Berkeley council to consider sweatshop-free ordinance
April 7, 2009 The Oakland TribuneBy Doug Oakley
Staff Writer
Berkeley is considering a law that prohibits city departments from buying uniforms and other goods from companies that mistreat their workers.
The sweatshop-free ordinance has been three years in the making by two city commissions. It will go before the City Council at its April 21 meeting, said Councilman Kriss Worthington.
The same law went before the City Council about a year ago, but was sent back to Berkeley's Commission on Labor and the Peace and Justice Commission for a rewrite after city staff objected, saying it would cost the city too much to buy from reputable garment factories and there would be too much paperwork involved, said Worthington.
Worthington is cosponsoring the law with Council members Jesse Arreguin and Max Anderson.
"Berkeley could become the country's 39th city to adopt a sweat-free ordinance, so it is long overdue for us to put our money where our mouths are," said Worthington during a press conference in City Council chambers Tuesday. "Hopefully we don't have to wait until we are the 100th city to do it."
Worthington said the public works department is probably the largest purchaser of uniforms that potentially could come from sweat shops, followed by the police and fire departments.
During the press conference, held jointly with the SweatFree Communities and the Progressive Jewish Alliance, workers from Honduras and Puerto Rico talked about how they are treated in garment factories in their countries.
One woman from Honduras said she can't understand why workers who make U.S. brand clothing there are paid 10 cents for each product they make when they are sold for $25 to $30 in the U.S.
A man who works for Proper International in Puerto Rico which contracts with the U.S. military for uniforms said his $6.55 cents an hour wage doesn't put enough food on the table.
"We as city officials have a moral responsibility to make sure the goods we purchase with taxpayer dollars do not support unfair labor practices," Arreguin said.
Reach Doug Oakley at doakley@bayareanewsgroup.com.
Also posted by San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times
