RECENT NEWS FROM GWC – SEPTEMBER 2010

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OUR STORIES OF GARMENT WORKER RESISTANCE
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Inspiring hope in the Garment Industry
In June of this year, the GWC team of garment and non-garment worker organizers started a 6 month organizing drive in the Southern CA garment industry. The message: Garment Workers CAN fight back against their employers by taking collective action to change the sweatshop conditions in the garment factories.

Since June, a team of organizers have been “hitting the streets” to create a real ‘fight back’ buzz. Organizers are at the factory gates at dawn before workers arrive for work. Organizers doorknock evenings in neighborhoods where lots of garment workers live. Organizers spread the word using visual images via leaflets, posters and t-shirts inside the factories’ district and connect with other workers through concentrated phone banks and house visits. Organizers boarded a bus to talk to garment workers and met a unionized bus driver who welcomed the organizers to show his support.

Overall, workers still have serious fears of job loss – even their low-paying (sometimes no-paying) jobs. Workers fear the real threat of physical, verbal and emotional retaliation from industry employers. Yet, even through such a thick wall of doubt and fear, garment workers are building their skills as organizers and are challenging co-workers to say NO MORE! Or as GWC says…“ ¡YA BASTA! ¡Organízate!”



Challenging Wage Robbery in the LA Garment Industry
In our last newsletter, we shared a story about one of the disputes between one of our GWC worker members, Maria* and her employer. Unfortunately, her story is a common story for many workers. Even after directly pressuring the employer and the manufacturers, she got no response so she decided to move forward with the Labor Commissioner Wage Claim process. We try to resolve these wage theft issues directly at GWC before taking it to the Labor Commissioner’s office because of the wait time after submitting a case. We are currently still waiting to hear when they will begin to process her case, but we anticipate it will take between 6 months to 1 year.

Because of these experiences, we continue to summon the employers and the manufacturers directly to GWC to negotiate and sometimes we are victorious! Two months ago, we were able to get Bebe (yes, big name Bebe) to pressure their contractor to meet with us directly and negotiate with Roberto*, another garment worker with stolen wages. Bebe felt the pressure when a group of 10 of us arrived at their chic offices on the Westside, and despite their efforts to make us feel unwelcomed, we were successful in getting the message across that we wanted them to pressure their contractor to settle with us, which they did! Roberto, together with his other compañer@s from the industry, was able to successfully win back his stolen wages from the contractor through the negotiation at GWC.

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INTERNATIONAL STORIES OF GARMENT WORKER RESISTANCE
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Workers in Cambodia Strike for a Living Wage
(Story from Clean Clothes Campaign http://www.cleanclothes.org/news/garment-workers-in-cambodia-on-strike)

On Thursday September 16th, Cambodian union leaders decided to a temporary cessation of a mass strike calling for a living wage of 93 US $. The strike started on Monday, September 13th with 60.000 workers but won quickly in importance with 200,000 participating workers in over 90 factories at the moment of cessation. The government invited the unions for a negotiation meeting that will take place on September 27. This is occurring in an on-going climate of threat of retaliation for supporting the striking worker rights.

The most important brands sourcing from Cambodia include Puma, H&M and GAP. Three of CCC’s [Clean Clothes Campaign] Cambodian partners support the strikes, because the new minimum wage fails to meet basic needs such as food, housing and travel expenses. They demand a living wage of US$93 and better benefits.

The Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union (CCAWDU) and National Independent Federation Textile Union of Cambodia (NIFTUC), with respectively 45,000 and 30,000 members, are calling upon the employers association to enter into negotiations with them. Both unions collected about 80,000 signatures and thumbprints from factory workers, most of whom are women.

The new minimum wage was determined in July and is set to come into force for the around 358,000 garment workers in October 2010.


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GWC COMMUNITY SUPPORTER EVENTS
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A Night of Dance and Community!
On August 28th, we held our very first Let’s Dance fundraiser at GWC. We brought together some of or our home-grown dancers in our community and asked them to take their love for dancing and turn it into a night of classes. That led to a wonderful mix of dance styles including West African Dance, Salsa, Puerto Rican Bomba, Line Dancing, Hip hop and more. Let’s Dance participants shook their shoulders or rolled their hips in reggae class, or did a handstand in capoeira class, and most importantly, had a great time! We really appreciated the energy and enthusiasm of everyone who came and we hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as we did.

