Sounding Barbie's Alarm 4 June 2003, Vol. 8 No.2 La Senza abandons workers in Thailand Canadian lingerie retailer La Senza is trying to cut and run from its responsibilities to workers at its Gina Form supply factory in Bangkok, Thailand.

Another Montreal-based distribution of leaflets at a May retailer, Boutique Jacob, Day march in Montreal. The stopped placing orders with protesters urged La Senza to the Gina Form factory in April, stay in the factory and help citing business considera- eliminate worker rights tions, including merchandis- abuses. ing, pricing, and quality of MSN is now calling on La work as the reasons for its Senza to immediately resume decision. orders with the Gina Form La Senza president Bra factory and work with Lawrence Lewin claims his other buyers, including Gap company is pulling out of the and Victoria’s Secrets, to factory because of May Day pressure management to protests organized by MSN reinstate 37 unjustly fired members and supporters in union members and five laid- four Canadian cities. How- off union leaders, and put an ever, Gina Form workers say end to the harassment and they completed the last La intimidation of union Senza order in the last week members in the factory. of April, days before the While trying to blame MSN retailer was aware of the May for his company’s decision to

1st actions. —continued on page 8— May Day protests included a bra burning outside a La Senza store in downtown Nike v. Kasky ...... 2 Winnipeg, a store rally and delivery of petitions to the BJ&B union contract ...... 3 store manager in Vancouver, A Toy Worker's Story ...... 4 leafleting of customers at News and Notes ...... 6 three stores in Toronto, and New Resources ...... 7 PHOTO: RON STIPP inside Nike v. Kasky: Corporate accountability or litigation chill? A critically important court case with major legal and political implications for the corporate social responsibility movement is being fought out in the US Supreme Court.

Nike v. Kasky pits the The story begins in 1998 applying state laws barring global sportswear giant, Nike, when former athlete Marc false and misleading commer- against San Francisco anti- Kasky sued Nike for “false cial messages.” In other sweatshop activist, Marc advertising” because of words, Nike and other Kasky, a David and Goliath public statements the corporations are legally liable case if ever there was one. company had made, includ- for false statements about The specific issue being ing that workers in its their social or environmental addressed by the Supreme Court is whether public statements made by Nike in response to is published quarterly in English allegations of sweat- and Spanish by the Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN). The MSN includes shop abuses are over 400 organizations and individuals “commercial speech” across Canada. The MSN promotes or free speech. solidarity between Canadian labour, women’s and social movement groups Whether Nike’s public and Mexican, Central American and statements on social Asian counterparts organizing to raise and environmental standards and improve conditions in maquiladora and export processing matters are true or zones. The MSN acts as the false is not at issue in secretariat for the Ethical Trading the Supreme Court case. overseas supply factories practices. Nike appealed this Action Group and is active in Stop The larger issues behind made double the local decision to the highest court Sweatshops campaigning. the specific question under minimum wage and were in the land. Editorial Staff review are whether corpora- protected from physical and In an amicus curiae Bob Jeffcott tions should be treated as sexual abuse. Under a (friend of the court) submis- Tullia Marcolongo Georgia Marman “persons” concerning the US California consumer protec- sion to the Supreme Court on Anamika Mujoo-Girottee Constitutional First Amend- tion law, anyone can sue a behalf of Domini Social Kevin Thomas ment right to freedom of company for false advertising. Investments, law professor Ian Thomson Lynda Yanz speech; whether corporations While the state and Cynthia A. Williams states: can be held legally account- appellate courts ruled in “[W]e ought to treat compa- Translation able for false statements on favour of Nike’s claim that its nies’ statements about social Anibal Viton their social and environmen- statements were “non- and environmental facts Special thanks to OPSEU for printing tal practices; and whether commercial” speech, and precisely as we treat their the Update at no cost. court challenges on this issue therefore protected under the statements of financial facts. will make corporations more First Amendment, the These factors are critical to Maquila Solidarity Network 606 Shaw Street accountable or discourage California Supreme Court investors and consumers, but Toronto, ON, M6G 3L6 Canada them from voluntarily overturned that decision in an they are only valuable if they Phone: 416-532-8584 reporting on actions they are appeal, ruling that Nike’s are true. A broad ruling in Fax: 416-532-7688 E-mail: [email protected] taking to address social and statements were “commercial Nike’s favour would seriously web: www.maquilasolidarity.org environmental issues. speech for the purposes of —see 'free speech' on page 8—

