Archive for November, 2007
November 26, 2007
Mr. Leslie Wexner, CEOLimited Brands/Victoria's Secret3 Limited Parkway Columbus, Ohio 43230
Dear Mr. Wexler:
I write to urge your immediate intervention to help resolve a crisis at the D.K. Garments factory in Irbid, Jordan, where Victoria’s Secret garments are sewn. Apparently, the D.K. Garments factory, located in the Al Hasan Industrial City is a subcontract plant, but it has been producing for Victoria’s Secret since November 2006. Conditions in the factory violate every single Jordanian law, with mandatory 14 to 15-hour shifts, seven days a week. Workers also report being routinely shortchanged of the overtime pay legally due them. The company dorm is also primitive and unacceptable, lacking hot water and heat.
For daring to peaceably question management regarding a sudden and arbitrary 43 percent increase in the production goal for Victoria’s Secret bikinis, six foreign guest workers have been arrested and imprisoned—apparently on trumped-up charges—since November 11. After repeated but unsuccessful attempts to implore management to free their co-workers, who had done nothing wrong, the workers walked off the shop floor.
Conditions are now deteriorating. Management is threatening to forcibly deport all the foreign guest workers. Management also says they will soon block the supply of food and water to the workers’ dorm.
Can you please intervene immediately to help resolve this worsening crisis? We do not want you to pull Victoria’s Secret production from the factory—where it has been produced for the last year—since this would only further punish the workers, who have already suffered enough. Rather, we ask that you work with your contractor to clean up the factory and to quickly implement concrete steps to guarantee that the legal rights of the workers will finally be respected.
We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you posted on any new developments. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Charles KernaghanDirector
11/29/2007
Under enormous pressure, the workers had to call off their strike and return to work. They have been back at work for about a week now. The hours have not significantly changed. The workers are now working from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 or 9:00 or 10:00 p.m.
The six workers remain imprisoned. One of the workers, (Mr. Mostafa, card# 544) is seriously ill, apparently with acute liver problems or appendicitis, and has been hospitalized. The workers are extremely anxious regarding his condition and the quality of care he is receiving.
It appears that the factory owner has now also confiscated the workers passports, which is illegal and possibly a first step to forcible deportation.
Worker Rights Violations and MistreatmentAt the Star Factory in HondurasProducing for Nike, NFL and Anvil
"End the disrespect for our labor rights. Compañeros join our struggle. Let's defend our rights as the workers we are. We have been fired for having organized ourselves. No More Violations. Everyone unite." --SITRASTAR Union
The Columbus Dispatch, November 28, 2007: "Link to Victoria's Secret.: Group Alleges Abuses at Apparel Factory." By Amy Saunders
Women's Wear Daily, November 28, 2007: "NLC: Striking Jordanian Workers Threatened." By Verena Dobnik
The Huffington Post, November 28, 2007: "Victoria's Secret, Slave Labor And So-Called 'Free Trade'" By Jonathan Tasini
27
Nov
ANOTHER CAFTA DISASTER
Nike, NFL and Anvil Workers in HondurasFired for Organizing a Legal UnionAt the U.S.-owned Star, S.A.,El Porvenir Free Trade Zone
More than 70 workers fired to date.
Workers smuggled these clothing labels out of the Star factory
En Español
Click Here for More Information on the Star, S.A. Sweatshop in Honduras (Updated: 12/21/2007)
On Wednesday, November 7, workers at Star informed the Honduran Ministry of Labor of their intention to form a legal union. On Saturday, November, the firings began. To date, Star management has fired over 70 union leaders, founding members and supporters.
On Monday, November 12, 500 workers blocked the entrance to the El Porvenir Free Trade Zone. Star management called in the National Police and military, who fired teargas and assaulted the workers. On Saturday and Sunday, November 24 and 25, hundreds of workers blocked the entrance to the El Porvenir Zone. In solidarity with fired unionists, workers on the weekend shift refused to cross the picketline. On Monday morning, November 26, military occupied the entrance gate. Tension is running high--the unionists are facing increasing intimidation, including surveilance and being followed by undercover police who are armed but dressed in civilian clothing.
