Labor Day weekend is a bittersweet marker of the end of summer and the beginning of the school year. It is also a commemoration of labor rights struggles in the United States and a time to reflect on how far we have yet to go. This Labor Day, in addition to enjoying barbecues, picnics, and the beach, let us remember all the workers who don’t get the day off and take time to learn about how workers who are fed up with increasing inequality are standing up to fight back.

Today, three months after the Rana building collapse of April 24 and eight months after the Tazreen fire of November 24, two hundred orphans participated in a demonstration organized by the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF). The demonstration called on all apparel brands and retailers that sourced from Tazreen and Rana to pay full and fair compensation to the injured workers and families who lost loved-ones, as well as urged all clothing companies that have not yet signed on to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh to do so immediately.

Cultural norms, discrimination, and lack of educational opportunities have resulted in a large reserve pool female labor in Bangladesh.

As garment factory fires and building
collapses continue to claim more lives in Bangladesh, the US government must
change course and send a strong message that business as usual in Bangladesh
must end. Removing GSP benefits for Bangladesh, a country that has repeatedly
failed to address worker rights issues across several industries, will send
that message.