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.
Friday, August 17, 2007
This Monday
Take action to support Guatemalan union workers!
WHO: You, in solidarity with Guatemalan women workers whose unions are being busted by clothing brands Talbot's, Liz Claiborne, and Macy's/Charter Club
WHEN: Monday, August 20th, noon-3pm
WHERE: Westlake Park in downtown Seattle (on Pine St. between 4th & 5th Ave)
WHAT: Meet at Westlake Park at 11:30am to join is in a rally to demand that U.S.-based clothing brands Talbot's, Liz Claiborne, and Macy's/Charter Club stop union-busting in Guatemala.
The rally will consist of powerful visual representations of the women workers whose rights are being violated daily, informative testimony about their struggle, and creative street theatre action that will illustrate the plight facing courageous women who have been blacklisted for standing up for their legal and human rights as workers!
Please come to learn more and to sign letters of urgent concern, which will be delivered to the brands at the close of the event.
WHY: Despite their historic status as defenders of labor rights in Guatemala, the future of the unions SITRACIMA and SITRACHOI is in jeopardy. The unions, whose leadership and membership are formed entirely of female workers, produce clothing for the U.S.-based brands Talbot's, Liz Claiborne, and Macy's/Charter Club.
Workers at the Cimatextiles and Choi Shin factories in Guatemala are facing severe violations of their labor rights and collective bargaining agreement, with factory management having closed one factory illegally. Although factory management has pledged to reopen the factory and reinstate the jobs of union workers on September 1st, union leaders report that new non-union workers have already been hired and are working in the allegedly "closed" factory. Additionally, factory management still owes workers promised payment, union leaders have received death threats, and union members have been blacklisted from other employers in the garment industry. Workers have been spending nights in the factory for nearly two months to guard their livelihoods. U.S.-based brands have minimized the concerns of workers or have been unresponsive.
With your support we can show Talbot's, Liz Claiborne, and Macy's/Charter Club that they cannot remain silent while workers' rights are violated in their factories. Please come out to show your support!
WHO: You, in solidarity with Guatemalan women workers whose unions are being busted by clothing brands Talbot's, Liz Claiborne, and Macy's/Charter Club
WHEN: Monday, August 20th, noon-3pm
WHERE: Westlake Park in downtown Seattle (on Pine St. between 4th & 5th Ave)
WHAT: Meet at Westlake Park at 11:30am to join is in a rally to demand that U.S.-based clothing brands Talbot's, Liz Claiborne, and Macy's/Charter Club stop union-busting in Guatemala.
The rally will consist of powerful visual representations of the women workers whose rights are being violated daily, informative testimony about their struggle, and creative street theatre action that will illustrate the plight facing courageous women who have been blacklisted for standing up for their legal and human rights as workers!
Please come to learn more and to sign letters of urgent concern, which will be delivered to the brands at the close of the event.
WHY: Despite their historic status as defenders of labor rights in Guatemala, the future of the unions SITRACIMA and SITRACHOI is in jeopardy. The unions, whose leadership and membership are formed entirely of female workers, produce clothing for the U.S.-based brands Talbot's, Liz Claiborne, and Macy's/Charter Club.
Workers at the Cimatextiles and Choi Shin factories in Guatemala are facing severe violations of their labor rights and collective bargaining agreement, with factory management having closed one factory illegally. Although factory management has pledged to reopen the factory and reinstate the jobs of union workers on September 1st, union leaders report that new non-union workers have already been hired and are working in the allegedly "closed" factory. Additionally, factory management still owes workers promised payment, union leaders have received death threats, and union members have been blacklisted from other employers in the garment industry. Workers have been spending nights in the factory for nearly two months to guard their livelihoods. U.S.-based brands have minimized the concerns of workers or have been unresponsive.
With your support we can show Talbot's, Liz Claiborne, and Macy's/Charter Club that they cannot remain silent while workers' rights are violated in their factories. Please come out to show your support!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
On the Ground
Estimad@s Compañer@s!
