Creating a Sweatfree World Wal-Mart Campaign
Search
Sweatshop workers and activists challenge Portland to pass "sweatfree" ordinance
Asian Reporter (Portland, OR)
February 27, 2007
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 .
We Need Your Help!
Support ILRF with a donation to help fight against the exploitation of workers around the world.
End Wal-Mart Sweatshops!
Wal-Mart wants a world where it makes all the rules. But workers need a world that respects their rights.
Sign Up for ILRF News and Action Alerts
Stay informed on pressing labor rights issues by signing up for ILRF's news and action alerts today.