April 2002 Call to Action News

Fighting sweatshops: Gap, Nike, Starbucks, Folger's are targeted

The anti-sweatshop movement this spring is a buzz with activity, fighting worker abuses in garment factories and agricultural fields around the world. Call To Action continues to follow these issues through the pages of these publications and at conference workshops.

March 19 was an international day of action targeting the Gap. Campaigners, led by the San Francisco human rights group, Global Exchange, picketed, leafletted, called and faxed Gap executives urging them to settle the three-year-old lawsuit alleging a system of indentured servitude in their Saipan factories. CTA conferencegoers may remember the story of Chie Abad, a worker from these same factories who spoke at our 2000 conference. Chie told us of the 12- hour, seven-day work weeks, poor ventilation, sexual harassment, contaminated drinking water, high production quotas, and barbed-wire lined barracks which framed her life in Saipan. She explained that she and other young Asian women, having been promised good jobs in America, paid thousands of dollars to go from their homelands to Saipan. Chie and 30,000 of her co-workers are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. You can send a free fax to the Gap supporting Chie’s suit from http://www.globalexchange.org/ economy/corporations/saipan/ gapfax.html

Shoe plants in Indonesia

Australian NGO, Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, released a report on Nike and Adidas manufacturers in Indonesia. They found that although some improvements have been made reducing the frequency of sexual harassment, and obtaining sick leave for workers, serious problems still exist. A poignant illustration of the sorrow caused by extremely low wages ($56 a month) was this description: “Approximately half of those workers with children are forced by their poverty to send them to live with relatives in distant villages. Many can only afford to see their children three or four times a year and find the separation extremely painful. Those who live with their children commonly go into debt to cover their family’s basic needs.” Living wage activists Jim Keady and Leslie Kretzu will be sharing their research into Indonesian shoe factories at the 2002 CTA conference.

Fair trade coffee

Coordinated efforts to grow the alternative, fair trade economy are also afoot this spring. During the National Coffee Association’s annual meeting, fair trade advocates targeted Starbucks and Folger’s. Starbucks is currently committed to carrying one line of fair trade coffee, and to serving it as the coffee of the day in their stores once a month. The human rights community is asking them to begin serving the coffee once a week. Folger’s, one of Procter and Gamble’s billion dollar brands, is being asked to include fair trade coffee in a volume of at least 5 percent of their overall coffee purchasing. Fair trade certification guarantees the farmers a minimum price of $1.26 per pound, compared to the current market rate of less than 50 cents.

For more information and ways you can support workers in fields and factories, order the CTA Focus on Sweatshops Information/ Action Packet. The packet is available for $5. Order from Claire Noonan at claire@ctausa.org, or 773-404-0004 x285.