Let’s Dance was also an opportunity for us to raise some funds and with the amount raised, we'll be able to cover about 2 months of internet access, and 2 1/2 months of food costs for our Saturday meetings. That means a lot to us!! We want to thank all who joined in on the fun and who, with their spirit and resources, continue to support the work of GWC.




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VOLUNTEER THANK YOUS!
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As always, GWC appreciates the volunteers who support our work. We want to thank our summer intern Lauryl for the patience and care she showed with our kids (and our databases!). We want to welcome Claudia, who has recently joined us and currently supports us with database and audio/visual needs during our organizing campaign. We also want to welcome Christine, has who will be supporting us with the incorporation of more theatre of the oppressed practices in our daily work. A special thank you goes out to all of the volunteers that supported our Let’s Dance fundraiser on the 28th and, of course, a shout out to our entire core volunteers that keep everything moving on a weekly basis.

All the garment workers who put in their energy and their time to make the organizing happen!

All the non-garment workers who support from food prep to child care to street theatre:
Miguel Andrew Brieanne Kyra Naaz Ki Julia Robin Jennifer
Fabiola Simmi Leanna Guadalupe delia Elba


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LOOK FOR OUR NEXT UPDATE IN DECEMBER
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PAST GWC UPDATES BELOW
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Here’s the latest on our fight to the make the Los Angeles garment industry a healthy, humane, worker-controlled industry!


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RECENT NEWS FROM THE GWC – June 2010
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Weaving Theatre and Organizing – May 1st, 2010!

First, we want to thank all of our community supporters who marched with us on May 1st, International Workers’ Day! We hope you had a great time celebrating one of our favorite days in worker history, and were able to see first hand why it’s such an important day for us here at the Garment Worker Center. This year, we were excited to debut our grassroots street theatre skit about the concrete differences between an organized factory and a non-organized factory. With cheers from our awesome community supporters for the organized workers, and boos for the sweatshop bosses, we performed our skit on the corner of Santee and 8th surrounded by three different 10-12 story buildings filled with garment factories and workers. Each act was marked with a reminder of how an organized factory creates a much more humane environment for workers and keeps the bosses under control! The cast was a great multi-generational mix of garment workers, garment workers’ children and community supporters. Throughout our organizing efforts at the GWC, we do our best to integrate art and theatre, and we’ll be taking our skits into the streets to create a wider visibility of our struggle across the industry. Thanks again for sharing the day with us and we hope to share more street theatre with you in the future!



Garment Workers Keep the Pressure on Local Garment Factory Bosses



On May 29th, 2010, we organized a ‘visit’ to a sweatshop employer for 1) paying less than minimum wage, 2) not guaranteeing breaks, 3) not paying overtime and double time wages. In this particular factory, the owner of the company never showed his face, and instead left all the work to be done by his wife who had little patience and respect for the workers. The manager was known for screaming at employees, for giving workers more challenging fabric to sew (which led to less pay) when they spoke up against unfair wages or treatment.

Ana Maria*, a recent member of the Garment Worker Center, made the decision to demand her stolen wages from her employer. After calculating the total owed to her over the last three years, a number well into the tens of thousands, a team of 4 GWC members headed out to the notorious Swapmeet located on 8th and Broadway. The Swapmeet is a 10 story building with numerous garment factories on each floor. We have challenged many employers in this building over the years.

The group met early in the morning and reviewed the basics of how to confront her ex-boss and how to let other workers present in the factory know standing up to the boss is necessary and possible! When Ana Maria stepped into the factory, accompanied by another garment worker, she drew the boss onto the shop floor so that other workers could see her challenge her ex-boss for the wages owed to her. While she confronted her employer, 2 other team members distributed fliers to the workers sitting at their machines. We were able to successfully share information about the GWC and our struggle to organize and change the industry with about 40 workers! We are now putting pressure on the employer to come to the table to negotiate with Ana Maria for her stolen wages, at the GWC. We’ll keep you posted…
*(real name not used to avoid retaliation from employers)


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INTERNATIONAL STORIES OF WORKER RESISTANCE
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“No More Fires, No More Locked Exits, No More Garment Workers Deaths" campaign launched

May 11, 2010

The National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) of Bangladesh launched a new campaign this month entitled "No More Fires, No More Locked Exits, No More Garment Workers Deaths."

