From sweatfreepdx at riseup.net Wed Mar 7 16:25:54 2007 From: sweatfreepdx at riseup.net (Deborah Schwartz) Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2007 16:25:54 -0800 Subject: [Sweat-Free] Honor International Women's Day, Sweatfree Meeting and More!] Message-ID: <45EF5812.4070507@riseup.net> Dear Sweatfree Supporter, A couple of weeks ago, approximately 200 people rallied in front of City Hall. Their demands were clear: Pass a sweatshop-free ordinance to strengthen labor standards on city contracts. For photos from the event see: http://www.sweatfree.org/portlandphotogallery In this email you will find upcoming events, ways to get involved and the latest campaign news: 1) Honor International Women's Day: Hear former sweatshop worker, Chie Abad, speak about sweatshop labor and the global economy 2) Be a part of the sweatfree movement: Attend a sweatfree strategy session on Tues. 3/13 at 6pm 3) Check out Sweatfree PDX in the news: Read some of the many news and radio articles about the recent sweatfree rally in front of City Hall 1) *Honor International Women's Day* /Carmencita "Chie" Abad Topic: Sweatshop Labor & Global Economy Tomorrow, March 8, 2007 12noon - Lunch Reception 1:00p.m.-2:00p.m. Presentation Performing Arts Center Lobby, PCC Sylvania Campus 12000 SW 49th Ave ---Accessible by Trimet bus route #44 or #78 /parking $3 Free Event/ Carmencita "Chie" Abad will discuss the horrible working conditions she endured in the U.S. territory of Saipan while making clothing for the gap. In her struggle to unionize workers she was forced to leave the island and is now working to educating Americans about inhumane factory conditions occurring worldwide including on U.S. soil. Chie informs her audiences of what we can do to help eliminate sweatshop abuses occurring worldwide. This event was made possible by the Sylvania Diversity Fund, Global Exchange, and the Multicultural Center. 2) /Sweatfree PDX meets! / Discuss media work, upcoming events and conferences, lobbying and more to ensure our city does not buy from sweatshops. When: Tuesday, March 13 6pm Where: 311 N Ivy St. 3) /Sweatfree PDX in the News:/ -Oregon Public Broadcasting: "Worker-Rights Advocates Rally For Sweat Shop Ordinance" (http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1042313) -The Oregonian "Rally for Workers Rights" -Portland Mercury: "Hall Monitor: Sweat Stains". 2/22/07 (http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=237872&category=38037) -El Hispanic News: "Rally Urges Portland to get the Sweat Out" 2/22/07 (http://www.hispnews.com/archivo/2007/february/022207ehnpub.pdf) - Northwest Labor Press: "Union members ask Portland to take anti-sweatshop action" (http://www.nwlaborpress.org/2007/3-2-07Sweat.html) -The Asian Reporter: "Sweatshop Workers and Activists Challenge Portland to pass "Sweatfree" Ordinance" (http://www.asianreporter.com/stories/local/2007/09-sweatfree.htm) -Willamette Week: "No More Sweat!!! 2/18/07 (http://www.wweek.com/wwire/?p=7181) *Oregon Public Broadcasting: "Worker-Rights Advocates Rally For Sweat Shop Ordinance"* http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1042313 By Colin Fogarty PORTLAND, OR 2007-02-19 About 150 worker-rights advocates rallied in front of Portland City Hall Monday demanding the city buy only products with no connection to sweat shops. ??A proposed city ordinance would require a code of conduct for city contractors. They would have to show their employees are paid a living wage, work in safe conditions, and have the right to organize in their home countries.??Gloria Gonzalez represents about 1200 hotel and restaurant workers in Portland, many of whom are foreign born.??Gloria Gonzalez: If the people in our counties feel respected, they are better paid, they don't have to cross the border and come to the United States. You know, treat the workers with dignity and respect.??State labor commissioner Dan Gardner appeared at the rally to endorse the what supporters call the "sweatfree" city ordinance. * the Oregonian: "Rally for Workers Rights" * Photos: http://www.oregonlive.com/ecards/gallery/index.ssf?ECARDKEY=4871135098000230149 http://ecards.live.advance.net/cgi-bin/nph-ec-photo.cgi?photo=/olive/images/6366/a009.JPG About 100 people, including former sweatshop workers from India and Colombia, rally outside City Hall on Monday, urging the City Council to pass a "sweat-free" ordinance. Organizers said that city officials now have no way to guarantee that the $1.9 million a year spent on uniforms for police, fire and other bureaus isn't helping to support inhumane working conditions in other countries. City officials said they will look at the proposal but said they already make efforts to ensure that vendors supply the city with