NEWSLABOR RIGHTS

We typically don’t think about the people who make our iPhones, computers and iPods.  They come to us in perfectly white boxes from the Apple store, ready to be played with.  Rarely do we consider the hands that made them, the human cost associated with them.  But thanks to some incredible investigative reporting by Mike Daisey and the New York Times and fast action by an Apple customer, the barrier between the makers and buyers of Apple products has been lifted.

As soon as NPR’s “This American Life” and the New York Times issued investigate reports of the working conditions at Apple’s factories in China, self-professed Apple-lover Mark Shields knew he had to take action.  So he started a petition on Change.org calling on Apple, Inc. to release a worker protection strategy for new product releases and publish the results of the Fair Labor Association’s monitoring of its suppliers.  Mark expected that his petition would resonate with his fellow Apple-lovers but he was completely blown away by the incredible level of support it drew.

Malawi is often referred to as "the warm heart of Africa," but concerned citizens who are calling for changes to the country's economic conditions have been met with violent cruelty by the country's security forces. At the end of July, 19 people were killed in protests across the country.

Facing a deteriorating economy, trade unions and civil society organizations presented Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika with proposals for addressing the country's rising fuel costs, electricity shortages, foreign exchange shortages, corruption, financial mismanagement, problems with higher education, attacks on freedom of the press and other issues. Joining together under the theme "Uniting for Peaceful Resistance Against Poor Economic and Democratic Governance: A Better Malawi is Possible," citizens rallied across the country on July 20th. While the demonstrations were peaceful, security forces violently repressed demonstrations, killed 19 people, arrested around 500 individuals and assaulted and arrested several members of the press.

In response to growing repression on behalf of Mutharika's government, the US has frozen $350 million in aid to the country. Britain froze aid earlier in the year due to a diplomatic dispute. Civil society organizations had originally planned to hold vigils across the country this week in order to honor those who were killed during the demonstrations and to continue to put pressure on the government to address their concerns. However, government officials obtained a court injunction to prevent these events and organizations leading the movement decided to postpone the vigils.

The vigils were postponed amid growing tension in the country as the President continued to publicly demonize human rights organizations. According to Amnesty International, Mutharika called the July demonstrations "the work of Satan" and he threatened to "smoke out the organizers" while some prominent advocates received death threats. Currently, civil society organizations are working to establish a dialogue with the government that is being mediated by the United Nations. However, even though demonstrations have been postponed, a heightened police presence on the day when protests were previously scheduled to occur was evident across the country.

The Malawi Congress of Trade Unions has started a petition on Change.org calling on President Mutharika to cease attacks on civil society organizations, begin a genuine dialogue around citizens' concerns and to respect freedom of association and expression. You can show your solidarity with these brave human rights advocates facing extraordinary risks for their efforts to exercise their rights by signing the petition here.

Photo credit: tlupic

Dolce & Gabbana deleted Facebook wall posts as soon as Change.org members led by the Clean Clothes Campaign wrote on the luxury Italian fashion house’s wall, demanding that they stop using a highly dangerous garment production method which gives Dolce & Gabbana jeans a ‘worn’ look

LONDON – The Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana deleted posts on its Facebook wall after Change.org members posted messages demanding that the company ban sandblasting, a technique used to give jeans a used look which is highly dangerous to workers.

The move comes after more than 25,000 European and American activists have joined a campaign on Change.org demanding that the company ban sandblasting.

The Situation
Sandblasting, which gives jeans a 'worn' or used look, is known to kill workers in garments producing countries like Turkey and Bangladesh where jeans sandblasting is done manually.

When workers fire sand under high pressure at jeans, dust then enters the environment, exposing workers to silica, which causes silicosis in the lungs. Eventually, workers die because they cannot breathe properly anymore.

The Solution
Versace needs to follow in the footsteps of other brands including Levi's, H&M, C&A and Gucci and publicly ban sandblasting from their supply chain.

