Blog

Pesticides: A Labor Rights Issue

August 13, 2012

Even with dramatic underreporting, California data (Fields of Poison, 2002) on farmworker poisonings highlight the extent of the problem and demonstrate the regulatory system’s absolute failure to protect farmworkers.

Immigration Politics Keep Workers at Risk

As political rhetoric swirls around the issue of undocumented workers, little is done to address the dangers of pesticide exposure faced daily by families who cross the border to harvest US strawberries, apples or broccoli.

The Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium Adopts a New Model Policy

July 19, 2012

The Policy was drafted by Professor Robert Stumberg and his students, T. Lloyd Grove and Lindsey Scannell, of the Harrison Institute for Public Law at the Georgetown University Law School. They worked as consultants to the Consortium, with the support of the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor.

The Georgetown advisors started with a previous model policy that had long been promoted by SweatFree Communities, a national coalition of labor rights groups, and reframed its philosophical and legal foundation. Here is a summary from the Findings section of the new model policy:

The Mind of a Child is a Terrible Thing to Waste

June 14, 2012

Hershey agreed to meet with roughly 50 members of UMW on June 13th, one day after World Day Against Child Labor. UMW invited Green America and the International Labor Rights Forum to join the meeting, however, upon arrival, we were told the meeting with Hershey would be a closed meeting, open only to members of UMW. Hershey was likely scared we would ask them tough questions. For example, What is the actual reach and impact of the initiatives you have launched in Ghana in improving farmer livlihoods? Or, When will Hershey commit to sourcing indepentely certified child-labor-free cocoa for all of its products, as some of its competitors have pledged to do?

Philippines Labor Groups Unite in May Day Mobilization

May 31, 2012

The imperative to unite and fight for the dignity of workers is the spark for the formation of Nagkaisa which embraces the major labor centers and groups in the Philippines for the first time since the 1980’s. The unity forged among some 40 labor organizations to advance the struggle for immediate and strategic demands is a key component of the renewal and revival of the labor movement. A strong militant labor movement is the foundation for the working class to regain its place as the tribune of the people and vanguard of social change.

Child Laborer Finally Freed From Captivity After Losing Arm in Cotton Ginning Accident

April 13, 2012

When PRAYAS finally reached the police by phone early Thursday morning, they were informed that Patel had already been released on bail and that he had returned home, where Anil was still being held.  When pressed on whether they had attempted to rescue Anil when they arrested Patel, police washed their hands of any responsibility for the child laborer denying that they had any duty to secure his safety. They instead informed PRAYAS that this was an issue for child services or the labor inspectors, not the police.  When PRAYAS reached officials at the local labor commission, they too denied any responsibility, and in a dangerous game of bureaucratic hot potato, PRAYAS was instead given the names and numbers of three other government agencies to contact.

101st Commemoration of the Triangle Fire Remembers Bangladeshi Fire Victims

April 10, 2012

Kalpona Akter, and her colleagues in the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity struggle against the government’s threats of imprisonment for crimes like “incitement,” and labor organizer for the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity Aminul Islam, was found tortured and murdered on April 9th, 2012. Labor and justice organizations worldwide are now calling for a full and impartial investigation of Aminul Islam’s death, and are mounting campaigns to bring the murderers to justice. In Bangladesh, where garment company owners have great influence with the government, improvements to worker safety and rights come in response to pressure from the outside multinational corporations who source their products from Bangladeshi manufacturers.

Bangladeshi Labor Rights Activist Murdered

April 9, 2012

Aminul had been detained by officials of the National Intelligence Service (NSI) in June 2010. According to Aminul, he was subjected to severe and repeated beatings, which his captors said would stop only if he agreed to give false testimony against his colleagues at BCWS. The NSI officials demanded that he write a letter stating that his colleagues were the instigators of recent worker protests, which had resulted in damage to some factory buildings. Aminul refused. While being transported to another location, he managed to escape his captors and went into hiding.

Pages

Search form