On May 1, approximately 5000 garment workers - mostly young women - marched to support the campaign. NGWF President Amirul Haque Amin, speaking at the rally, said "Since 1990, there have been 33 major garment factory fires in which more than 400 garment workers have been killed. During this same period more than 200 factory fires happened in which more than 5000 workers were injured. In addition, 64 workers were killed in the Spectrum Factory collapse in 2005. One of the reasons for the large number of causalities is the practice of locking factory exits, as well as a lack of health and safety inspections in many of the garment factories. Factory fires, locked exits, and workers deaths must stop."

The NGWF campaign is also demanding a new living wage for all garment workers set at TK.5000/ per month (US$71), the removal of all barriers to trade union formation and trade union activities in the garment sector, equal wages, rights and dignity for women workers, and reforms to Bangladeshi Labour Law.


We want to thank the Maquila Solidarity Network for the previous story about garment workers in Bangladesh. To find out more, you can visit their website at http://en.maquilasolidarity.org. Just search for their articles about these fierce Bangladeshi garment workers.



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SUPPORT THE GWC WITH YOUR FUNDS!
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Limited Edition T-shirt!! May Day 8 hours slogan t-shirt!!

Want to donate to GWC and get a great t-shirt? Check out our May Day t-shirt below. If you’re interested in donating, just email us that you're interested in supporting us with some funds and that you'd like to get a t-shirt for your donation. We’ll get it touch with you about picking up your t-shirt or getting it mailed to you.




Call for Continuous Supporters

Support the GWC by becoming a continuous supporter! Your donations sustain the ongoing work at the Garment Worker Center and every contribution helps GWC cover vital expenses (weekly Saturday meals for worker meetings, printer and photocopier costs, fuel for transportation, electricity, etc.). Your financial support keeps us thriving and organizing. Remember, even $20.00 a month (the cost of a dinner date or a night out at the movies), is a way to say that you believe in the work of the GWC and an investment in a healthier industry for garment workers. Make your commitment today by clicking on the “DONATE” button on the left side of the screen.

Foundation Shout Outs!

We want to recognize CCHD for their continued support for the GWC. Joan Harper from CCHD, along with approximately 20 members of catholic churches nationwide, recently visited the GWC. The members heard about the different injustices in sweatshops located throughout LA, as well as the resistance from workers through the organizing at GWC. They also had the opportunity to see some of the factories for themselves. We appreciate the continued interest and support for worker-organizing in the garment industry.

We also want to recognize the ROTH foundation for recently deciding to support the GWC with funds for operational costs. The flexibility offered by this type of funding is always appreciated as it allows more wiggle room for creativity. Thank you!


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JOIN OUR VOLUNTEER FAMILY!
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Want to support garment workers in their fight against sweatshop conditions? Want to support garment workers so they can take the industry into their own hands and mold it into a fair and just industry? Then, join us! We are looking for volunteers who can take on different responsibilities at the Center so that the garment workers can focus on organizing their co-workers! Since January 2008, the GWC has been mostly run by volunteers and we would love to add you to our volunteer family. We need long-term volunteers who can give a little bit every week, or month, over a long period of time to make the GWC run seamlessly. We also need temporary volunteers for smaller projects throughout the year. Click the “GET ACTIVE” link on our page and scroll to the bottom for a list of projects that we need help developing, growing and maintaining.






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LOOK FOR OUR NEXT UPDATE IN AUGUST!!
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PAST GWC UPDATES BELOW
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Hello GWC Supporters!

We know it’s been a little while, but we’ve been busy organizing away in the garment district. Here are this quarter’s updates:

- Invitation to International Workers' Day 2010 - MARCH WITH US!

- Updates from the Factories

- Economic Crisis and the Garment Industry

- Shop with a Heart 2009

- Introducing the Newest GWC Board Members

- GWC Volunteers Rock!