Republican attacks on working people began immediately after they gained the majority in several state governments late last year under the banner of "fiscal responsibility". In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker announced he'd fix a budget shortfall by smashing public sector unions. The governors of Ohio and Michigan took similar aim at unions and working people.

But Maine Republicans have set their sights on an even more vulnerable population of workers: kids.

In a state whose unemployment level is closing in on 8%, the Maine GOP has decided they'll help get the economy back on track by putting the state's child labor laws on the chopping block. Their proposals would allow kids to work longer hours during the school week for pay that is below the minimum wage.

Two weeks ago today, the Washington State House unanimous passed a bill (HB 2036) for increased protections for prison guards. They were following the lead of the state Senate who had passed the companion bill (SB 5907), earlier in April.

But now, the bill is now sitting on Governors Chris Gregoire’s desk waiting for her signature.

After prison guard Jayme Biendl was murdered earlier this year, Gregoire was quick to act, calling for in independent investigation. She was when on hand to endorse the recommends of the National Institute of Corrections. Now the bill turning those recommendations into law is just sitting waiting for her signature.

To help encourage Governor Gregoire to put pen to paper, please take just a second to tweet at her. Just click here to send a tweet, or copy and paste this one here:

Dear @GovGregoire please sign the bill for increased prison guard safety into law http://chn.ge/mkjQAj

We need your help for a final push to make sure that Correctional Officers across Washington state are safer, and have a way to voice concerns with the Department of Corrections when they see something wrong at their prison.

Washington Senate Bill 5907 passed with a unanimous 49-0 vote back on April 9, and just yesterday the Washington House passed House Bill 2036, the companion bill, with a unanimous 97-0 vote.

That means the bills need just the signature of Governor Chis Gregoire to become law. Please sign our petition now to write to Governor Gregoire to sign this important piece of legislation.

Correctional officers in Washington state are one step closer to being much safer on the job.

The State Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 5907, which is designed to institute the policy recommendations resulting from the National Institute of Corrections review of prison safety. That review happened after the tragic murder of Jayme Beindl, a correctional officer at the Monroe Correctional Complex.

The changes include a new safety curriculum for correctional officers, a pilot program for the use of personal panic button alarms and mace, and a study of the video monitoring at prison facilities. The bill also establishes a security advisory committee to "make recommendations to the secretary regarding methods to provide consistent application of the policies and procedures regarding security issues in total confinement correctional facilities." (you can see the history of the bill and read it in full here.)

As the Associated Press (AP) gears up for its Annual Meeting in New York this week, the News Media Guild, which represents AP reporters and workers, is gearing up for an exciting week of activism that they hope will break the long standing stalemate in labor negotiations.

The contract between AP and the News Media Guild has expired and the two sides have been negotiating a new contract since October. At issue are wages, health care costs and other benefits, pension plans, and various other workplace issues. While the AP's latest offer freezes health care costs and provides modest pay increases (which AP workers haven't received in over two years), it still does away with the pension plan, leading to a continuing stalemate between the news gathering organization and its journalists.

The News Media Guild hopes to break that stalemate this week.

I recently talked with Tony Winton, President of the News Media Guild, who gave me a rundown of the weeks activities:

Washington State Reps. Kirk Pearson (R-Monroe) and Chris Hurst (D-Enumclaw) have introduced a bill that would institute some of the changes recommended in the recent National Institute of Corrections (NIC) report. The NIC, a federal organization that provides training and consulting, was asked to investigate the Washington state correctional system after Jayme Biendl, a Correctional Officer at Monroe Correctional Complex was murdered on the job.

The bill pushes a slew of changes to the prison system, including pilot programs for correctional officers to carry personal body alarms and pepper spray, a closer look at video monitoring, requiring the Department of Corrections to develop a safety curriculum for its Correctional Officers, and establishing a statewide security advisory committee and local committees at each facility to review and recommend safety policies.