-management unions UR Dole and LEAD PH. The perpetrators of the harassment and repression in Dole Philippines are likewise clear: (1) the management of Dole Philippines, which wants to quash the workers’ demands for higher wages, job security and trade-union rights, in order to extract greater profits from the workers, and (2) the national government, which wants to promote its so-called “industrial peace” by any means including the deployment of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to better service the rapacity of big local and foreign capitalists for superprofits.

The Environmental and Social Cost of Pineapples in Costa Rica

By Anahi Malig, Volunteer, International Labor Rights Forum 

Since the 1960s, worldwide pineapple production has quadrupled and exports have tripled. Before then, Hawaii was the number one pineapple exporter; however, production has since expanded to regions throughout Africa, Asia, and Central America.

Today, most of the fresh pineapple found in European and US supermarkets comes from Costa Rica. A non-traditional crop in Central America, the pineapple eventually became the country’s second most important agricultural export. This expansion is the result of a state policy which aims to favor an export economy by providing incentives for domestic and foreign investment through tax exemptions.