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Mars Inc. Joins the Fairtrade Movement

As a cocoa industry giant, Mars Inc.’s commitment to take Fairtrade certification requirements seriously is a great step forward in the company’s accountability to consumers and producers alike.  It is also a call to action for other major chocolate companies to follow suit.  This was reiterated by several confectionary industry representatives at the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) meeting, who took Mars’ announcement as an indication that other companies should step up to the plate and consider adopting Fairtrade certification.  Vice President of Mars Global Chocolate, Barry Parkin, explained: "This agreement is a big step towards fulfilling our shared mission to empower farmers to build vibrant, sustainable livelihoods, and we're very excited to work with Fairtrade on ways to enable com

Rally in NYC Calls on Uzbek President's Daughter to Stop Forced Child Labor in Cotton

The rally yesterday, in combination with the pressure for New York Fashion Week to cancel Karimova's show, was incredibly successful in increasing awareness about forced child labor in Uzbekistan. It's important to remember that beyond Karimova and her fashion show, there continues to be forced child labor in the production of cotton from Uzbekistan. This is a critical human rights issue that affects apparel brands around the world as the cotton ends up in the clothing we buy. All garment companies must step up to prohibit the use of cotton from Uzbekistan as long as the government relies on forced child labor and ensure that a ban on Uzbek cotton is being fully implemented.

Forced Labor in Vietnam: A Violation of ILO Convention 29

The Vietnamese government partners with private companies to use the forced labor in detention centers for producing goods, in some cases for export. According to the Human Rights Watch report, Vietnamese law allows tax exemptions for companies who source products from these centers, making a contract with a detention center very attractive to companies. 

The type of labor performed in the centers includes farming, sewing clothing and shopping bags, working in construction, and manufacturing products made from wood, plastic, bamboo, and rattan. However, the most common form of forced labor (found in 11 of the 16 centers in Ho Chi Minh City) is processing cashews, the second largest agricultural export to the United States.

Student Guestworkers Stand up for their Rights and Call for Justice at Hershey

The students were promised that they would easily earn back the money they paid for the program, but much of their wages are taken by CETUSA in the form of housing fees. The students allege that they are charged above market rate for their housing. The students take home just $40 a week after CETUSA’s fees and deductions and many expect that they will not make any money by the end of the summer. 

Globalization and the US Construction Industry

According to the US International Trade Commission (USITC), China is the leading exporter of construction-related material to the United States.  China’s record on human rights is widely known to be unacceptable, yet every day US construction workers use Chinese-made fasteners to install Chinese-made plumbing and electrical fixtures and other products.  They use Chinese-made rigging equipment to raise machinery made in Thailand or Mexico, other countries with lax labor standards relative to North America.  Many of these products are made under the auspices of US manufacturers who have made direct investments in the economies of the Global South. 

Labor Groups Rally to Oppose the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement

The police van bearing their arrested comrades drove away while the rest of the demonstrators talked about future actions.  It was a hot day and a good day.

On June 10 Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos signed into law legislation intended to compensate Colombian citizens victimized by the military – and paramilitary - campaign against the rebel FARC organization.  This new law, opposed by Santos’s predecessor Alvaro Uribe, has been seen as an attempt to overcome US congressional opposition to the free trade pact.  On June 2, Daniel Wilkinson referenced the new “Victims Law” in the New York Review of Books, giving the final assessment:

Solidarity with Striking Verizon Workers

Verizon is asking workers to give up two holidays; including Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The company is also wants to get rid of mandatory overtime restrictions and restrictions on the amount of work it can subcontract to outside employers.

Conceeding to these demands threaten to erase the gains of 50 years of bargaining by the CWA. The strikers need your help! 

People all over the country are showing their support by joining picket lines, signing petitions, sending letters to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, and calling Verizon’s headquarters urging the company to negotiate and provide its workers with middle class wages and benefits and safe working conditions.  

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