garment made in the United States or in unionized factories. Supporters of the "sweat-free procurement policy" counter that there is no way to check on whether vendors are telling the truth. They want 1 percent of the procurement budget to start checking in to the claims that that garments are produced in good working conditions. *Portland Mercury: "Hall Monitor: Sweat Stains"* (http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=237872&category=38037_ Hall Monitor Sweat Stains BY SCOTT MOORE Braving cold gusts and the threat of rain, around 100 activists rallied in front of city hall Monday morning to send a message to the city commissioners: Stop buying products from sweatshops! (There was also some Spanish in there, but I'm as monolingual as I am glib.) Unfortunately, Monday happened to be Presidents' Day, and the building was empty. Whoooops! Still, there was a smattering of representatives from the media, so the message is being delivered loud and clear---assuming the commissioners are listening to KBOO. Seriously though, the Sweat-Free Campaign shouldn't be news to anyone at city hall; activists have been working the idea---an ordinance banning all city bureaus and contractors from buying goods (like uniforms) that were produced in sweatshops---since early last year, and the concept has at least majority support on city council. So why, then, has the process taken so long? Officially, it's because the purchasing and finance bureaus are still looking into the issue, trying to determine the scope of such an ordinance, and how it would be enforced. Plus, there's the question of how much extra money such a policy would cost, and where that money would come from. And those are reasonable problems---or at least they would be, if city council hadn't racked up a laundry list of policy changes in the past year that are far more complicated and far more costly, all without batting an eye. Like Commissioner Erik Sten's requirement that 30 percent of the Portland Development Commission's budget go to affordable housing. Or Commissioner Randy Leonard's mandate that all diesel sold in the city be five percent biodiesel. Or Commissioner Sam Adams' Equal Benefits Ordinance. Or like referring changes to the ballot that would completely upend city government---and that only took six hours of public debate. So, the "too complicated!" excuse is bogus. If a politician wants a policy change, they can use their political strength to muscle it through---cost and complications be damned. So far, though, the sweat-free ordinance doesn't have a champion to carry it past the bureaucratic hurdles, and the result is that it's languishing in limbo. Meanwhile, the city and its contractors continue to buy products made by eight-year-old orphans. Speaking of bogus! Astute city hall observers will remember that during the charter reform hearing two weeks ago, Mayor Tom Potter angrily told citizen volunteer Irwin Mandel to "shut up and let me talk," when Mandel disagreed with him. On Tuesday, Mandel responded by resigning his position on the Police Chief's Forum, which he was appointed to by Potter. Ooh... Snap! * El Hispanic News: "Rally Urges Portland to get the Sweat Out" * (http://www.hispnews.com/archivo/2007/february/022207ehnpub.pdf) "Rally urges Portland to get the sweat out" Front Page Photo and Caption "Portland, OR- Gloria Gonzalez has been involved in the labor movemnents of both El Salvador and Oregon, and while she admites the conditions here might not be quite as bad as in her home country, she see a lot of work to be done. "Let me tell you we don't have to cross the border to see sweatshops," Gonzalez told the crowd at a rally in front of City Hall on Monday. Rally participants said they were there to encourage the City of Portland to pass a "sweatfree procurement policy," which would require that the city only purchase products made under what re deemed safe and humane working conditions. *Northwest Labor Press: "Union members ask Portland to take anti-sweatshop action" * (http://www.nwlaborpress.org/2007/3-2-07Sweat.html) March 2, 2007 Volume 108 Number 5 Union members ask Portland to take anti-sweatshop action At a Feb. 19 rally, Portland Fire Fighters Local 43 Vice President Ed Hall linked current anti-sweatshop campaigns to campaigns at the dawn of the labor movement. A 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory killed 146 New York City garment workers, Hall said, but led to better factory safety standards --- and fire safety codes that fire fighters enforce in Portland and elsewhere. "But it is now the 21st century," Hall said, "and children are still working and dying in sweatshops." Last February, Hall noted, 54 workers, some of them children, died in the KTS Composite Textiles