FLA Report Released

The Fair Labr Association has released the results of the independent investigation it commissioned regarding Cimatextiles and Choshin. The complete report, press release, and executive summary of the report are all available on the FLA website, under Statements and Press Releases. It agrees with nearly everything we've been saying about violation's of workers' rights. It denies the gun incident due to lack of corroboration, which sucks but isn't unexpected. And it says that the 6/6 agreement doesn't legally bind the company to reopen the factory, but implies that while legally the factory doesn't have to reopen, it should in order to fulfil the spirit of the agreement. It's good to read, to realize nearly everything we've said about this case is verified by a neutral observer.

Updates

Here are some updates based on a phone conversation between Angelina and the Liz Claiborne reps:

The Future of Cimatextiles
The president of the company that operates the factories announced late last week that Cimatextiles is not going to reopen. Ever. It is going to be converted to a finishing, packing, and laundry facility for Choishin. Inasmuch as there are jobs in that facility, the president said preference would be given to people from Cimatextiles, but those jobs would not be for sewing operators, but for lower level jobs in finishing, packing and laundry. When asked what the implications of this for the union leadership who have remained on payroll during these three months might be, Daryl and George (of Liz Claiborne) said they were unsure. About the closure of Cimatextiles, Daryl said "this is downsizing; it could be worse."

Agreement to Re-Open
Daryl and George consulted their representative in Guatemala, Fernando Pinsiri, on the agreement signed between management and unions, and Pinsiri told them there is no specific commitment in the agreement to reopen on 9/1, so therefore if the factory doesn't reopen they are not reneging on any commitment.

Closure of Choisin?
George talked to Pinsiri about the closure of Choishin. Pinsiri says this is a false rumor. According to Pinsiri, management had been trying to explore the option of "proposing" some vacation time for Choishin but since then received more orders and now has enough orders that they don't need to do this. Choishin is operating (supposedly) at 90% capacity at this time.

Blacklisting
George asked Pinsiri about the blacklisting that union workers have encountered and Pinsiri said there is no blacklist. Rather, he said the problem was that there was such a large surplus of labor in Guatemala in general, and so workers have trouble getting jobs, and they might assume that the reason is because they're being blacklisted, but that's not true, "there is no specific list," it's just that jobs are scarce. Here Angelina insisted that that was not believable to us after having heard many workers' testimonies about being turned away specifically and explicitly because of their union affiliation, and in one case a worker being shown her name on a list on a computer screen. She insisted that there was more here than simply an excess of labor and a shortage of jobs, and that many workers had had the blacklisting experience specifically at Hansol, a factory from which Liz Claiborne also sources. They said they would "look into it."

Severance Pay Discrepancies
George talked to Pinsiri about the severance pay still owed to some workers, and Pinsiri said that the reason for the differences of opinion (about how much money is owed) was because management calculated the compensation on the basis of base pay, not incentives, and the workers wanted the calculations to be based on incentives. Pinsiri said that Guatemalan law supports the calculation that management did; Angelina responded saying that the workers had told us that the Guatemalan Minstry of Labor had issued a judgment siding with them in this matter, saying that the incentive pay had to be calculated into severance. They said they would "call the Guatemalan Minister of Labor" to see if he could get them "something in writing" about this.

- - -

To end the post with some uplifting news, Travis and Michelle stumbled upon a protest led by factory workers from 6 different factories. They will be attending another protest with these workers; hopefully more news to come from them soon.

Act Now - Phone Calls

We need to continue to call the brands! The following is an updated version of names, phone numbers, and talking points.

CALL U.S. BRANDS NOW TO DEMAND AN END TO UNION-BUSTING

Action is needed now to tell the U.S. brands Liz Claiborne, Talbots, and Macy's/Charter Club that these violations of workers' fundamental human and labor rights must stop.

Talbots: Betsy Thompson, (781) 741-4066, betsy.thompson@talbots.com

Liz Claiborne: Daryl Brown, VP of Human Rights Compliance (201) 295-7895

Macy's: Holly Thomas, PR Director, (646) 429-5250, holly.thomas@macys.com

Demand that the U.S. brands use their influence to:

1. Uphold the Cimatextiles factory's agreement with the union to reopen the factory on September 1st, and to rehire union workers immediately.

2. Ensure that the Choi Shin factory is reopened and union workers are rehired immediately.

3. Send high-level representatives to Guatemala to directly monitor the situation and meet with the unions.

4. Guarantee that any fired workers are paid their severance and back wages in the full and correct amount.

5. Continue monitoring Cimatextiles and Choi Shin factory's management to ensure that no more Guatemalan labor and human rights laws are violated.

Thank you for your solidarity

THE LETTER TO THE BRANDS AND LABOR ORGANIZATIONS IS OUT!

Hola Compañer@s!

We worked all day yesterday with FESTRAS (the union federation Sitracima and Sitrachoi are affiliated with) and union leadership to get the letter out to the brands and the international labor organizations and we are excited about the responses that should start flooding in!

