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Immigration from the Source

August 21, 2007

Yet all the great programs of the union can not change the fact that
work on the banana plantation is brutally hot and dangerous. SITRABI
members receive a little more than Guatemala’s minimum wage, about $6
US a day.  They may also live on the plantation's small houses (shared
between two often large
families) rent and utilities free.  There is a school and daycare for
the children, healthcare facilities, and a small pension for retirees.

Labor Rights in Pakistan

August 20, 2007

Pakistani activists face deep-seated challenges, such as an unequal,
essentially feudal division of land (cemented under British rule) and the decades-long decline of the
country’s trade unions.  But there is much, too, in the terms of
Pakistan’s international trade relations that must be altered if
workers are to share fully in their nation’s extraordinary economic
boom—a boom which has seen the economy go from 5 percent GDP growth in
2003 to over 7 percent today.

Tracing School Uniforms

August 19, 2007

I asked some questions to find out where our uniforms were from. The
shirts are made in Haiti. They are then sent through the Port of Miami.
They then go to Eden, North Carolina for distribution. Next, they go to
a company in Virginia called Atlantic Coast Cotton for redistribution.
Then they go to Silver Spring, where the logo is printed by a company
called Blue Chip. And finally they end up at CCHS – where we wear them!

ILRF Statement Regarding Wal-Mart’s 2006 Ethical Standards Report

August 15, 2007

Several of the report’s
claims concerning improved supervision of supplier factories ring hollow. For example, responding to years of
complaints that Wal-Mart routinely alerts managers before it inspects factories,
the report applauds the company for raising the percentage of unannounced
audits to 26 percent of all audits in 2006. Yet this falls short of Wal-Mart’s goal of 30 percent for the year
(announced in its 2005 report) and is well below the percentage of audits that
are conducted unannounced by other companies, such as Reebok, which claimed 46
percent of its audits were unannounced in 2005. How much effort would it take for Wal-Mart to simply not alert its

Union Genocide

August 14, 2007

It
seems fair to say that the targeted killing of union members is different than
the targeted killing of a particular racial or ethnic group. Rather than perceiving the victim as
sub-human (as is seen in racial and ethnic “cleansing”), assassins of union
members are in the business of protecting economic interests. In Colombia, they are most often members of
paramilitary (about 41% in 2005, in cases where perpetrators were known) or
state (about 36% in 2005) forces who have some ideological or economic
arrangement with local company managers (the cooperation of the Colombian
government and US companies in these arrangements has gained extensive exposure

Firestone's sub-par score on human rights

August 9, 2007

For Bridgestone Americas, the tournament provided a key place to build relationships with new customers and suppliers as well as significant brand exposure (the company estimates over 700 million references to their name through the tournament's coverage in the media).  The tournament also showed Bridgestone/Firestone's increasing investment in golf.  They currently make golf balls (which contain rubber) and other related golf products.  As Bridgestone Americas Holdings, Inc.

The Great Debate

August 8, 2007

The AFL-CIO Blog has a number of posts about the debate.  The debate was also covered by several other media outlets.  Below are some of the articles.  For more on workers' rights issues in Chicago and how you can support workers at one factory there, check out this blog entry.

SEIU is sponsoring a campaign called Walk a Day in My Shoes where presidential candidates are asked to accompany SEIU members on the job and at home to see what it is really like for working families.  Check it out!

South Chicago Cygnus Strikers Producing Soap for Wal-Mart

August 7, 2007

This scenario reminds me that low pay and lack of job security is something workers everywhere face and I wonder what a company like Wal-Mart is doing to make sure their US soap factory workers are being treated fairly.  I applaud the efforts of IAM District 8 and stand in solidarity with the striking workers that have decided to stand up for their rights. I am also reminded that while Wal-Mart may have oodles of production in the global south, there are still workers in the US producing for Wal-Mart.

The workers are asking that we all do 3 things:

Playing Fair

August 7, 2007

You might remember that back in November, we highlighted Fair Trade Sports on our ethical gift guide.  Check out the complete list here!

ILRF has worked for years to stop child labor in the soccer ball industry.  In the 90's, we spearheaded the Foul Ball Campaign to call attention to the plight of thousands of children working in the stitched soccer ball industry in the Sialkot region of Pakistan.  An agreement was signed with a number of parties in 1997 to address the issue, but there have been reports that child labor has not been eliminated in the industry.

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