factory in Chittagong, Bangladesh. "As a firefighter, when I go to work and I put on my uniform, I want to know that the company that makes that shirt and pants supports the same values we do ... having a safe and fair workplace." Hall and other activists are calling on the City of Portland to ensure it is not purchasing goods made under conditions that violate labor laws. About 110 people attended the noon-hour rally, held outside Portland City Hall on Presidents Day. A former sweatshop worker from Bangalore, India, told of managers abusing the mostly young, female workforce, and said he was arrested for trying to unionize factory workers at a shop that produces goods for Wal-Mart. And a Colombian woman who worked 10 years at a flower plantation that sells to Albertsons and Wal-Mart described allergies and skin problems from excessive fungicides and pesticides. Oregon Labor Commissioner Dan Gardner also said he favors passage of a local anti-sweatshop ordinance, saying his agency, the Bureau of Labor and Industries, was founded in 1903 to study conditions in factories. "We must not allow public money to go to companies that don't comply with basic labor laws," Gardner said. The Portland Sweatfree Campaign, backed by 13 local unions and the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, has been meeting with staff in City Hall, but so far no commissioners have committed to anything but a symbolic resolution. "We don't want a feel-good ordinance," said Kate Lore, social justice coordinator for the First Unitarian Church. "We want one with teeth." * The Asian Reporter: "Sweatshop workers and activists challenge Portland to pass "sweatfree" ordinance"* http://www.asianreporter.com/stories/local/2007/09-sweatfree.htm By Pamela Ellgen Over 100 human-rights advocates, community leaders, and other activists gathered outside Portland City Hall on February 19 in support of a city ordinance that would end the use of sweatshop labor by city vendors and subcontractors. Organized by the Portland Sweatfree Campaign, the rally was organized in response to a recent report the campaign released indicating that the City of Portland purchases goods from companies with known connections to sweatshops. Deborah Schwartz, coordinator of the Portland Sweatfree Campaign, said, "The only way to ensure that the city isn't supporting inhumane, illegal working conditions is to require city vendors to meet a basic code of conduct and for the city to join an international consortium that can monitor those commitments." The rally was designed to inform citizens and to put pressure on City Council to pass an ordinance that would make Portland one of a growing number of cities, counties, and school districts to pass a "sweatfree" policy. Joe Bridge, a volunteer who held a sign outside City Hall, said, "I came here because it's such an appropriate and brilliant move for our city to act in accordance with our values." The rally featured community leaders from the Portland Fire Fighters Association, HERE Local 9, and Oregon's Labor Commissioner, who all offered their support of a "sweatfree" bill. Perhaps the most compelling speakers, however, were the two sweatshop workers from India and Columbia who attended the event. Kotagarahalli Jayaram worked in a garment factory in Bangalore, India for 20 years. He began working at the sweatshop while still a teenager in 1979 at a rate of three dollars per month. The wages were so low that he was forced to live with other people, sharing rent and food. After 18 years working in the same factory, he still made below-poverty wages, only $1.75 per day. Workers faced not only low wages, but also harassment, verbal and physical abuse, and a lack of job security. One day they would be employed, Jayaram said, and the next day they would be out of work with no explanation, particularly those workers who attempted to join a labor union. In 2000, Jayaram organized a union at his factory despite massive pressure from factory management. Ultimately, he says, he was arrested under false charges. Now Jayaram is a full-time organizer for the Garment and Textile Workers' Union, which fights for the implementation of fair labor laws. He is also working to develop an Asia Floor Wage through legislation targeting suppliers of companies such as Wal-Mart. "City governments can help change those practices by enacting policies that create a greater market for sweat-free goods," he says. "Only when large purchasers like governments, universities, and retailers assert themselves will on-the-ground working conditions improve." Beatriz Fuentes spoke on behalf of flower industry workers in Columbia, where she has worked for 10 years at Splendor Flowers, a Dole-owned cut-flower plantation. When Dole