Report from Sweatfree Labor Forum - D.C.

Jason Houk, 08.11.2009 00:18

Local and national anti-sweatshop activists with SweatFree Communities gathered in Washington DC on November 6th for a policy forum on strengthening core labor standards through public procurement reform.

Albert Torres shows example of US military uniform manufactured by Propper.

Audience members q&a with panel participants.

Sponsored by Representative Mike Michaud and Representative Phil Hare and organized by International Labor Rights Forum and SweatFree Communities, the purpose of the forum is to end the use of taxpayer dollars in global sweatshops and in domestic workplaces with substandard working conditions.

The forum was the first in a series of workshops and lectures for SweatFree Communities National Summit held in Washington D.C. and attended by representatives from Ashland and SweatFree Northwest.

The group heard testimony from workers, business, government and labor rights advocates, about labor rights violations in the apparel industry and ethical alternatives for government purchasing. Highlighting the experiences of state and local governments in in setting labor standards for government suppliers and holding them accountable through supply chain transparency and independent factory monitoring.

Albert Torres a garment worker with Propper International in Puerto Rico gave testimony about current working conditions he faces. Propper has a contract with the U.S. Government to manufacture uniforms for our military. The contract is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars yet the workers are poorly paid and face difficult working conditions.

“Our working conditions are very bad.” Torres explains, “the heat is very intense, we have a lot of dust, there is a lot of people working in a small place... “ Workers are forced to bring their own fans to deal with the heat and buy their own materials to complete the job, “...sometimes we don't even have toilet paper.”

Torres continues, “Most of my coworkers have minimum wage salaries... They even make us work on our vacation days...” Despite bad conditions the workers dare not complain because they do not want to lose their jobs. When the Propper workers started their campaign to organize the company started a campaign to intimidate pro-labor workers. “Propper does not respect that law...” Torres laments.

The group heard from Miguel Angel Ruiz Estrada, the General Secretary of the trade union CST-JBE in Nicaragua. Estrada reports that Nicaragua suffers some of the worse working conditions in Central America. The “Sewing Factories” (over 70 in the Free Trade Zone) are marketed as the best in the world. Most of the workers are young women, 18-30 years old, more than 40% are single mothers. Worldwide, only 2% of apparel workers are unionized.

Workers face a pattern of abuse such as forced overtime, failure to grant maternity leave, poor wages and working conditions. Union organizers are harrassed, fired and in some cases, murdered. “Non-compliance is really the norm, not the exception.” explains Jeremy Blasi, director of research and investigation for Worker Rights Consortium.

Factory cost cutting methods include denying basic safety equipment. When workers ask for masks and ear protections they refused. The only time workers see this gear is when there is a factory inspection. Inspectors from store such as Walmart, JC Penney and Kohls regularly inspect the factories but they are only interested in product quality, not working conditions. “In many companies there is no system of social protection,” Estrada asks “who is protecting workers?”

“The anti sweatshop movement is one of the successful social justice campaigns today.” said Rini Chakraborty, formerly executive director of LA's Sweatshop Watch. The anti-sweatshop movement has seen success at local and state levels with New York state being the latest state to sign on to sweat-free purchasing.

Unfortunately, there are limitations on what can be done at the Federal level. Laws are weak and mechanisms are not in place for compliance enforcement. There is an executive order banning “forced child labor” but little more in the way of Federal legislation. “Our government should do better ... Our tax dollars should not be spent to facilitate [sweatshop] conditions.” declares Bama Athreya, executive director of International Labor Rights Forum,

The U.S. Government can be a major player in the sweat-free movement. “The government has more clout than ever,” states Athreya, who points out that “states and cities have paved the way.”

Activists call on the federal government to do more by implementing standards in all procurements, and by showing a greater commitment to enforcement.

Building stronger monitoring system and making factories report working conditions. Workers must be made aware that they have rights and there must be a process for redress of grievances. Production schedules must reflect the amount of time it takes to manufacture the goods without exploiting workers. Exploitation as a business strategy must be discouraged.

Federal procurements must have core labor standards including compliance with US labor laws, maternity leave, overtime and living wages. The federal government should deny contracts to identified “low road” companies and screen companies based on their track record. Promote higher labor standards by rating companies base on their ability to comply.

Businesses are beginning to understand that living wages and strong labor standards are good for producers, making it easier to compete. Lost profits from lost production will always be greater than the savings gained by exploiting workers.

The relationship between contractors and suppliers should be a stable, longterm relationship to allow good practices to develop. “Companies must realize that their own business practices are part of the problem, or they can be part of the solution.” Bjorn Claeson, executive director SweatFree Communities.

“We are at a moment where we can achieve what we all seek.” promises Athreya, “Together our continued voice can make this possible..”

e-mail:: jason@kskq.org
Homepage:: http://www.sweatfree.org

Download this article in pdf format >>

Add this article to your pdf newsletter selection >>

Checkout and Download your PDF-newsletter selection >>

Email this article to someone >>

Make a quick comment on this article >>

A Propper Business To Be In? 11.11.2009 - 02:04 Excuse my impertinence, but are readers supposed to either 1) boycott Propper Industries and refuse to buy their products or 2)support the underpaid employees of Propper Industries and their right to make military uniforms? It seems to me there is a hierarchy of protestation that comes into play here. Shouldn't the priority be to renounce war and save the life and limbs of our brothers and sisters? The military uniforms are paid for by taxpayers to clothe young rural kids who are trained to hate and kill the "enemy" against all their life preservation instincts, who will be shipped off to a remote place to fight a war in Afganistan, Iraq, and God knows where else, hoping to stay alive, make a few bucks, get their teeth fixed and three squares, and hopefully collect on the GI Bill. Isn't that just a teensy bit more important than making sure that employees of the war machine industries are getting a fair wage? wa I find it highly ironic that readers are asked to see as "OK" and "mainstream" working a job that directly supports the military war machine that is the real "pandemic" of our advanced civilization. OMFG.. Pro Bono> Homepage:: http://