The three Ivorian journalists have been held in jail and could face any where from one to five years in prison as well as a fine for their work to expose corruption.  At least one of the journalists, Oula, is on hunger strike.  Other journalists and rights activists have been protesting all week in Ivory Coast.  Today, reporters marched through the capital of Abidjan and faced police repression and tear gas as they held a sit-in at the Justice Department.

Nonetheless, those not inclined to give undocumented workers legal residence have an opportunity to stop this. Citizens and residents interested in taking over an immigrant farm worker’s job are encouraged to apply at www.takeourjobs.org and will be guided by experienced farm workers on how to complete their new job successfully.  In addition, the UFW will have monthly updates on the progress of the campaign.

CEDAW will positively impact women’s economic conditions that result from gender discrimination. The treaty commits countries ‘to incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination against women’.

Ratification not only sends a strong political message, but it also recognizes women’s right to have decent work and equal opportunities to access the job market. CEDAW not only addresses discrimination relating to women’s unemployment, the treaty aims to end sexual harassment and to close the income gap between men and women within the workplace.

While I was reviewing the research, I began to realize that the only companies who actually had steadfast labor corporate responsibility action plans were the big players- adidas, Nike, New Balance and Puma. Why was this?

I recognize that these companies have bigger budgets for their CSR programs, but shouldn’t all brands, big and small, be concerned with how their supply chain is affecting others? Obliviously, from the data collected, not everyone cares, or even pretends to care. For a better understanding of the psyche of each company, I think that we need to look at why they received their particular grade: