Sweatfree Baseball

Proposed Pittsburgh Pirates anti-sweatshop resolution
Pittsburgh City Council Proclamation, July 2006
SweatFree Communities' letter to Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club
Worker Rights Consortium's letter to Pittsburgh Pirates
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Media
Response to Major League Baseball

 

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Proposed Resolution

A Resolution of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh, urging the Pittsburgh Pirates to take action to eliminate the use of sweatshop labor that is used to produce apparel and merchandise that bears its logo.

WHEREAS, on July 11, 2006, on the occasion of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be held in our City of Champions, Pittsburgh, PA presents us with the unprecedented opportunity to make progress on this critical human rights issue;

WHEREAS:
Sweatshop conditions in the apparel industry in the United States and around the world are not the exception, but the norm, and most garment workers – mostly young women between the ages of 14 to 25 - work long hours in inhumane conditions; and

WHEREAS:
Sweatshop conditions are common in factories where Pittsburgh Pirates and All Star logo apparel merchandise are made;

WHEREAS:
The City of Pittsburgh and the State of Pennsylvania already have adopted sweatshop-free procurement policies, reflecting the values of our city and state, and Allegheny County has introduced anti-sweatshop legislation in 2006; and

WHEREAS:
The fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates expect that the Pirates logo represent fair play and decency whether on the baseball field or in the field of business, and that the workers who sew the logo can exercise their human rights in environments free of fear and intimidation; and

WHEREAS:
The citizens of Pittsburgh want to support their team without also subsidizing sweatshop abuse with their stadium tax dollars; and

WHEREAS:
The Pittsburgh Pirates has a proud tradition of community outreach, charitable work, and humanitarian concern exemplified by Roberto Clemente; and

WHEREAS:
There is an "academic standard" of sweatshop accountability supported by over 160 universities nationwide, including the Carnegie Mellon University; and

WHEREAS:
The Pittsburgh Pirates and Major League Baseball can help level the playing field for workers and create significant demand for better working conditions by adopting sweatshop-free procurement and licensing policies requiring vendors and licensees to abide by fair labor standards; and

WHEREAS:
The Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance (PASCA) has taken a leadership role educating Pittsburgh Pirates fans about sweatshop conditions in the global apparel industry with the Best Major League Sweatshop Education in America at PNC Park and four editions of acclaimed Major League Sweatshop Baseball Cards.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That neither the City of Pittsburgh nor the Pittsburgh Pirates should tolerate any sweatshop or human rights abuses of any worker who provides products and services to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
The City of Pittsburgh urges the Pittsburgh Pirates to promote the "academic standard" for sweatshop accountability to Major League Baseball. The academic standard includes compliance with international fair labor standards, freedom of association, living wages, public disclosure of factory locations, independent monitoring of factories, and fair prices for factory products.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
The City of Pittsburgh urges the Pittsburgh Pirates to work collaboratively and transparently with the community of Pirates fans and the Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance listening to sweatshop worker testimony, supporting workers' efforts to improve working conditions, and developing and promoting procurement and licensing standards and policies promoting the human rights of baseball workers.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That July 11, 2006 in the City of Pittsburgh is proclaimed, "We Are A Global Family…No Sweatshops Bucco Day!"