Posts Tagged: Jobs with Justice

Jobs With Justice coalition members delivered letters to store managers calling on Walmart to compensate injured workers and their families, sign the safety Accord, and respond to the concerns of workers throughout its supply chain.

On April 24th last year, garment workers in a Bangladeshi factory were reassured that the cracks that had appeared in the walls the previous day where they were working had been repaired. Just an hour later, the building collapsed, killing 1,138 people and injuring at least 2,500. Two of the factories in the building have been linked to production of Walmart goods.

One year after this tragedy, Walmart has still refused to sign on to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. Instead, the company has promoted its own alternative which lacks enforcement mechanisms or meaningful worker input.

Workers and organizations will be holding a week of action calling on Walmart to finally address issues in its supply chain and sign the Accord. UNI Global will hold events across four continents on April 24th, and students and activists across the country will take action through United Students Against Sweatshops and the International Labor Rights Forum. Locals wanting to participate in the actions to be held on April 24th at Walmart stores and Walmart offices can find more information at http://bit.ly/RanaActionInfo.

Jobs With Justice also held a web conference for workers’ rights advocates from three continents. It featured representatives from Asia Floor Wage Alliance, Bangladesh Institute for Labour Studies, Clean Clothes Campaign, Cambodian Labor and Education Center, National Guestworker Alliance, OUR Walmart, and Warehouse Workers for Justice.

Jobs With Justice coalition members will also deliver letters to store managers across the country calling on Walmart to compensate the injured workers and their families, sign the Accord, and hear the concerns of workers throughout its supply chain.

In June of 2013, Making Change at Walmart supporters generously raised funds to bring former garment worker and Bangladeshi labor activist Kalpona Akter to speak at Walmart’s shareholders meeting. Despite a history fraught with the violent suppression of labor activists in the Bangladeshi garment industry, Akter challenged Walmart to provide safer work facilities and more oversight in their supply chain. Her shareholder proposal was voted down by shareholders – a majority of those shares belong to the Walton family.

The International Labor Rights Forum also released an in-depth report on the tragedies in the Bangladeshi garment factories. The report can be read at http://bit.ly/WaitingReport.

Leading up to the Global Day of Action for the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh on April 24, UFCW Locals 888 and 1500 held an
action to call on retailers to do more to help the victims of the
factory disasters.

Making Change at Walmart is joining Jobs with Justice, the International Labor Rights Forum, and community allies from around the world on April 24, in a day of action to stand in solidarity with garment workers in Bangladesh. One year after the Rana Plaza building collapse killed at least 1,138 people and injured more than 2,500 in the worst garment industry catastrophe in history, concerned citizens around the world will demand that Walmart and other apparel brands and retailers pay full and fair compensation to the victims of the Rana Plaza collapse.

The day of action will call on Walmart and other retailers to take responsibility and to pay their fair share of compensation to the survivors and families who lost loved-ones.

The action will also call on Walmart to pay compensation to the victims of the Tazreen factory fire, which took place on November 24, 2012, and where Walmart was the largest purchaser. The fire killed 112 workers and was the deadliest fire in the Bangladesh garment industry.

Demonstrations will take place at Walmart stores around the country. For more information, visit www.walmartdeathtraps.com.

Locals can participate in the Global Day of Action by:

1. Organizing or joining a demonstration at a Walmart store near you. Visit www.walmartdeathtraps.com and
http://bit.ly/RanaAction closer to the date for action listings.

Action ideas:

• Leafleting in front of the store and letter delivery to store manager. Visit www.walmartdeathtraps.com for sample flyer and letter.
• Die-in in front of the store. Protestors drape themselves in white sheets and lie on the sidewalk in front of the store with signs demanding the company pay compensation.

2. Post on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media asking the company to pay the money owed to the victims and about the Global Day of Action. On the company’s Facebook wall, post a photo of members holding a sign calling on the company to Pay Up. Members can also follow Twitter: #ranaplaza #payup
@orphansplace @ILRF.

3. Locals can send an e-blast about the Global Day of Action, asking supporters to join an action and spread the message on social media. For more information, email Liana Foxvog at International Labor Rights Forum at liana@ilrf.org.

Locals can also start taking action before April 24 by using the materials from the Jobs with Justice toolkit that can be downloaded from http://bit.ly/April24Kit.

UFCW Locals 888 and 1500 held an action with Rana Plaza survivor Aklima Khanam and community allies in New Jersey last week. The crowd of more than 50 people protested in front of Children’s Place retail headquarters and Walmart stores in hopes of bringing attention to the horrific working conditions and ask that these companies do more to help the victims. A video of the action can be viewed at http://bit.ly/NJVideo.