Portland City Council will consider taking more steps against sweatshop factories

The new, tougher rules would apply to the suppliers of uniforms

Wednesday, October 15, 2008  The Oregonian

By MARK LARABEE, The Oregonian Staff

The Portland City Council will vote today on strong rules for suppliers of city uniforms in an effort to battle overseas sweatshop factory abuses such as 20-hour shifts, seven-day workweeks and child labor.

The move will have little immediate consequence because most of the uniforms the city buys are manufactured under humane conditions by U.S. companies.

But the new rules are more than symbolic, labor rights advocates say: They provide a framework for future applications on big-ticket purchases such as computers, most of which are made overseas.

"I'd like to eventually make sure that all the city's purchases are the result of sustainable manufacturing processes," said Mayor-elect Sam Adams.

The city's Sweatshop Free Policy Committee, which included worker rights groups, city employees and uniform makers, was set up by council vote in August 2007 to draft the new policy. The council agreed then to join a fledgling consortium of state and local governments that buy millions of dollars worth of clothing every year.

To date, the consortium is made up of Portland; Pennsylvania; Lucas County, Ohio; and Berkeley, Calif. But 180 governments -- from states and counties to cities and school districts -- have passed some kind of sweatshop-free policy or ordinance. Portland's is the first in the Northwest.

Portland spends just under $2 million each year on uniforms, mostly for police officers and firefighters, said Jeff Baer, the city's procurement director. It spends about $2.8 million a year on computers, not including the accessories that go with them, such as keyboards, monitors and printers, he said.

Advocates expect the consortium will continue to grow and that eventually all that buying power will influence the global garment industry.

"I want there to be fair and equitable treatment for all employees in this world," said Carol Stahlke, a Portland Water Bureau employee and president of AFSCME Local 189, which represents many city employees. "If these companies come into compliance, then they'll have business. If not, I want the hammer to be that if they don't treat people decently and with respect, then no business for them."

Ed Hall, vice president of the Portland Firefighters Association Local 43, said his involvement in the committee was about more than worker rights. He talked about big fires in garment factories where child workers died, both in the United States at the turn of the 20th century and overseas just two years ago.

"We have high standards in the U.S. and we value life," he said. "Shouldn't the people like me who wear a uniform also expect that of the companies who make those uniforms?"

If approved as expected, the new policy will set mandates that future bidders for the city's clothing supply contracts must follow, Baer said. Those contracts are opened every five years, he said.

Elizabeth Swager, a Portland-based representative of the worker-rights group Sweatfree Communities, said the consortium will audit working conditions in overseas factories and buy only from a list of reputable suppliers. She said the consortium will investigate complaints from factory workers.

The resolution allows the city to chip in money -- 1 percent of the amount spent on uniforms, which would be just under $20,000 this year -- for those investigations.

But the funding isn't automatic. Beginning next year, the council will consider it as a line item in the city's budget. And city officials are now looking to cut spending as the economy worsens.

Still, Adams said the tough job of enforcement is an important part of the package that he supports.

"The difficulty of tracking how things are made shouldn't stop us from doing great things," he said. "We're not the kind of city that wants to procure things from child labor."

Mark Larabee: 503-294-7664; marklarabee@news.oregonian.com