arrived in Columbia, Fuentes said, working hours increased dramatically to improve production, salaries were reduced, and older or sick employees were terminated. Five years ago, Fuentes created Sintrasplendor union at Splendor Flowers to improve working conditions through the payment of overtime, lowering quotas, and offering gender equity in hiring. However, in response to allegations of labor violation at one plantation, Dole had it shut down to avoid a collective bargaining agreement. Other plantations are facing similar situations. Fuentes could think of another 250 floral workers who had lost their jobs within the past month. Although many challenges lie ahead for Fuentes' cause in Columbia, she said she was happy to see so many people in Portland who were concerned about working conditions around the world. For more information about the Portland Sweatfree Campaign, including contact information for the Portland City Council, visit . * Willamette Week: "No More Sweat!!! * (http://www.wweek.com/wwire/?p=7181) Commissioners will be the ones to break a sweat Monday as labor leaders, human-rights advocates and sweatshop workers turn up the heat on City Hall by rallying for an ordinance to champion workers' rights. Demand for a "sweat-free" bill comes in response to the recent release of an analysis by the Portland Sweatfree Campaign documenting that the City of Portland is buying goods from companies known to have been supplied by subcontractors accused of labor and human-rights abuses. The new ordinance would ensure textiles and other products purchased by the city are produced under safe and humane working conditions. Speakers at the rally will include Beatriz (Betty) Fuentes, president of the Sintrasplendor Union, who led the fight to improve working conditions at Sintrasplendor flowers, a Dole-owned cut flower plantation in Colombia that ships 80 percent of its flowers to Wal-Mart; Kotagarahalli Jayaram, an organizer for GATWU (Garment and Textile Workers' Union) who worked to improve the wages of workers who make clothing for Wal-Mart in Bangalore, India; Dan Gardner, Oregon's labor commissioner; and Ed Hall, VP of Portland Firefighters Association. Organizers, who are calling this the No Sweat, Portland! campaign, expect it be a "peaceful, family-friendly" event with a turnout of "around 50 to 100 people," according to spokeswoman Deborah Schwartz. The No Sweat, Portland! Campaign rally will be held Monday, Feb. 19 from noon to 1 pm in front of Portland City Hall (1211 SW 4th Ave.) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.enabled.com/pipermail/sweat-free-pdx/attachments/20070307/c54259fd/attachment.htm -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Deborah Schwartz Subject: Honor International Women's Day, Sweatfree Meeting and More! Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2007 16:22:07 -0800 Size: 37467 Url: http://lists.enabled.com/pipermail/sweat-free-pdx/attachments/20070307/c54259fd/attachment.eml From sweatfreepdx at riseup.net Wed Mar 7 16:25:54 2007 From: sweatfreepdx at riseup.net (Deborah Schwartz) Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2007 16:25:54 -0800 Subject: [Sweat-Free] Honor International Women's Day, Sweatfree Meeting and More!] Message-ID: <45EF5812.4070507@riseup.net> Dear Sweatfree Supporter, A couple of weeks ago, approximately 200 people rallied in front of City Hall. Their demands were clear: Pass a sweatshop-free ordinance to strengthen labor standards on city contracts. For photos from the event see: http://www.sweatfree.org/portlandphotogallery In this email you will find upcoming events, ways to get involved and the latest campaign news: 1) Honor International Women's Day: Hear former sweatshop worker, Chie Abad, speak about sweatshop labor and the global economy 2) Be a part of the sweatfree movement: Attend a sweatfree strategy session on Tues. 3/13 at 6pm 3) Check out Sweatfree PDX in the news: Read some of the many news and radio articles about the recent sweatfree rally in front of City Hall 1) *Honor International Women's Day* /Carmencita "Chie" Abad Topic: Sweatshop Labor & Global Economy Tomorrow, March 8, 2007 12noon - Lunch Reception 1:00p.m.-2:00p.m. Presentation Performing Arts Center Lobby, PCC Sylvania Campus 12000 SW 49th Ave ---Accessible by Trimet bus route #44 or #78 /parking $3 Free Event/ Carmencita "Chie" Abad will discuss the horrible working conditions she endured in the U.S. territory of Saipan while making clothing for the gap. In her struggle to unionize workers she was forced to leave the island and is now working to educating Americans about inhumane factory conditions occurring worldwide including on U.S. soil. Chie informs her audiences of what we can do to help eliminate sweatshop abuses occurring worldwide. This event was made possible by the Sylvania Diversity Fund, Global Exchange, and the Multicultural Center. 