Sweatfree Overture
As adopted at the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s General Assembly meeting, June 2008.
RECOMMENDATION
The Presbytery of
Baltimore overtures the 218th General Assembly (2008) to do the following:
1.
Affirm the work of the PC(USA) and Presbyterian Women in their efforts to
become responsible consumers in the global economy by occasional procurement of
sweatshop-free (sweatfree) and fair trade products, despite the lack of a
PC(USA) purchasing policy related to sweatshops.
2.
Affirm the existing PC(USA) ethical purchasing policies that prioritize
procurement from racial ethnic minority and women-led vendors and suppliers.
3.
Request that the General Assembly Council formally endorse the formation of the
State and Local Government Sweatfree Consortium ending taxpayer support for
sweatshops.
4.
Request that the General Assembly Council encourage congregations and
presbyteries to actively lobby their respective state and local governments to
join the Sweatfree Consortium.
5.
Direct the Office of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council to
make a good faith effort to purchase products sourced from vendors and
manufacturers that observe internationally accepted labor standards, respect
internationally established health and safety standards, and provide benefits
in accordance with local law or the industry standard (whichever is higher),
and a non-poverty wage. Apparel will be the initial focus since it is known for
child labor and sweatshop conditions, and accordingly it is a closely studied
industry, and should be extended to other products as non-sweatshop sources
become available. The Sweatfree Consortium once formed, will generate resources
that will help PC(USA) implement and enforce its sweatfree policy.
6.
When information assuring compliance with these standards is not readily
available from the supplier or independent monitor, request that the Office of
the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council not contract for goods
and services unless the provider is able to demonstrate active pursuit of
compliance with the above practices. SweatFree Communities and the Sweatfree
Consortium will maintain a list of noncompliant suppliers that fail to meet the
criteria. Termination of relationships with vendors or manufacturers should be
used only as a final option after thorough efforts to correct violations have
failed. At the same time, brands or manufacturers who are unwilling to work
towards compliance with such standards should not continue to supply goods to
affiliates. Therefore, the consortium will assist affiliates in identifying
brands and manufacturers that repeatedly refuse to take appropriate corrective
action in response to consortium recommendations. Affiliates may require that
bidders for applicable contracts not use companies or facilities on this list
to supply goods.
7.
Direct the Office of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council to,
whenever possible, purchase from factories and vendors whose production adheres
to U.S. or country-of-origin environmental standards. The National Green Pages
and the Responsible Purchasing Network’s purchasing guide provide lists of
screened and approved ‘green’ suppliers.
8.
Request that the General Assembly Council encourage congregations,
presbyteries, camps, conferences, and other entities of the PC(USA) to adopt
the responsible purchasing policy or design one of their own that upholds these
principles.
9.
Request that all Presbyterians practice responsible consumerism, beginning with
simplicity and non-acquisition whenever possible and responsible purchasing,
including sweatfree and ecologically sound products where purchase is
necessary. This would include a preference for locally produced products and
food.
RATIONALE
Our biblical tradition tells story after story of the
ethical imperative to stand on behalf of those who are voiceless and who find
themselves on the economic margins of society. International partners of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in different parts of the world have expressed
concern that multinational corporations move production facilities to areas
where labor is cheapest and environmental safeguards are weakest. Production
facilities may not stay for long as industry competition and higher profits
compel them to shift to other countries. While primarily young women may find
temporary employment, local communities often experience negative influences,
such as child labor, insufficient or un-enforced worker protections, forced
overtime labor, lack of freedom of association, and short- and long-term environmental
degradation and health impacts.
In response, as far back as the 192nd General
Assembly 1980, the Presbyterian church has been developing practices that
support a safe and just working environment for the workers of the global
factory, as evidenced in Theological Affirmations on Labor Relations from
Biblical Perspectives, The Principles of Vocation and Work that are a part of
“God’s Work in Our Hands” affirmed by the 207th General Assembly (1995), and
the Call for a Workplace Code of Conduct by the 209th General Assembly (1997).
The General Assembly also has been a consistent and
strong voice for protecting creation. This resolution is in line with that
history, as evidenced by documents like the “Restoring Creation for Ecology and
Justice” of the 202nd General Assembly (1990), and “Hope for a Global Future:
Toward a Just and Sustainable Human Development” of the 208th General Assembly
(1996).
