National SweatFree Summit 2010 Public Events

Conference registration not required to attend the following events. The talks are free (donations welcomed).

SWEATSHOPS, GOVERNMENT PURCHASING, AND WASHINGTON STATE
Briefing on city and state efforts to end sweatshops in the apparel industry

Where: Capitol Campus, Cherberg Building
Senate Hearing Room #2, 304 15th Ave, Olympia, WA 98502

When: Friday, November 5, 2010, 3:00-4:30pm

This event will be broadcasted via teleconference (participants will be able to listen in only, not participate in the Q&A):
Number: 1.213.289.0500
Access Code: 993207#

Government procurement can help end sweatshop labor in the United States and globally, and create a stronger economy. Learn how Washington State can join the City of Seattle and other public entities around the country in the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium.

Panelists:

Rebecca Johnson, Government Affairs Director, Washington State Labor Council
Bjorn Claeson, Director, SweatFree Communities & Interim Coordinator, Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium
Nancy Locke, Purchasing Director, City of Seattle
Rep. Steve Conway, WA State Legislature (29th District), Chair of Commerce and Labor Committee

A new report, Enemies of the Nation or Human Rights Defenders? Fighting Poverty Wages in Bangladesh will be released at the event.

FREE TRADE, FORCED MIGRATION & SWEATSHOPS: Cross-border organizing in the post-election season

Where: Traditions Cafe, 300 5th Ave SW, Olympia, WA 98501
When: Friday, November 5th, 7:00-8:30pm

Featuring Augusto Obregon and Carmen Duran
with Kristen Beifus of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition, Colette Cosner of Witness for Peace, and Bjorn Claeson of SweatFree Communities.

AUGUSTO OBREGON has been a campesino farmer and community leader in El Regadio, Esteli, Nicaragua for over thirty years. Three years ago, a tobacco factory designated as a free trade zone was constructed in his community. While the factory may have slightly curtailed migration from his community, the increased cultivation of tobacco has threatened food security, the environment and the health of his people. Augusto’s story illustrates the contentions of development under neo-liberal trade policies and explores the root causes of migration through the eyes of most affected. He is the vice-president of the Federation for the Integral Development between Farmers, a non-profit organization which organizes small-scale farmers around sustainability projects and food sovereignty issues.

CARMEN DURAN assembled television components in Mexico until her job was moved to Indonesia. Experiencing first-hand the effects of NAFTA, she worked grueling hours, suffered from chemicals on the job, and got little sleep -- all for less than a dollar an hour. Featured in the documentary Maquilapolis, Carmen's experiences as a factory worker led her to become a community organizer with the Tijuana Center for Information for Workers (CITTAC) to advocate for the basic rights of low-wage export-processing workers. She has also witnessed the impacts of migration within Mexico, from Mexico to the US, and now from the US back to Mexico again.

WHERE AM I WEARING?
Hear from author Kelsey Timmerman

Where: First Christian Church, 701 Franklin St. SE Olympia, WA
When: Saturday, November 6th, 2:00-3:30pm

Hear from Author KELSEY TIMMERMAN who set off across the globe to meet the people who made his t-shirt, underwear, and other clothes. His book chronicling his first-hand meetings with garment workers has received rave reviews. Hear him share stories from the road that you can bring back to educate your community.

See the flyer.

VOICES FROM THE GRASSROOTS: Worker organizing, corporate campaigning, and sweatfree policy

Where: First Christian Church, 701 Franklin St. SE, Olympia, WA
When: Saturday, November 6th, 4:00-6:00pm

REYNALDO CORPORAN DONASTORG was a union organizer and worker at BJ&B, where he made baseball caps for Nike and Adidas. The 2003 BJ&B union contract victory was the result of a major international solidarity campaign that gave hope to the possibility of bringing justice to free trade zone workers. However, in 2007 the factory closed as the companies moved their production to non-union environments with lower wages. This year some of the workers found jobs at Alta Gracia Apparel, a new unionized factory that was recently featured in the New York Times for paying three times the minimum wage. Now, as Secretary of Education at the FEDOTRAZONAS union, Reynaldo is researching working conditions and organizing possibilities at major government contractor factories in the Dominican Republic.

VICTOR VELEZ, an attorney and organizer with the union Workers United, is leading a lawsuit against Propper International claiming that the company has failed to pay legally owed sick days. He is also organizing a coordinated campaign for union recognition at all of the company's factories in Puerto Rico. Propper is one of the largest apparel contractors of the U.S. Government and a major military supplier. The State of Washington and the City of Seattle also buy public employee uniforms made by Propper.