2) /Sweatfree PDX meets! / Discuss media work, upcoming events and conferences, lobbying and more to ensure our city does not buy from sweatshops. When: Tuesday, March 13 6pm Where: 311 N Ivy St. 3) /Sweatfree PDX in the News:/ -Oregon Public Broadcasting: "Worker-Rights Advocates Rally For Sweat Shop Ordinance" (http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1042313) -The Oregonian "Rally for Workers Rights" -Portland Mercury: "Hall Monitor: Sweat Stains". 2/22/07 (http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=237872&category=38037) -El Hispanic News: "Rally Urges Portland to get the Sweat Out" 2/22/07 (http://www.hispnews.com/archivo/2007/february/022207ehnpub.pdf) - Northwest Labor Press: "Union members ask Portland to take anti-sweatshop action" (http://www.nwlaborpress.org/2007/3-2-07Sweat.html) -The Asian Reporter: "Sweatshop Workers and Activists Challenge Portland to pass "Sweatfree" Ordinance" (http://www.asianreporter.com/stories/local/2007/09-sweatfree.htm) -Willamette Week: "No More Sweat!!! 2/18/07 (http://www.wweek.com/wwire/?p=7181) *Oregon Public Broadcasting: "Worker-Rights Advocates Rally For Sweat Shop Ordinance"* http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1042313 By Colin Fogarty PORTLAND, OR 2007-02-19 About 150 worker-rights advocates rallied in front of Portland City Hall Monday demanding the city buy only products with no connection to sweat shops. ??A proposed city ordinance would require a code of conduct for city contractors. They would have to show their employees are paid a living wage, work in safe conditions, and have the right to organize in their home countries.??Gloria Gonzalez represents about 1200 hotel and restaurant workers in Portland, many of whom are foreign born.??Gloria Gonzalez: If the people in our counties feel respected, they are better paid, they don't have to cross the border and come to the United States. You know, treat the workers with dignity and respect.??State labor commissioner Dan Gardner appeared at the rally to endorse the what supporters call the "sweatfree" city ordinance. * the Oregonian: "Rally for Workers Rights" * Photos: http://www.oregonlive.com/ecards/gallery/index.ssf?ECARDKEY=4871135098000230149 http://ecards.live.advance.net/cgi-bin/nph-ec-photo.cgi?photo=/olive/images/6366/a009.JPG About 100 people, including former sweatshop workers from India and Colombia, rally outside City Hall on Monday, urging the City Council to pass a "sweat-free" ordinance. Organizers said that city officials now have no way to guarantee that the $1.9 million a year spent on uniforms for police, fire and other bureaus isn't helping to support inhumane working conditions in other countries. City officials said they will look at the proposal but said they already make efforts to ensure that vendors supply the city with garment made in the United States or in unionized factories. Supporters of the "sweat-free procurement policy" counter that there is no way to check on whether vendors are telling the truth. They want 1 percent of the procurement budget to start checking in to the claims that that garments are produced in good working conditions. *Portland Mercury: "Hall Monitor: Sweat Stains"* (http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=237872&category=38037_ Hall Monitor Sweat Stains BY SCOTT MOORE Braving cold gusts and the threat of rain, around 100 activists rallied in front of city hall Monday morning to send a message to the city commissioners: Stop buying products from sweatshops! (There was also some Spanish in there, but I'm as monolingual as I am glib.) Unfortunately, Monday happened to be Presidents' Day, and the building was empty. Whoooops! Still, there was a smattering of representatives from the media, so the message is being delivered loud and clear---assuming the commissioners are listening to KBOO. Seriously though, the Sweat-Free Campaign shouldn't be news to anyone at city hall; activists have been working the idea---an ordinance banning all city bureaus and contractors from buying goods (like uniforms) that were produced in sweatshops---since early last year, and the concept has at least majority support on city council. So why, then, has the process taken so long? Officially, it's because the purchasing and finance bureaus are still looking into the issue, trying to determine the scope of such an ordinance, and how it would be enforced. Plus, there's the question of how much extra money such a policy would cost, and where that money would come from. And those are reasonable problems---or at least they would be, if city council hadn't