Maine AFL-CIO Resolution #6

Sweatfree Purchasing Resolution

WHEREAS, sweatshop labor has an inarguably harmful effect on the health and safety of workers who are directly affected by workplace abuses, and on the wages and working conditions of all workers, including Maine workers, who are affected indirectly by the global race to the bottom for cheap labor; and

WHEREAS, workers everywhere have a right to dignity and respect on the job, freedom of association, and living wages; and

WHEREAS, a global economy founded on sweatshop exploitation undermines economic security in Maine and global political stability; and

WHEREAS, state and local governments are large customers of apparel - such as uniforms for public sector workers – and most of these governments have no public accountability for where this apparel is purchased from, or the conditions under which it was produced; and

WHEREAS, the purchasing power of states, local governments, and school districts should be used to reinforce International Labor Organization standards and local laws that protect workers; and

WHEREAS, the State and Local Government Sweatfree Consortium, which is currently in formation, will pool resources for investigating and monitoring supplier factories and coordinate the implementation and enforcement of sweatfree procurement standards; and

WHEREAS, the Maine labor movement has played a leading role for sweatfree purchasing in the State of Maine, which is the first state in the nation to adopt sweatfree procurement standards; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine is a leader in the State and Local Government Sweatfree Consortium;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Maine AFL CIO supports state, local, and school board legislation for sweatfree procurement policies to end public purchasing from sweatshops in the United States and throughout the world; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Maine AFL CIO educates its members about the benefits of sweatfree procurement campaigns, and encourages members to join with community allies in sweatfree procurement campaigns; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Maine AFL CIO endorses the formation of the State and Local Government Sweatfree Consortium, which will work to end public purchasing from sweatshops by:

1) Investigating labor conditions in common supplier factories using a monitor that is fully independent from the industry; and

2) Consolidating government purchasing power to support supplier factories where workers are treated with dignity and have a voice on the job.

SUBMITTED BY: Maine AFL-CIO Executive Board
October 2007