Archive for January, 2010
Tim Newman, Campaigns Director, International Labor Rights Forum
Since the post I wrote on this blog on Monday about the continued use of child labor in the chocolate industry, there have been some interesting developments in the chocolate industry.
First off, TransFair USA and Green & Black's announced this week that the organic chocolate company would shift to Fair Trade Certified cocoa for its entire product line, including for the US market. The company plans to certify 100% of its cocoa by the end of this year. The company expects that its' "commitment will mean an investment of more than $485,000 each year over the next 10 years through additional Fair Trade premiums paid to Dominican Republic cocoa farmers and their communities." This is an exciting development and we're looking forward to seeing Green & Black's chocolate with the Fair Trade Certified label soon!
It's also interesting to note that Green & Black's is owned by Cadbury and it seems almost certain at this point that Kraft will be taking over Cadbury very soon. Many people have been concerned about what will happen to Cadbury's Fair Trade cocoa sourcing once the deal goes through because Kraft does not have the same level of commitment to Fair Trade Certified cocoa. However, Kraft has stated that they expect to honor Cadbury's practices. We hope that Green & Black's, as well as Cadbury, will be able to maintain -- and increase -- their investment in Fair Trade and socially and environmentally sustainable cocoa production in the future.
Speaking of Cadbury... Cadbury products in the US (not including Green & Black's) are licensed to be produced by Hershey. Unfortunately, Hershey has been lagging behind its competitors in supporting sustainable cocoa growing and has not agreed to any programs to trace its cocoa supply chain and institute labor standards for suppliers. That's why it was disappointing to see that pop star Ashlee Simpson was out promoting new Hershey products in New York City this past week. We hope that Ashlee, who has been supportive of other efforts to support children globally, will take this opportunity to push Hershey to do more to stop child and trafficked labor in their cocoa supply chain.
YOU can do more by posting a tweet of Twitter like this: @ashsimpsonwentz why are you promoting a product made using #childlabor -- #hershey uses cocoa harvested by kids http://3bl.me/3sd6ag
Tim Newman, Campaigns Director, International Labor Rights Forum
Yesterday, ILRF launched a new action targeting Superbowl Halftime sponsor, Bridgestone/Firestone, for its long history of exploiting workers on its rubber plantation in Liberia. Check it out here.
Since we launched the action, many of you posted message on the Facebook wall of Bridgestone Tires. When the company they found out, they initially posted a response to each comment directing people to continue the conversation about Firestone's plantation in Liberia on their Facebook discussion board. The company started a discussion directing people to their company website. The new Stop Firestone campaign action focuses specifically on a key demand that workers are calling for. For years, Firestone workers have had to carry buckets weighing 75 pounds each on each end of a stick on their backs for miles, all day for days on end. While most rubber plantation have moved on from this archaic system of work, Firestone continues this exploitation. When campaign supporters wrote on Firestone's Facebook discussion board that they wanted a substantive response on this specific issue, the company promptly shut down the discussion board. Then, when people posted more direct questions and comments about the bucket-carrying issue on Firestone's Facebook wall, the company deleted those comments.
It's clear that Firestone is paying close attention to your messages! However, they clearly refuse to respond to the specific issue of how their workers are forced to carry heavy loads in order to enrich the company. This system of work is unacceptable and needs to end. We must keep up our actions to show solidarity with workers in Liberia. We've come so far in this campaign already, but we need to take this next important step forward.
*UPDATE!* At the end of the day today, Firestone started sending form e-mail replies to people who took action. Firestone claims that: "The work Firestone's agricultural employees do is typical of the work that goes on in the fields and farms across Africa and the rest of the world." This is NOT true. Workers on many rubber plantations around the world use carts, trucks and other forms of transporting buckets of latex that do not require workers to carry them on their backs for miles. This work system is outdated and unacceptable on a plantation owned and operated by the biggest tire company in the world. Conditions on the Firestone plantation in Liberia are below other rubber plantations globally when they should be among the best because they are operated directly by a major corporation. We are calling attention to this issue because it is a major daily burden on workers and it can no longer continue in 2010. Unfortunately, this is pretty much another non-response from Firestone. Their e-mail does not deal substantively with the specific issue we raised in our action alert. We need to keep up the pressure for the company to get the message that we want to see real progress on this specific issue.
Please keep taking action in three ways:
- Send an e-mail to Firestone here;
- If you use Twitter, you can spread the word by posting a Tweet like this: @BridgestoneINFO #Superbowl #Halftime sponsor #Bridgestone #Firestone: Stop exploiting workers in #Liberia! http://bit.ly/8taTuu
- If you are on Facebook, you can post a comment like this on Bridgestone/Firestones fan page (online here: http://www.facebook.com/BridgestoneTires): "Stop exploiting workers in Liberia! http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/Firestone2010"
Here is another way to take action on Facebook:
- Become a fan of the Superbowl here and post this message: "I'm disappointed that Bridgestone, a company that exploits workers and the environment so severely, will be getting the title sponsorship of the Halftime show. Check out: http://www.StopFirestone.org."
Timothy Newman, Campaigns Director, International Labor Rights Forum
For the third year in a row, the Bridgestone/Firestone tire company will be the title sponsor of the NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show on February 7, 2010. While the Firestone, the largest tire company in the world, spends millions on two glitzy new TV ads and The Who rocks out in front of a Bridgestone Americas logo, the thousands of workers on the company's rubber plantation in Liberia that produce the key resource that keeps those tires running will be working in conditions like this:
In 2010, stepping onto Firestone's rubber plantation in Liberia is like being transported back centuries. The majority of workers on the plantation are "rubber tappers" who collect raw latex from the rubber trees and pour them into buckets that weigh 75 pounds each. The tappers carry two of the heavy buckets on each end of a stick on their backs for miles to a collection point where they are weighed and recorded to ensure that each rubber tapper meets his or her daily production quota. It is tragically ironic that a company that produces tires refuses to provide trucks for workers to transport the heavy buckets of latex. This type of work system is completely outdated and has been upgraded on most rubber plantations globally, for example in other major rubber-producing countries like Indonesia.
Firestone workers in Liberia have recently made important advances in securing their rights. After a major organizing campaign, workers finally held the first free and fair union elections on the plantation in 2008 and signed an historic collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Check out the video below to see the working conditions on the plantation and learn more about the workers' inspiring struggle!
Right now, workers have an important opportunity to take the next step forward in achieving the justice they have long deserved. The union is currently negotiating a new contract with Firestone. This is a crucial opening for workers to finally remove Firestone’s heavy load of exploitation from their backs.
You can join in solidarity with Firestone workers in Liberia by taking these actions:
- Send an e-mail to Firestone here;
- If you use Twitter, you can spread the word by posting a Tweet like this: @BridgestoneINFO #Superbowl #Halftime sponsor #Bridgestone #Firestone: Stop exploiting workers in #Liberia! http://bit.ly/8taTuu
- If you are on Facebook, you can post a comment like this on Bridgestone/Firestones fan page (online here: http://www.facebook.com/BridgestoneTires): "Stop exploiting workers in Liberia! http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/Firestone2010"
Together we CAN make a difference -- we've already accomplished so much with this campaign! So let's take it to the next level and finally end this outdated and abusive system of transporting latex.