racked up a laundry list of policy changes in the past year that are far more complicated and far more costly, all without batting an eye. Like Commissioner Erik Sten's requirement that 30 percent of the Portland Development Commission's budget go to affordable housing. Or Commissioner Randy Leonard's mandate that all diesel sold in the city be five percent biodiesel. Or Commissioner Sam Adams' Equal Benefits Ordinance. Or like referring changes to the ballot that would completely upend city government---and that only took six hours of public debate. So, the "too complicated!" excuse is bogus. If a politician wants a policy change, they can use their political strength to muscle it through---cost and complications be damned. So far, though, the sweat-free ordinance doesn't have a champion to carry it past the bureaucratic hurdles, and the result is that it's languishing in limbo. Meanwhile, the city and its contractors continue to buy products made by eight-year-old orphans. Speaking of bogus! Astute city hall observers will remember that during the charter reform hearing two weeks ago, Mayor Tom Potter angrily told citizen volunteer Irwin Mandel to "shut up and let me talk," when Mandel disagreed with him. On Tuesday, Mandel responded by resigning his position on the Police Chief's Forum, which he was appointed to by Potter. Ooh... Snap! * El Hispanic News: "Rally Urges Portland to get the Sweat Out" * (http://www.hispnews.com/archivo/2007/february/022207ehnpub.pdf) "Rally urges Portland to get the sweat out" Front Page Photo and Caption "Portland, OR- Gloria Gonzalez has been involved in the labor movemnents of both El Salvador and Oregon, and while she admites the conditions here might not be quite as bad as in her home country, she see a lot of work to be done. "Let me tell you we don't have to cross the border to see sweatshops," Gonzalez told the crowd at a rally in front of City Hall on Monday. Rally participants said they were there to encourage the City of Portland to pass a "sweatfree procurement policy," which would require that the city only purchase products made under what re deemed safe and humane working conditions. *Northwest Labor Press: "Union members ask Portland to take anti-sweatshop action" * (http://www.nwlaborpress.org/2007/3-2-07Sweat.html) March 2, 2007 Volume 108 Number 5 Union members ask Portland to take anti-sweatshop action At a Feb. 19 rally, Portland Fire Fighters Local 43 Vice President Ed Hall linked current anti-sweatshop campaigns to campaigns at the dawn of the labor movement. A 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory killed 146 New York City garment workers, Hall said, but led to better factory safety standards --- and fire safety codes that fire fighters enforce in Portland and elsewhere. "But it is now the 21st century," Hall said, "and children are still working and dying in sweatshops." Last February, Hall noted, 54 workers, some of them children, died in the KTS Composite Textiles factory in Chittagong, Bangladesh. "As a firefighter, when I go to work and I put on my uniform, I want to know that the company that makes that shirt and pants supports the same values we do ... having a safe and fair workplace." Hall and other activists are calling on the City of Portland to ensure it is not purchasing goods made under conditions that violate labor laws. About 110 people attended the noon-hour rally, held outside Portland City Hall on Presidents Day. A former sweatshop worker from Bangalore, India, told of managers abusing the mostly young, female workforce, and said he was arrested for trying to unionize factory workers at a shop that produces goods for Wal-Mart. And a Colombian woman who worked 10 years at a flower plantation that sells to Albertsons and Wal-Mart described allergies and skin problems from excessive fungicides and pesticides. Oregon Labor Commissioner Dan Gardner also said he favors passage of a local anti-sweatshop ordinance, saying his agency, the Bureau of Labor and Industries, was founded in 1903 to study conditions in factories. "We must not allow public money to go to companies that don't comply with basic labor laws," Gardner said. The Portland Sweatfree Campaign, backed by 13 local unions and the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, has been meeting with staff in City Hall, but so far no commissioners have committed to anything but a symbolic resolution. "We don't want a feel-good ordinance," said Kate Lore, social justice coordinator for the First Unitarian Church. "We want one with teeth." * The Asian Reporter: "Sweatshop workers and activists challenge Portland to pass "sweatfree" ordinance"* http://www.asianreporter.com/stories/local/2007/09-sweatfree.htm By Pamela Ellgen Over 100 