The workers are urgently requesting our help. They feel that pressure in the United States may be their only hope. PLEASE WRITE NIKE, ANVIL & NFL, URGING THEM TO INTERVENE TO ASSURE THAT THESE WORKERS' FUNDAMENTAL LEGAL RIGHTS ARE RESPECTED.
NIKE
Mark G. ParkerPresident, CEO & DirectorNIKE, Inc.1 Bowerman Dr. Beaverton, OR 97005-6453
TELEPHONE: 800-344-6543 FAX: 503-671-6300
NFL
Roger Goodell, CommissionerNational Football League280 Park Ave., 15th Fl. New York, NY 10017
TELEPHONE: 212-450-2000 FAX: 212-681-7599
Anvil
Bernard Geller, Chair & CEOAnvil Holdings, Inc.228 E. 45th St. New York, NY 10017
TELEPHONE: 800-223-0332 FAX: 212-476-0323 EMAIL: info@anvilknitwear.com
Dear **:
Please intervene immediately to end the crisis at your contractor's plant, Star, S.A. in the El Porvenir Free Trade Zone in Honduras. More than 70 workers have been illegally fired for exercising their legal right to organize a union to improve conditions and help end violations at the plant. Protests, which have including hundreds of workers, have been violently broken up by police and the military. Please move to assure that the legal rights of workers sewing your garments are respected.
Sincerely
"End the disrespect for our labor rights. Compañeros join our struggle. Let's defend our rights as the workers we are. We have been fired for having organized ourselves. No More Violations. Everyone unite." SITRASTAR Union
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON ASK VICTORIA'S SECRETTO STOP ITS ABUSE OF FOREIGN GUEST WORKERS IN JORDANAND TO IMMEDIATELY FREE SIX VICTORIA'S SECRET WORKERS IMPRISONEDUNDER TRUMPED-UP CHARGES
November 26, 2007
Update 12/20/2007: Six workers beaten, imprisoned, and deported
Urgent Update on the Situation at DK Garments (November 29)
Read NLC Director Charles Kernaghan's Letter to the CEO of Victoria's Secret/The Limited
Click here to read press coverage of the NLC`s 2007 Victoria`s Secret Sweatshop Report
Jordan Campaign Page
D.K. GarmentsAl Hasan Industrial CityIrbid, Jordan
D.K. Garments is a subcontract factory with 150 foreign guest workers (135 from Bangladesh and 15 from Sri Lanka), which has been producing Victoria's Secret garments for the last year. None of the workers have been provided their necessary residency permits, without which they cannot venture outside the industrial park without fear of being stopped by the police and perhaps imprisoned for lack of proper documents.
The Victoria's Secret workers toil 14 to 15 hours a day, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 or 10:00 p.m., seven days a week, receiving on average one day off every three or four months. All overtime is mandatory, and workers are routinely at the factory 98 to 105 hours a week while toiling 89 to 96 hours. Treatment is very rough, as managers and supervisors scream at the foreign guest workers to move faster to complete their high production goals.
Workers who fall behind on their production goals, or who make even a minor error, can be slapped and beaten. Despite being forced to work five or more overtime hours a day, the workers are routinely shortchanged on their legal overtime pay, being cheated of up to $18.48 each week in wages due them. While this might not seem like a great deal of money, to these poor workers it is the equivalent of losing three regular days' wages each week.
Workers are allowed just 3.3 minutes to sew each $14 Victoria's Secret women's bikini, for which they are paid four cents. The workers' wages amount to less than 3/10ths of one percent of the $14 retail price of the Victoria's Secret bikini.
The workers are housed in primitive dorms which have only irregular access to water. During winter months, when the temperatures can drop to freezing, the workers' dorms have neither heat nor hot water. Many workers fall ill from the constant cold.
SIX WORKERS IMPRISONED ON TRUMPED UP CHARGES
In early November 2007, when a new style of Victoria's Secrets women's underwear arrived, management set a mandatory production goal of 2,800 pieces per 10-hour shift for each assembly line of 22 sewers. It was almost impossible to reach this goal, as the workers were allowed just five minutes to sew each garment. Then on November 11, management suddenly increased the production goal to 4,000 pieces in 10 hours, an increase of 1,200 garments--or 43 percent more--with no increase in wages. Now, in effect, each worker would have to sew 18.2 garments an hour, or one every 3.3 minutes, which was impossible. The workers protested the sudden, arbitrary increase. They wanted to speak with management, to explain how such an extreme production goal was not only unjust, but impossible to achieve.