2 Maquila Network Update BJ&B workers win first union contract

On March 26, workers at the BJ&B cap factory in the Dominican Republic won an important victory when their union and factory management signed a first collective bargaining agreement.

he agreement is the ing wage increases in a signed the application for Potential for culmination of a Dominican free trade zone, certification were then fired. Cooperation Tdifficult two-year and represents “a major step The WRC first became In an update to WRC- struggle that combined local forward in improving the involved in the case in affiliated universities, WRC worker organizing, cam- living conditions of Domini- December of that year, when Executive Director Scott Nova paigning by Students Against can apparel workers.” BJ&B workers filed a points to the important roles Sweatshop groups on a BJ&B produces sports complaint, charging their played by the FLA, Nike and number of US campuses, and caps for Nike and Reebok, employer with illegally firing Reebok, and United Students the efforts of the Fair Labor both of which are members of the 20 union leaders. The FLA Against Sweatshops. He Association (FLA) and the the FLA, and for a number of became involved in early commends the FLA for Worker Rights Consortium US universities, many of which 2002 when Nike, Reebok and assisting with the reinstate- (WRC) to address complaints are members of the FLA and/ Adidas filed a joint complaint ment of fired union leaders, from workers and brand- or the WRC. with the FLA, charging their retaining the Dominican name buyers. supplier with violating Republic labour lawyer and Workers Reinstated freedom of association former Secretary of Labour Wage Precedent The workers first began to provisions of the FLA code of Rafael Albuquerque as an The contract provides a 10 organize in October 2001. conduct. ombudsperson in the case, percent wage increase Twenty of them, the legally The intervention of the and for conducting worker beginning January 2004, required number, filed an FLA, the WRC and brand and rights training on freedom of productivity wage incentives, application for union university buyers resulted in association with both workers and scholarships to 75 certification. When manage- the reinstatement of fired and supervisors led by the university students, 67 ment received word that the union leaders, as well as FLA’s former Director of percent to be given to factory union had been formed, they some improvements in factory Monitoring, Louis Vanegas. workers or their children, announced over the loud- conditions. However, further According to Nova, “this and 33 percent to children of speaker that if the other interventions were needed in case stands as a strong other residents of the workers didn’t remove the response to additional illegal example of the potential for community. union leaders from the firings and continuing effective WRC-FLA coopera- According to the FLA’s factory, they would all lose harassment of union mem- tion on remediation efforts.” Salem Shubash, this is the first their jobs. All twenty of the bers. BJ&B finally recognized collective agreement provid- union leaders who had the union in October 2002.

Maquila Network Update 3 Sounding Bar

By Ana Enriquez, Factor X/Casa de la Mujer Tijuana, Mexico

A few days before tion letters, agreeing to Christmas in 2001, Martha accept severance pay that and her coworkers lined up was much less than what outside the entrance to the they were legally entitled A Toy Mabamex toy factory in to receive. Tijuana, Mexico to receive Those workers who their annual Christmas were not asked to hand in bonus from their employer. their smocks and badges Martha, That year, based on the knew they were going to centre, points she had accumu- be “recontracted” at the heading Factory lated for punctuality beginning of the year. That to the throughout the year, year Martha was one of labour Martha was entitled to the the lucky ones. board musical house, the Fisher Mattel, the world’s office Price blackboard and a toy largest toy company, is with tea set. The toys were best known for its ever- Worker’s protest from pallets where some popular Barbie doll. It is banner. defective products had also known for its Code of been detected. Conduct in which And just like In the US, the company every other year at pledges to respect Story Christmas time, Girls aged 3 its workers rights Martha and hun- to 11 and ensure that dreds of other the code is fol- women and men receive an lowed in all the working for average of factories where its Mabamex not only products are made received the three around the world. Christmas toys they Barbies per When Martha had earned, but also year. started working at received notice that Mabamex in March they were being laid of 2000, she was off for the holiday season. an assembly line worker In fact, many of the and was frequently moved workers were told they from one department of were permanently fired, the factory to another. while others were be First she was in electrical promised they would be harnesses for toy racing rehired at the beginning of cars, then they moved her the new year. to the ViewMaster area, After handing out the and after that she was toys, management col- sent to the train set lected the work smocks department. and identification badges “They moved me all from those workers who over the place,” she were being let go, and explains. “I assembled made them sign resigna- stuffed monkeys and dogs.