We finally have the long awaited opportunity to sit down and hash out how everything that is going ¨on the ground¨. We are in contact with Doña Gloria and Doña Gilda. We have quickly learned the difficulties that come with a project like this, but are extremely optimistic and excited to begin.
Doña Gloria and her 10-year-old daughter are ill and as a result have been making frequent trips to the clinic. We have been extremely sympathetic to these health concerns which have made organizing a meeting with Gloria a bit difficult. However, we have arranged to pick up Gloria tomorrow after her doctor’s appointment and meet with her to discuss the details of arranging the interviews. We also hope to pick up the final draft of the letter which is written by the workers, addressed to the brands, and will be cc’d to USAS, Solidarity Center, Workers’ Rights Consortium, STITCH, and US-LEAP. This letter is important because the previous organizations will not take direct action on the brands until they receive it.
Gloria reported that she and Gladys are still sleeping in the factory and that there are now armed security guards which patrol the factory every 30 minutes. It has also been difficult to arrange a meeting with her since she needs to support both Gladys in the factory and her sick daughter. She is looking for a way to stop sleeping in the factory, but doesn’t know how to do so without looking like she’s giving up. She also reported that they have a meeting with the lawyer, this Friday at 10 am in the factory. She is very appreciative of our group’s collaborating with her and the other union workers, and it seems to be lifting her spirits.
Gilda has also been busy for obvious reasons but we are contacting her this afternoon to confirm a meeting for Friday. Gilda and Gloria have both reported on rumors that the factories were sold to another international company in order to change personnel and be able to renew the 10 year tax holiday. When a new factory opens they have “10 años de gracias de impuestos”, which allows them to operate for the first 10 years without paying export taxes. This period of time has expired for both factories, which leads the women to believe that they changed owners in order to renew this tax-free period.
Gilda also reported that the conditions are deteriorating at ChoiShin and mentioned specifically concerns about being paid on time, being able to eat breakfast outside the factory before opening the doors, and having adequate time to eat lunch.
--
We're transferring to the workers over $1300 raised by student activists in Seattle. The money should be in their hands by Thursday, and will be used by the union to support workers without income during the factory's closure.
Well, that´s all for now and we need to get back to work but we are really excited to begin and appreciate all the hard work from the Seattle side!
The Fauxhawk Trio
We finally have the long awaited opportunity to sit down and hash out how everything that is going ¨on the ground¨. We are in contact with Doña Gloria and Doña Gilda. We have quickly learned the difficulties that come with a project like this, but are extremely optimistic and excited to begin.
Doña Gloria and her 10-year-old daughter are ill and as a result have been making frequent trips to the clinic. We have been extremely sympathetic to these health concerns which have made organizing a meeting with Gloria a bit difficult. However, we have arranged to pick up Gloria tomorrow after her doctor’s appointment and meet with her to discuss the details of arranging the interviews. We also hope to pick up the final draft of the letter which is written by the workers, addressed to the brands, and will be cc’d to USAS, Solidarity Center, Workers’ Rights Consortium, STITCH, and US-LEAP. This letter is important because the previous organizations will not take direct action on the brands until they receive it.
Gloria reported that she and Gladys are still sleeping in the factory and that there are now armed security guards which patrol the factory every 30 minutes. It has also been difficult to arrange a meeting with her since she needs to support both Gladys in the factory and her sick daughter. She is looking for a way to stop sleeping in the factory, but doesn’t know how to do so without looking like she’s giving up. She also reported that they have a meeting with the lawyer, this Friday at 10 am in the factory. She is very appreciative of our group’s collaborating with her and the other union workers, and it seems to be lifting her spirits.