As far as labor organizations:
- Rob from the Solidarity Center, STITCH, and USLeap have both sent out letters of concerns to the brands

And we are hoping for a prompt reply from the brands.

It seemed to be a great way to unite FESTRAS, union leadership as well as the UWGP, in a true display of collective action and solidarity!

Please see this google document to check out the English cover letter to the brands, as well a letter from FESTRAS (Spanish) and a full report on the unions´ cases (Spanish):

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df2tqzbb_0cjxrrc

That´s all for now!
¡VIVA SITRACIMA! ¡VIVA SITRACHOI!

the fauxkawk trio

An open letter to the brands

21 August 2007

Dear Liz Claiborne Inc., The Talbots Inc., and Federated Department Stores,

We are University of Washington students and alumni, currently working in Guatemala in solidarity with the workers of factories Cimatextiles and Choi Shin. We aim to document their struggle to defend their rights in these factories by taking video and audio testimony. We are in collaboration with international labor organizations and with students who visited the workers of these factories over the past three years.

It has been nearly 3 months since the Cimatextiles factory in Villa Nueva, Guatemala temporarily suspended operations through a negotiated agreement with the legally recognized union, Sitracima. Yesterday, the legally recognized union of the Choi Shin factory, Sitrachoi, was informed by factory management that Choi Shin would also temporarily suspend operations.

We have attached a letter from union leadership and the FESTRAS federation with which they are affiliated. Regarding this letter, which was written shortly before the closure of Choi Shin, we inquire, what action your company is taking to:

1) Re-establish orders to Cimatextiles to ensure the re-opening of the factory on 1 September 2007, which was committed to in the 6 June 2007 agreement between the union and the company,
2) Re-establish orders to Choi Shin to ensure that the factory re-opens immediately,
3) Prioritize the rehire of union workers,
4) Communicate with the company, Sitracima, Sitrachoi, and FESTRAS unions regarding the details of the placement of your orders and the re-opening of the Cimatextiles and Choi Shin factories.

Ensuring the agreement reached between your supplier factory and the union representing its employees is no doubt necessary to uphold both your code of conduct and your image as a responsible corporate citizen. We have confidence that you will do what is necessary to maintain your commitment to workers’ rights in your source factories.

We ask that you immediately send appropriate-level representation to ensure the above points are met.

Sincerely,

The University of Washington Guatemala Project

Greetings from Guatemala!

The interviews have begun! A while ago, actually. We’ve been so busy and in such intimate contact with the workers that we haven’t had time to write up a blog entry. But here we are!

First of all, the black list is a HUGE concern of the workers. Not only have Cimatextiles workers and Sitracima members been turned away from employment at other factories, but they have told us of their spouses being turned away as well. The effect of the black list on worker morale is devastating, and they desperately want to work but will be unable to find it in any other maquila. Villa Nueva (the city where the factory is and where the workers live) is dominated by maquilas, therefore the black list is a large barrier for anyone from Cimatextiles looking for work elsewhere.

Also, some workers report that when they apply at other factories, they face gruelling and humiliating inspections in which they must strip naked to be searched for tattoos or other “undesirable traits”. At these non-unionized maquilas they face racial and sexual slurs, abuse, and other violations of their dignity.

Back to Cimatextiles: From the time of the formation of their union, Sitracima, management has used anti-union tactics to gain the support of unorganized workers who feared union affiliation. These non-unionized workers are now being given preference by management and are called upon to continue work at the supposedly closed factory. In addition, employees of Choi Shin, the neighboring sister factory, are secretly working in Cimatextiles. So much for “closed for remodelling!”

Cimatextiles has been undergoing renovation during this “closure.” By building a wall around the cafeteria where workers eat, and installing industrial washing machines, management is expanding operations at Cimatextiles. We fear Cimatextiles is making these changes with the intention to register with the Guatemalan government under a different name, thereby changing the legal status of the factory. This action could nullify the legally binding agreement which requires the rehire of union workers when the factory is scheduled to reopen on September 1. Bottom line: Cimatextiles is doing what it can to avoid hiring unionized workers.

This is in direct contradiction to information given to the workers by management, who state the reason for closure is that there is no work. There is some truth to this: Liz Claiborne is no longer producing at Cimatextiles. Instead, Liz Claiborne is now producing at a factory in Nicaragua owned by the same company. That’s right: Liz Claiborne ditched Cimatextiles in favor of non-union labor!

Despite these manipulations by management, the workers of Cimatextiles repeatedly say: we want this job. Work is better at a unionized Cimatextiles than at any of the other sweatshop in Villa Nueva!

¡Viva Sitracima! ¡Viva Sitrachoi!
fauxhawk trio

"Please do not leave us alone in Guatemala"

Listen to the workers of Cimatextiles and Choishin describe their experiences as union members, what they would like to say to us, and what they would like to say to Liz Claiborne, Macy's Charter Club, and Talbots.