Jakub was warned by members of the management that having a union would
make the company "less competitive".  The reason given for Jakub's
dismissal was “damaging the company's image” and “disclosing
confidential information” by writing an article which was published on
the Internet. No proof of those allegations were given, and in fact,
another person has admitted to writing the article.

Workers at Splendor and
Fragancia Flower plantations have also advanced in their struggles. Unions at both plantations are currently in
negotiations and expect to sign contracts this summer. At Splendor, “Sintrasplendor workers were
given a major boost in January when Rep. George Miller, D-CA, raised their case
with the Ministry of Social Protection and Vice President Francisco Santos,
ultimately resulting
in a court order for the arbitration tribunal they had
been waiting for since May 2007 … The tribunal began in mid-May,” and the
timing in which the workers receive a final ruling will determine how soon

Are we as a
culture agreeing that in order to have “cute” clothes or cheap appliances that
we are willing to live with slave labor? Can we at least all agree that there
are some minimum standards that we as a culture should live by? Do we really need to continue to find the
worst of the worst stories of brutality to bring attention to this continual
problem in our society?

I am
generally an optimistic person and I believe that workers around the world will
fight with all of their strength for their rights at work. I hope that I can
continue to believe that consumers and activists in the global north will join
them.

What can we
do to break through the apathy?

“‘When you are poor, environmental conservation is a luxury
that you cannot afford,’ says David Woollcombe , president of Peace Child
International, a nonprofit organization that works with local young people to
promote sustainability in less developed countries. ‘If you are cold, you don’t
care about conservation of forests, you care about keeping warm. This is why
many people say that poverty
is the greatest enemy, the greatest polluter of the environment.’” Thus, it
really is in our interest to support workers abroad who are fighting for better
working and living conditions. As