Gilda has also been busy for obvious reasons but we are contacting her this afternoon to confirm a meeting for Friday. Gilda and Gloria have both reported on rumors that the factories were sold to another international company in order to change personnel and be able to renew the 10 year tax holiday. When a new factory opens they have “10 años de gracias de impuestos”, which allows them to operate for the first 10 years without paying export taxes. This period of time has expired for both factories, which leads the women to believe that they changed owners in order to renew this tax-free period.
Gilda also reported that the conditions are deteriorating at ChoiShin and mentioned specifically concerns about being paid on time, being able to eat breakfast outside the factory before opening the doors, and having adequate time to eat lunch.
--
We're transferring to the workers over $1300 raised by student activists in Seattle. The money should be in their hands by Thursday, and will be used by the union to support workers without income during the factory's closure.
Well, that´s all for now and we need to get back to work but we are really excited to begin and appreciate all the hard work from the Seattle side!
The Fauxhawk Trio
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Greetings from Guatemala!
I just want to convey how utterly psyched I am after meeting the workers. We met them outside the factory gates. When we first pulled up, there were a few people standing outside, but then a bunch of them, probably 20 or 25, filed out of the gates. I was overwhelmed with how many workers came to meet with us. They were all inside the factory because they haven't received their severance pay, and have been showing up every day to demand it.
Our professor got on the phone with Fernando Pinsiri, therat brand representative, and asked if she could come into the factory to meet with him. He said no, and suggested he would come outside to meet us. When a worker went into the factory to ask where he was, she saw him scurrying away as management told her that he was in a meeting. Oops.
After we were there for a while, the security barred the gates so the workers couldn't even go back inside to demand the severance package which management is legally obliged to pay under the agreement signed by management on June 6. When we realized we weren't getting anything from factory owners or management, we all decided to pile on the bus and head to one of the worker's house. Even when we squished everyone we could into the shuttle, we had to take two trips because there were so many students and workers together, talking about life and struggle. The shuttle made it in spite of the waterlogged and poorly maintained roads to the worker's house.
We talked in her courtyard under a leaking roof before moving into her kitchen. We had some really good conversation, and some really emotional testimony from the workers about the crisis. We took video, so look forward to seeing it soon!
Our professor got on the phone with Fernando Pinsiri, the
After we were there for a while, the security barred the gates so the workers couldn't even go back inside to demand the severance package which management is legally obliged to pay under the agreement signed by management on June 6. When we realized we weren't getting anything from factory owners or management, we all decided to pile on the bus and head to one of the worker's house. Even when we squished everyone we could into the shuttle, we had to take two trips because there were so many students and workers together, talking about life and struggle. The shuttle made it in spite of the waterlogged and poorly maintained roads to the worker's house.
We talked in her courtyard under a leaking roof before moving into her kitchen. We had some really good conversation, and some really emotional testimony from the workers about the crisis. We took video, so look forward to seeing it soon!
Monday, July 9, 2007
The Toast
We would like to propose a toast to SITRACIMA, the Guatemalan union whose workers made the Liz Claiborne and Charter Club / Talbot's clothes hanging in this store. These workers made history in 2001 when they became the first union in Guatemala's apparel industry, one of only a handful of unionized clothing factories in the world. In three months, these women will have no union, no jobs, and no livelihood if Liz Claiborne and Macy's / Talbot's continue to tolerate violations of wokers' rights in their factories. To Liz Claiborne and Macy's / Talbot's we say: "Stand up for workers' rights! Support union factories, not sweatshops!" Here's to another six years for the courageous women of Sitracima!
Anniversary Action Photos
Reading the toast to the women of SITRACIMA inside Seattle's downtown Macy's store.
Telling people in Westlake about SITRACIMA's struggle.
Security guards from Westlake telling us to stand away from the Talbots entrance.
Continuing the protest outside Talbots.
Handing out fliers.
¡Feliz Cumpleaños!
Today SITRACIMA celebrates it's 6th anniversary! We will be celebrating downtown today with birthday cake and a sparkling cider toast. All are welcome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