4 Maquila Network Update bie’s Alarm

Every year, 150 new Sometimes they assigned factory’s infirmary Barbies are two days more, dismissal, the Human me to a number of different where they gave released what do you think? Resources Manager said: workstations. I didn’t have her three stitches. We’ll give you “A few months ago you a regular place to work; They ordered her onto the everything, your pay made a complaint to the they put me wherever back to her market. cheque, your labour board and now we they needed me.” workstation to bonuses, your toys. don’t want you to work continue loading We’ll even pay you with us. This is your last containers with her for Saturday and Sunday.” day of work, you’re fired.” bandaged hand. They finished by saying, Martha is now an ex- Hours later, her arm “We’re not going to have employee of Mabamex. was swollen and she was someone working at this Not only did the company feeling a lot of pain, so she factory that doesn’t trust fail to provide her full decided to leave the us, that does harm to the severance pay, they even factory and go to the Social company, think about it. denied her the toys she Security clinic to have it We’re not going to fill out had earned based on the looked at. Her injury was anything for you.” punctuality points she had diagnosed as an occupa- Finally, because of accumulated that year. tional accident, and she Martha’s stubborn insist- Martha decided to file Then they moved her to was told she was entitled ence, manage- another complaint the car racetrack depart- to seven days disability ment filled out with the labour ment. Two months working leave. the Social Most Barbies authorities, charging on one toy, then on another, The following day, she Security are made in Mabamex with then back around to returned to the factory to forms, but unjust dismissal. racetracks. She remembers deliver the disability notice they included China, where Now Martha is that Mabamex made the and to request that her a statement Mattel supply sounding the alarm. Barbie minivan in 2001. In Social Security forms be saying that Now she knows that 2002, she was finally filled out. For hours, a she had factories Mabamex isn’t just promoted to the moulding company doctor, nurses voluntarily employ about toys delivered area where she caught the and the head of Human agreed to hot from the hot pieces of plastic toys Resources all argued with continue approximately machines that you spit out by the machines Martha, trying to persuade working. This 10,000 earn with points or and placed them in her not to return to infuriated workers. lose for your various containers. Around the the Social Security Martha even disobedience. She is In July of 2002, world, two office and to stop more and she now aware of the she was moved to insisting that they decided to go to the commitments Mattel has the morning shift. Barbies are complete and sign Conciliation and Arbitration made in its code of conduct On her fourth day bought the forms. Board to formally request to respect its workers’ of work, at around “For our com- that the company clarify rights. She knows there 7:40 a.m., Martha every pany, this is like that she hadn’t volun- are channels to register suffered an second. setting off an teered to go back to work her complaints, demanding accident. Rework- alarm,” one of them the day of her accident. that the company follow ing a piece of plastic, she said to her. “Your cut isn’t At the end of her through on its promises. cut her left forearm with a very serious,” said an- disability period, Martha Barbie still hasn’t heard knife. The protective other. “We’ll pay you for returned to work for the the news, but her workers gloves that she had been the whole week. If Social next few months, until she are becoming aware. given only covered her Security gives you eight was fired on November 7. hands. She went to the days, we’ll pay you for ten, When he notified her of her