human-rights advocates, community leaders, and other activists gathered outside Portland City Hall on February 19 in support of a city ordinance that would end the use of sweatshop labor by city vendors and subcontractors. Organized by the Portland Sweatfree Campaign, the rally was organized in response to a recent report the campaign released indicating that the City of Portland purchases goods from companies with known connections to sweatshops. Deborah Schwartz, coordinator of the Portland Sweatfree Campaign, said, "The only way to ensure that the city isn't supporting inhumane, illegal working conditions is to require city vendors to meet a basic code of conduct and for the city to join an international consortium that can monitor those commitments." The rally was designed to inform citizens and to put pressure on City Council to pass an ordinance that would make Portland one of a growing number of cities, counties, and school districts to pass a "sweatfree" policy. Joe Bridge, a volunteer who held a sign outside City Hall, said, "I came here because it's such an appropriate and brilliant move for our city to act in accordance with our values." The rally featured community leaders from the Portland Fire Fighters Association, HERE Local 9, and Oregon's Labor Commissioner, who all offered their support of a "sweatfree" bill. Perhaps the most compelling speakers, however, were the two sweatshop workers from India and Columbia who attended the event. Kotagarahalli Jayaram worked in a garment factory in Bangalore, India for 20 years. He began working at the sweatshop while still a teenager in 1979 at a rate of three dollars per month. The wages were so low that he was forced to live with other people, sharing rent and food. After 18 years working in the same factory, he still made below-poverty wages, only $1.75 per day. Workers faced not only low wages, but also harassment, verbal and physical abuse, and a lack of job security. One day they would be employed, Jayaram said, and the next day they would be out of work with no explanation, particularly those workers who attempted to join a labor union. In 2000, Jayaram organized a union at his factory despite massive pressure from factory management. Ultimately, he says, he was arrested under false charges. Now Jayaram is a full-time organizer for the Garment and Textile Workers' Union, which fights for the implementation of fair labor laws. He is also working to develop an Asia Floor Wage through legislation targeting suppliers of companies such as Wal-Mart. "City governments can help change those practices by enacting policies that create a greater market for sweat-free goods," he says. "Only when large purchasers like governments, universities, and retailers assert themselves will on-the-ground working conditions improve." Beatriz Fuentes spoke on behalf of flower industry workers in Columbia, where she has worked for 10 years at Splendor Flowers, a Dole-owned cut-flower plantation. When Dole arrived in Columbia, Fuentes said, working hours increased dramatically to improve production, salaries were reduced, and older or sick employees were terminated. Five years ago, Fuentes created Sintrasplendor union at Splendor Flowers to improve working conditions through the payment of overtime, lowering quotas, and offering gender equity in hiring. However, in response to allegations of labor violation at one plantation, Dole had it shut down to avoid a collective bargaining agreement. Other plantations are facing similar situations. Fuentes could think of another 250 floral workers who had lost their jobs within the past month. Although many challenges lie ahead for Fuentes' cause in Columbia, she said she was happy to see so many people in Portland who were concerned about working conditions around the world. For more information about the Portland Sweatfree Campaign, including contact information for the Portland City Council, visit . * Willamette Week: "No More Sweat!!! * (http://www.wweek.com/wwire/?p=7181) Commissioners will be the ones to break a sweat Monday as labor leaders, human-rights advocates and sweatshop workers turn up the heat on City Hall by rallying for an ordinance to champion workers' rights. Demand for a "sweat-free" bill comes in response to the recent release of an analysis by the Portland Sweatfree Campaign documenting that the City of Portland is buying goods from companies known to have been supplied by subcontractors accused of labor and human-rights abuses. The new ordinance would ensure textiles and other products purchased by the city are produced under safe and humane working conditions. Speakers at the rally will include Beatriz (Betty) Fuentes, president of the Sintrasplendor Union, who led the fight to improve