Management responded by having six of the most outspoken workers protesting the sudden production goal increase imprisoned--apparently on trumped-up charges.
The Following Workers Have Been Imprisoned Since November 11, 2007
Mr. Kamal Factory ID # 467Mr. Farook Factory ID # 553Mr. Motin Factory ID # 589Mr. Delwar Factory ID # 563Mr. Mostafa Factory ID # 544Mr. Shohel Factory ID # 505
The workers begged management to free their unjustly imprisoned friends and co-workers. Management refused and the workers stopped working at 10:30 a.m. on November 12. The strike continues. The owner of the factory is now threatening to have all the guest workers forcibly deported back to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The owner says food and water will be cut off and following that, the workers will be forcibly removed from the dorms.
The workers paid anywhere from $1,500 to over $3,000 to purchase three-year work contracts in Jordan--an enormous amount of money in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Workers had to go deeply into debt, borrowing the money on the informal market, often at five to ten percent interest per month, If the workers are deported, they will never be able to pay off their debts, and they and their families will be ruined.
BACKGROUND:
I. 14 to 15 Hour Shifts / Seven Days a Week(Workers at the factory 98 to 105 hours a week)
7:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (Work, 5 1/2 hours)
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. (Lunch, 1 hour)
1:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (Work, 5 hours)
6:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. (Break, 15 minutes)
6:45 p.m. - 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. (Work, 2 1/4 to 3 1/4 hours)
II. 75 Cent-an-hour Minimum Wage
75 cents an hour
$5.97 a day (8 hours)
$35.84 a week (48 hours)
$155.30 a month
$1,863.62 a year
III. The legal regular work week is eight hours a day, six days a week, for a total of 48 hours. All weekday overtime must be paid at a 25 percent premium, or 93 cents an hour. Work on Friday's--the Muslim holiday--must be paid at a 50 percent premium, or $1.12 an hour.
On average D.K. Garments foreign guest workers are forced to work 5 1/4 overtime hours each weekday in addition to 13 1/4 overtime hours on Friday, the weekly day off. Each day the workers are being shortchanged of 2 3/4 hours' overtime pay legally due them, or $18.48 a week. In effect, this is the equivalent of losing three days' regular pay each week, which is an enormous amount of money for these poor workers.
UPDATE 12/20/2007:
After spending over a month in prison, where they were beaten, the six imprisoned Victoria’s Secret workers were forcibly deported and returned to Bangladesh on December 16. More updates will follow.
21
Nov
NLC Response/Update
Sweatshop Crucifixes Pulled from Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity Church
Update and Response From Charles Kernaghan, director, National Labor Committee
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
While it was an excellent first step for Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity Church to pull the sweatshop crucifixes from their gift shops, their responsibility does not end there. Following a thorough investigation, Saint Patrick’s and Trinity should work together with the Association for Christian Retail to clean up the Junxingye factory in China and implement concrete steps to guarantee that the legal rights of the young workers will finally be respected.
Pulling production from the factory would only further punish these young women workers, who have suffered enough already.
I am aware that Joseph Zwilling, a spokesperson for Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, believes that the National Labor Committee “exploited” the Cathedral. I beg to differ. It was the young women at the Junxingye factory in China, forced to work 15 ½ hour days, seven days a week for a take-home wage of just nine cents an hour while making crucifixes for sale at Saint Patrick’s, who were the ones being tragically exploited.
The Singer Company says that when they asked their longstanding contractor in China, Full Start Ltd., whether or not they used child workers or workers employed under sweatshop conditions, the company responded, no. This would be the equivalent of asking Jack the Ripper if he respects young women. In other words, the company’s effort to monitor factory conditions has been ridiculous. And, if the Singer Company did not have some concern about its crucifixes being made in China, why did they strip the crosses of the country of origin, “Made in China” labeling that is required by law?
The Association for Christian Retail claims that the in-depth 74-page research report issued by the National Labor Committee is “unfounded and irresponsible.” We have a single question for the Association: If you have nothing to hide, will you immediately release the names and addresses of the factories in China that produce religious products for your 2,055 member stores and suppliers?
Production is outsourced to China precisely because workers have no rights, can be paid pennies an hour and have no freedom of association. Nor—we should remind the Association for Christian Retail—do these workers enjoy freedom of religion.
Some have questioned why the National Labor Committee cannot reveal our sources in China—as if this somehow undermines the credibility of the research, documentation, photos, etc. I would ask those people to recall the recent case of Mr. Shi Tao, who has just begun a ten year prison sentence for daring to write three emails on the subject of press restrictions. (Yahoo turned him in to the Chinese authorities.) It is a miracle that any research at all on factory conditions in China reaches the U.S., and that is does is also a testament to the dignity and courage of the Chinese workers.
New York Times, November 21, 2007: "Labor Group Says St. Patrick’s Sells Sweatshop Goods." By John Sullivan
Associated Press, November 20, 2007: "Group: Churches Sell Sweatshop Crosses." By Verena Dobnik
New York Post, November 21, 2007: "TERRIBLE CROSSES TO BEAR." By John Mazor and Andy Soltis
New York Daily News, November 21, 2007: "St. Patrick`s, Trinity Church sell sweatshop crucifixes, group claims." By Edgar Sandoval and Bill Hutchinson
New York Sun, November 21, 2007: "Report: China Makes Crucifixes Sold in N.Y." By Sarah Garland
amNew York, November 21, 2007: "St. Patrick`s pulls crucifixes after sweatshop claims." By David Freedlander
Democracy Now!, November 21, 2007: "'Workers Bear the Cross': Retailers, Churches Accused of Selling Sweatshop-Made Crucifixes." --Click here to read the transcript of Democracy Now's interview with NLC Director Charles Kernaghan--Click here to watch the video interview
By David Freedlander, amNewYork Staff Writer
November 21, 2007
St. Patrick's Cathedral and Trinity Church pulled crucifixes from their gift shops Tuesday after stunning allegations that the items are produced in Chinese sweatshops.
Church officials vowed to keep the crucifixes off the shelves while they investigate as the faithful expressed chagrin.
Charles Kernaghan, the executive director of the National Labor Committee, the advocacy group that released a report on the crosses, called on St. Patrick's "to move immediately, decisively and with compassion to clean up the factories and to guarantee that the rights of workers are firmly respected."
The report alleged that the crucifixes come from a factory in Guangdong, China, where women, some as young as 15, work more than 90 hours a week for about 26 cents an hour, less than half of China's minimum wage. Kernaghan said workers snuck out evidence and gave it to the labor group.
Kernaghan added that the crucifixes, which cost as little as $1.40 to produce, are sold in church gift shops for $17.95.
"That's a markup that would make even Nike blush," Kernaghan said in a news conference outside St. Patrick's Cathedral Tuesday.
The archdiocese said that it was investigating the matter, but accused the labor group of trying to embarrass the church.
"This individual did not contact us prior to using the cathedral as a stage for a press conference," said Joe Zwilling, spokesman for the archdiocese.
Trinity Church, of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, said in a statement it would "look into this situation," adding: "We are selective in the products we carry and do not support manufacturers who are associated with sweatshop labor."
The report accuses a trade group, the Association for Christian Retail, of knowing about the sweatshops but looking the other way. The group dismissed the allegations as "unfounded and irresponsible."
The crosses are supplied by the Singer Co., a Mount Vernon-based "inspirational jewelry" concern. "We are not a Nike or a big corporation that can inspect every single factory," said company president Gerald Singer, who vowed to investigate the matter. "My God, making religious objects in a sweatshop, that's the last thing we need."
Visitors to St. Patrick's Tuesday were distressed to hear the news. "I'm kind of shocked," said Angie Huntz, 35, of Louisiana. "I think my mom would love to have one of these crosses, but I wouldn't buy one knowing this information."
Chris Malagan, 28, of Ireland, agreed.
"A church, well, you'd think they'd be upholding the basic principles of human rights."