During the last decade, many U.S.- and European-based
multinational corporations have worked to implement codes of conduct as an
expression of their ethical commitment as corporate citizens. They have done
this in response to increasing concerns from their customers and shareholders
that their products and services represent humane and environmentally sound production
processes throughout the supply chain.
Many Presbyterians work within and have leadership
positions in multinational corporations, offering the PC(USA) a unique
opportunity to encourage the use of standards of conduct that can offer clear
guidance to companies desiring to be good corporate citizens in the global
community.
Additionally, the PC(USA) and its membership are
significant customers of the goods and services of the global economy. The
church has already established an effective program called “Enough for
Everyone” that encourages Presbyterian entities to be conscientious consumers
of responsibly produced products. The Presbyterian Hunger Program of the
PC(USA) has worked with Enough for Everyone to develop a public disclosure and
code of conduct for the Sweat-Free T component of Enough for Everyone, and this
resolution calls on the expansion of this work. This resolution would also
support the work already being done by the Mission Responsibility Through
Investment (MRTI) to encourage independent monitoring of compliance with
business codes of conduct. Good work is already being carried out in this area
by many faith communities. For good counsel, refer to Cherokee Presbytery,
which has passed a similar sweatfree resolution, or to several Catholic
dioceses across the country and in Canada that have already or are developing
similar standards to inform their purchasing of school uniforms.
In short, this resolution translates our words and
beliefs into actions that demonstrate our Christian values and our individual
and corporate attempts to live the Gospel in our everyday lives.
Independent Monitoring
There are excellent, truly independent monitoring
organizations, such as COVERCO in Guatemala, which PC(USA) missionary Dennis
Smith has been intimately involved. The formation of the SweatFree Consortium,
in particular, by SweatFree Communities will advance work in this regard. The
Presbyterian Hunger Program has been active on the SweatFree Communities (SFC)
board of directors since its establishment in 2003. The SFC is widely respected
in the United States and around the world among those working on improving
conditions in export processing zones and assembly factories. The Sweatfree
Consortium is an important next step in creating greater demand for sweatfree
products and ensuring that conditions for workers improve in identified
factories.
The SweatFree Consortium will identify and screen
potential SweatFree supplier factories using the Designated Suppliers Program as
the model. More than thirty public and private universities have issued
official policy statements in support of the Designated Suppliers Program.
According to the rules of this program, university logo apparel must be sourced
from a set of designated supplier factories that have demonstrated full and
consistent respect for the rights of their employees.
In addition to respect for the standards currently
included in university codes of conduct, these factories are required to meet
two additional standards: payment of a living wage—once they receive prices
sufficient to make this feasible—and demonstrable respect for the right of
association. The latter can be evidenced by the presence of a legitimate,
representative union or other representative employee body, or by proactive
steps to create an environment in which workers can make a genuinely free
choice about unionization. University licensees must pay these factories
sufficient prices to allow them to pay living wages to workers and achieve
other fair labor standards; licensees are also expected to maintain long-term
relationships with these factories in order to create a reasonable degree of
financial stability and job security. The factories will produce primarily or
exclusively for the university logo goods market. For more information: http://www.workersrights.org/dsp.asp
COMMENT
Comment on Item 08-17—From the
General Assembly Council (GAC).
The General Assembly Council appreciates the concerns about responsible purchasing expressed in this overture. While the PC(USA) has not had a sweatshop-free purchasing policy, it has been the practice of PC(USA) Purchasing Services to purchase sweatshop-free items whenever possible. In 2007, Purchasing Services processed purchases of apparel totaling $258,804. Of that total $183,079 was purchased from the Fair Trade Zone (a sweatshop-free women’s sewing cooperative) in Nicaragua that partners with Enough for Everyone, a ministry of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, comprising a total of 70 percent of apparel purchases. Purchasing Services will continue its practice of increasing the percentage of sweatshop-free purchases as an annual goal.
Purchasing Services will utilize the resources suggested in this overture to source suppliers that provide sweat free and ecologically sound products. Purchasing Services will also work with Enough for Everyone to provide preferred supplier information to staff at the Presbyterian Center that meet ethical, minority vendor policy, sweat free, and ecologically sound products.
The ministries of the General Assembly Council will continue to encourage Presbyterians to practice responsible consumerism and Enough for Everyone will provide access to sweat free, ecologically sound, and fairly traded products.