working conditions at Sintrasplendor flowers, a Dole-owned cut flower plantation in Colombia that ships 80 percent of its flowers to Wal-Mart; Kotagarahalli Jayaram, an organizer for GATWU (Garment and Textile Workers' Union) who worked to improve the wages of workers who make clothing for Wal-Mart in Bangalore, India; Dan Gardner, Oregon's labor commissioner; and Ed Hall, VP of Portland Firefighters Association. Organizers, who are calling this the No Sweat, Portland! campaign, expect it be a "peaceful, family-friendly" event with a turnout of "around 50 to 100 people," according to spokeswoman Deborah Schwartz. The No Sweat, Portland! Campaign rally will be held Monday, Feb. 19 from noon to 1 pm in front of Portland City Hall (1211 SW 4th Ave.) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.enabled.com/pipermail/sweat-free-pdx/attachments/20070307/c54259fd/attachment-0001.htm -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Deborah Schwartz Subject: Honor International Women's Day, Sweatfree Meeting and More! Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2007 16:22:07 -0800 Size: 37467 Url: http://lists.enabled.com/pipermail/sweat-free-pdx/attachments/20070307/c54259fd/attachment-0001.eml From sweat-free-pdx at enabled.com Thu Mar 29 11:04:08 2007 From: sweat-free-pdx at enabled.com (sweat-free-pdx at enabled.com) Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:04:08 -0700 Subject: [Sweat-Free] Take Action on How City $ is Spent Message-ID: Dear Sweatfree Supporter, The City Council is currently receiving public comment on the 2007-2008 budget. You have an incredible opportunity to voice your support of the proposed Sweatfree Ordinance and strengthened labor standards on city contracts. Please take five minutes and submit your comments to the City Council. Below are a template message, additional talking points, and simple directions to accessing the Community Budget Forum. Thank you for making an impact on how our city taxpayer dollars are spent. ------------------------- Template Message (Feel free to use this are alter it your liking. Additional talking points are below.) RE: Fund the Sweatfree Ordinance Comments: During this budget process, I want to remind you to support the proposed sweatfree ordinance. It is crucial that the city's proposed yearly budget include adequate funding for the independent monitoring consortium made up of state and local governments across the country. This will insure that the ordinance is properly implemented. We ask that Portland join the cities and states nationwide and allocate 1% of the budget for garments and textiles ($20,000) to ensure fair labor standards on city contracts. I sincerely hope that you will include this funding to allow the ordinance to be properly implemented. Thank you for your consideration. --- Additional Talking Points: -The proposed sweatfree ordinance will apply to all City vendors, contractors, and subcontractors dealing with garments and textiles and it will include the following elements: a sweatfree manufacture code of conduct, disclosure of factory locations, and independent accountability, and city-staffed community involvement. -The City is not capable of monitoring and ensuring that suppliers' are in compliance with the code of conduct and international labor standards. Independent monitoring will allow the city to work in collaboration with cities and states nationwide, consolidate government purchasing (the proposed consortium will have $100 million dollars in combined purchasing power) and identify sweatfree suppliers that promote labor rights. -The adoption of an effective sweatfree ordinance will promote a positive city image for the City of Portland as well as continuing its position as a national leader in social and environmental issues. For more information: www.sweatfree.org/portland www.sweatfree.org --------- Directions to send in comments for Community Budget Forum: 1) Go to: www.portlandonline.com/communitybudget 2) Under the introductory paragraph and before the calendar click on: PUBLIC COMMENT / QUESTION FORUM 3) If you have a Portland Online account enter your username and password. If not click create new account on the left side. 4) Enter the information and click continue (note that only the fields in bold are required). 5) You will now be at the Budget Comment/Question Form. 6) Here enter "Fund the Sweatfree Ordinance" into the "RE" field. 7) You may then either type in or paste your comments (see below for suggestions and a template). 8) When you are finished hit submit. 9) Your comments will now have been submitted to the City Council. -- For more information contact: Portland Sweatfree Campaign 503-236-7916 (office) sweatfreepdx at gmail.com www.sweatfree.org/portland