Maquila Network Update 5 news notes

seven days &a week, sewing for well- promised round table discussions on the State of Maine known US retailers including Gap, Sears, proposal and other policy options. On confronts Gildan Liz Claiborne, Levi’s and Target. It February 24, ETAG delivered tens of The State of Maine has invoked its charged companies with benefiting from thousands of labels and petitions code of vendor conduct to challenge a form of indentured labour, in which signed by over 20,000 Canadians to the Montreal-based T-shirt manufacturer “guest workers” from China and other office of Industry Minister Allan Rock, Gildan Activewear to prove it is respect- Asian countries were compelled to sign demonstrating broad public support for ing workers’ contracts denying them their basic factory disclosure regulations. rights in its human rights and pay exorbitant Honduran recruitment fees to work in the US Bye, bye, Burma factories. Commonwealth island. In July Although the settlement does not (for now) 2002, the include an admission of wrongdoing, it Canadian retailer Boutique Jacob has State does require companies to contribute responded to a consumer boycott purchased $20 million to a fund to pay back wages campaign launched by the Canadian Gildan T-shirts for inmates at one of its and cooperate with independent Friends of Burma (CFOB) by agreeing to correctional facilities. When it learned of monitoring of factory conditions. The stop having Jacob products made in reports in the Canadian media of alleged parties agreed to explore ILO involve- Burma, for now anyway. forced pregnancy testing and violations ment in the On April 19, the of freedom of association at Gildan monitoring Canadian Friends of facilities, the State’s Division of Purchases system, but the Burma staged leafleting ordered its vendor to provide evidence US government actions in four Canadian that Gildan was in compliance with the has refused to cities, urging Jacob to State’s code of conduct. allow ILO cease all business with Other bulk purchasers of Gildan participation. Burma until the human products that have requested similar (As a US rights situation improves assurances include the University of protectorate, significantly in that Toronto, Amnesty International, Oxfam Saipan falls under US federal govern- country. On April 30, the company Canada, and the Winnipeg Folk Festival. ment jurisdiction.) promised not to sell products made in The US labour rights group Sweat- Burma in their fall and winter collections $20M settlement to shop Watch is calling for letters to Levi’s, in 2003 and throughout 2004. urging that company to settle the Saipan While CFOB is pleased with Jacob’s Saipan workers lawsuit. See www.sweatshopwatch.org. announcement, they are disappointed On April 24, a US$20-million settle- that the company did not state its ment was approved in a class action Still awaiting disclosure intentions after 2004 or agree to lawsuit on behalf of 30,000 garment terminate all relations workers on the Pacific island of Saipan. on disclosure with Burma All but one of the 27 major US retailers Four months after the federal govern- until named in the suit have agreed to the ment promised to release a report democracy settlement. The one holdout, Levi Strauss, assessing the Ethical Trading Action and continues to fight the case in the courts. Group’s (ETAG’s) proposal for factory human The 1999 lawsuit alleged that the disclosure regulations for companies rights workers laboured under sweatshop selling apparel products in Canada, ETAG have been conditions, working up to 12 hours day, is still waiting for the report and for restored.

6 Maquila Network Update A Canadian Success Story? Gildan Activewear: T-shirts, Free Trade and Worker Rights. Maquila Solidarity Network and the Honduran Burma, renamed Myanmar by its higher Independent Monitoring military rulers, is controlled by one labour Team, May 2003. Contact: of the world’s most brutal dictator- standards [email protected] ships. For the past several years, the and introduce CFOB, MSN and the Ethical Trading some public Action Group have been calling on reporting on the Canadian government to the results of impose economic sanctions on the factory regime and ban all imports from Burma. monitoring. Over the past year, MSN invites anyone who sees “Made MEC has been consulting with MSN in Myanmar” labels in Canadian stores to and other groups about possible contact our office. improvements in its code of conduct and factory monitoring system. At MEC’s April 24 AGM, MSN volunteer Tom Sandborn thanked co-op staff and board members for the improvements made in the code, but urged them to disclose more information on the results of factory audits. While MEC’s new Sourcing Policy Nike month of action brings the co-op’s labour standards May was a month-of-action in more in line with ILO Conventions for All: A Guide to solidarity with Nike workers. Between on issues like freedom of associa- Worker Rights in the Global Economy. American Center May 1 and May 31, people around the tion, collective bargaining rights, and for International Labor world staged weekly leafleting actions in hours of work, its public reporting program does not yet provide Solidarity, May 2003. front of stores selling Nike products, Contact: sufficient information to identify calling on Nike to contribute to the www.solidaritycenter.org severance pay of 7,000 Indonesian common worker rights violations or women and men who lost their jobs to track steps taken to improve Blowing the Whistle on a resources seven months ago, as Nike shifts orders practices. Neighbourhood Bully: What from Indonesia to lower wage countries Meanwhile, Canada’s oldest makes Wal-Mart such a bad like China and Vietnam. The month of retailer, the Hudson’s Bay Company neighbour? UFCW Canada, action was initiated by NikeWatch, a (HBC), has also announced some 2000. Contact: project of Oxfam Australia-Community improvements in its code of con- www.ufcw.ca Aid Abroad. duct, but has released only minimal information on the process and Asia Pacific Labour Law results of its factory monitoring Review: Workers’ Rights for Improvements at MEC, program. At the HBC’s 2002 annual the New Century. Asia Monitor Resource Centre, meeting, 37 percent of shareholder while Hudson’s Bay lags April 2003, US$38.00, 393 Canadian outdoors sportswear votes were cast in favour of a pp. Contact: retailer Mountain Equipment Co-op resolution calling for more transpar- www.amrc.org.hk (MEC) has launched its new Sourcing ent reporting on the results of third- Policy that will hold its suppliers to party factory audits.

