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Date of publication: October 15, 2008

Source: Press Release

 For Immediate Release              

October 15, 2008

 

Contact: Elizabeth Swager, Sweatfree NW, Coordinator, (503)784-1951                                    

Contact: Kimberly Schneider, Senior Policy Director, Office of Commissioner Adams, 503-823-4541

 

Proactive policy will help ensure taxpayer dollars are not spent on sweatshop labor

At today's Portland City Council meeting, Wednesday, October 15, at 9:30 a.m., the Portland Sweatfshop Free Purchasing Policy passed unanimously. The policy requires city agencies to procure public employee uniforms and other apparel only from those companies that disclose the locations of their manufacturing facilities and abide by ethical sourcing practices. Portland is the first city in the Pacific Northwest to adopt an ordinance for sweatshop free purchasing.

he policy has been promoted by the Portland Sweatfree Campaign, endorsed by 45 organizations, including labor, faith, and community organizations. On August 29, 2007, the Portland Sweatfree Campaign presented a resolution that City Council passed unanimously. The resolution established the Portland Sweatshop Free Policy Committee, which met regularly to craft the policy presented to City Council today. Community testimonies were shared by Arthur Stamoulis from the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign, Ed Hall-Vice President of the Portland Fighter Fighters Association Local 43, Rev. Kate Lore of First Unitarian Church-Portland, J. Ashlee Albies from the National Lawyers Guild, Jeff Baer the Chief Procurement Official for the Portland Bureau of Purchases, and Bjorn Cleason - Executive Director of SweatFree Communities, read by Elizabeth Swager- Coordinator of Sweatfree NW.

The Portland Sweatfree Policy established a strong code of conduct for garment workers that make uniforms for city police, firefighters and other uniform wearing public employees. As former sweatshop worker Chie Abad testified at last year's hearing to pass the resolution, "Inside the factory, we had not ventilation at all. We drank rain water. And we had a quota system that we had to finish every hour. I also used to live in a squalid, unsanitary, overcrowded barrack. And most of all, women are fired if they got pregnant." The code of conduct addresses human rights violations such as these by requiring the adherence of local labor laws, ILO and UN Conventions and codes of conduct including, but not limited to, freedom of association, health and safety on the job and just cause termination.

Commissioner Sam Adams said, "This is a start."  While today's policy covers only apparel, Adams expressed his intention to eventually expand the policy to cover the many other items the City purchases.  Commissioner Randy Leonard expressed particular appreciation for the policy's recognition of workers' rights to free association and collective union bargaining.

Ed Hall, a member of the Portland Sweatfree Policy Drafting Committee said, "As a firefighter I took an oath to protect the people who live and work in Portland from fires and disasters of all origins. Whether it is responding to emergencies or working to prevent them, we are committed to public safety. So it is important to me that the uniform I wear is made by a company that shares these values and is committed to safe, decent working conditions and fair wages. By establishing a policy that rules out companies that use child labor, abuse their workers and fail to pay a fair wages, I believe a real difference will be made in the lives of those who produce the uniforms we wear. I know we can do better than buying our goods and services from sweatshops, and I expect our City Commissioners agree."

Gavin White, a Democratic Party activist said, "In adopting this policy, Portland renews its commitment as a founding member of the State and Local Government Sweatfree Consortium.  Consortium participants pool their purchasing power to create economies of scale and make a viable market for sweatfree manufacturing.  In this emerging global market, we will build long-term relationships with responsible suppliers by working with local experts around the world to correct labor-rights violations."

Elizabeth Swager, coordinator of Sweatfree Northwest, which the Portland Sweatfree Campaign initiated, said: "This is a historic moment because Portland is the first city in the Northwest to affiliate with the Sweatfree Consortium. Also, because of the high standards in the policy, we expect other cities to now look to our policy as a model for a new phase sustainable purchasing. We're already spreading the sweatfree campaign to other cities in the Northwest and are working with Oregon state government officials to develop a state-wide sweatshop free purchasing law."

In July, Governor Rendell in Pennsylvania gave a strong commitment to the State and Local Government Sweatfree Consortium. Berkeley (California) and Lucas County (Ohio) have also signaled support for the Consortium. SweatFree Communities, the national network that Sweatfree Northwest is affiliated with, said that it has campaigns underway in numerous other locales to build membership in the Consortium. 

 

The Portland Sweatfree Campaign is a founder of Sweatfree Northwest, a coalition of faith-based, student, labor, political and community organizations that educate and mobilize community members to end sweatshop abuse through ethical purchasing, and an affiliate of SweatFree Communities. For more information, visit www.sweatfree.org/portland.

The State and Local Government SweatFree Purchasing Consortium, comprised of states, cities, counties, local government agencies, and school districts, as well as human rights advocates and labor rights experts, will pool resources of public entities to investigate working conditions in factories that make uniforms and other products for public employees. Cities and states will hold vendors to the same standards, use the same independent monitor for enforcement, and create a market large enough to persuade companies to deal responsibly and ethically with their suppliers. Learn more at www.sweatfree.org/sweatfreeconsortium.