Blog: August 2007

The Great Debate

The AFL-CIO Blog has a number of posts about the debate.  The debate was also covered by several other media outlets.  Below are some of the articles.  For more on workers' rights issues in Chicago and how you can support workers at one factory there, check out this blog entry.

SEIU is sponsoring a campaign called Walk a Day in My Shoes where presidential candidates are asked to accompany SEIU members on the job and at home to see what it is really like for working families.  Check it out!

South Chicago Cygnus Strikers Producing Soap for Wal-Mart

This scenario reminds me that low pay and lack of job security is something workers everywhere face and I wonder what a company like Wal-Mart is doing to make sure their US soap factory workers are being treated fairly.  I applaud the efforts of IAM District 8 and stand in solidarity with the striking workers that have decided to stand up for their rights. I am also reminded that while Wal-Mart may have oodles of production in the global south, there are still workers in the US producing for Wal-Mart.

The workers are asking that we all do 3 things:

Playing Fair

You might remember that back in November, we highlighted Fair Trade Sports on our ethical gift guide.  Check out the complete list here!

ILRF has worked for years to stop child labor in the soccer ball industry.  In the 90's, we spearheaded the Foul Ball Campaign to call attention to the plight of thousands of children working in the stitched soccer ball industry in the Sialkot region of Pakistan.  An agreement was signed with a number of parties in 1997 to address the issue, but there have been reports that child labor has not been eliminated in the industry.

Melting Pot? More like a Cake with Pretty Sprinkles

Almost a hundred years later we
have another influx of immigrants. While the majority are Latinos; Asians and
Africans also make up are large percent of immigrants. But now the lid is on
the pot and Americans want no more immigrants. Many claim to only have an
aversion to those who circumvent the failing legal process for a more dangerous
desert route to the U.S.  But underlying that aversion is a dislike for anyone who has the audacity to
come to the melting pot and not be willing to drop their cultural identity to
get in. The focus is on Latinos, maybe because they are the majority or maybe
because they the non-English speaking brown people from the south. But

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