Maquila Network Update 7 new La Senza's blame spiral

—continued from page 1— Lewin goes on to say that all problems into signing up with the company union, pull out of the Gina plant, Lewin says a La in the factory are the result of “an inter- telling them that if they accept the new Senza inspection team found no worker union rivalry.” But according to the Gina union, the company will survive. rights violations in the factory. His claims Relation Worker Union (GWU), manage- La Senza’s directly contradict the findings of the Thai ment’s recent recruitment of a pro- refusal to National Human Rights Commission and company union into the factory is just the disclose the the Labour Relations Committee, which latest tactic in an ongoing campaign to results of its ruled that Gina management was guilty of destroy the GWU, which has represented March factory violating the Thai labour code and the workers in the factory since 1994. audit, or even international human rights conventions. Meanwhile, Gina workers and their to provide international supporters won a small MSN a copy victory on March 18 when factory of its code of management was forced to comply with conduct, a Supreme Court ruling to reinstate the suggests that former president and current Secretary Canadian General of the GWU, Somboon retailers still PHOTO: RON STIPP Rodjareon. Ms. Rodjareon was have a long “Shame on you, La Senza!” unlawfully dismissed in August 2001. way to go in shout 30 protesters outside La Senza’s attempt to cut and run addressing Vancouver store. from Gina Form comes at a critical their custom- moment in the workers’ struggle, as ers’ concerns about possible links to harassment of union members intensi- sweatshop abuses. fies. Supervisors have reportedly Without factory disclosure regulations, confiscated workers’ GWU union companies like La Senza and Jacob will membership cards, demanding copies continue to hide behind vague statements of personal documents to facilitate on corporate social responsibility, while

PHOTO: GINA MOUNT applications to the pro-company union. cutting and running from their responsi- Winnipeg protestors burn their They are also reportedly exploiting the bilities whenever real instances of in front of La Senza store. fear of lost orders to intimidate workers sweatshop abuses are uncovered. Free speech or false speech?

—continued from page 2— an unanticipated negative impact of the from the dialogue about the labour undermine the SEC [Securities Exchange court case could be to discourage conditions at its production facilities Commission] and other regulators’ companies from engaging in public serves both to diminish the sources of abilities to ensure that these statements debate on social and environmental public knowledge about that matter and are accurate and not misleading.” issues or voluntarily reporting on their to frustrate the debate itself.” While most US anti-sweatshop groups, social and environmental performance. Whether or not a US Supreme Court including Press for Change, Campaign In its brief to the Supreme Court “in decision in favour of Kasky would for Labor Rights and United Students support of neither party,” the AFL-CIO discourage companies from voluntarily Against Sweatshops, agree with professor states: “[I]n the continuing debate on reporting on their social and environ- Williams’ assessment of the negative Nike’s labour standards, the Corpora- mental practices, a decision in favour of impact of a Supreme Court ruling in tion’s public statements are not the only Nike might be worse, if that decision favour of Nike, a number of corporate word or the last word but rather are part further entrenches the view that corpora- social responsibility advocates, journal- of a continuing dialogue, and indeed tions be treated as “persons” and ists, the American Civil Liberties Union serve as a catalyst for that dialogue. enshrines their “right” to mislead the and the AFL-CIO are also concerned that Nike’s withdrawal under legal pressure public about those practices.